housing t's in same tank with divider (opinions wanted)

[kosh]

i was thinking about dividing my 10 gallon aquarium in half to house two t's in the same (but separate) enclosure...anyone done this.....how about some opinions...
:?
my main concerns are climate and whether or not the spiders would know the other one was there and possibly be offended or something...

 

[kosh]

i was thinking about 1/8 or 1/4 inch clear or opaque plexiglass with very small holes drilled in it (1/8 inch or smaller) small enough to keep legs from even going through.....i would cut the plexiglass to fit very snugly and put it in and silcone around it before i add substrate.....i see no way for the spiders to ever cross over into the other side...(i would even fabricate separate lids so they could be opened independently as to keep them from getting to the other side when the top was opened.......i was more concerned about the climate and whether or not their "spider sense" would alert them of the other spider and cause one to go crazy or something..... :?

 

[Immortal_sin]

Kosh,
I have heard that it DOES make them nervous, or whatever, seeing and being able to 'sense' another so close...can't remember where I heard it though. I thought about taking my 30 gallon tank and doing something similiar, then I decided against it.
I'd like to hear from someone that has actually been sucessful at it. I've heard from more than one person about one of them getting eaten by the other!

 

[JacenBeers]

I on the other hand have had great luck with this. I have a small plastic petpal sorta home for it with a plastic divider that came with it. I have it divided in half and I have an Usumbara in one side and a pinktoe in the other and they are both happy campers who molt just fine and eat fine.

 

[Code Monkey]

Although you are on the right track with silicone sealed plexiglass, there is the matter of the lid. Ts can easily scale the divider so unless you also figure out some way to make two flush fitting lids you have two problems:

One, a motivated T might be able to figure out how to squeeze between the divider and lid unless you take a lot of care in fitting everything.

Two, to open one cage, you have to open both. And if one does bolt for it, Murphy's Law guarantees that it will head straight into the second enclosure.

Personally, I wouldn't do it.

 

[SkyeSpider]

I've done this with mixed success. I kept two B. albopilosums in a 15 gallon aquarium with a clear plastic divider in the middle. This was my breeding pair, so one of each sex. The male would roam all night long, and the vibrations did get on the females nerves from time to time, although she seemed to enjoy "watching" him walk around.

I kept them like this for two-three months with no problems, but had to rearrange tanks, so I moved them both recently.

-Bryan

 

[kosh]

i was thinking perhaps....making the plexiglass protrude through the screen top i already have and then cutting the screen top in half to be able to open the two sides independently...so the spiders could not crawl over the top and when one side was opened the other side would still be closed........i may have to work on the top a little more as cutting the (cheap) screen top that came with the tank (same cheap top that comes with most tanks) might ruin the top and also make the fasteners on the top less effective......
so can you see where i am going with this.....i would make every effort to ensure that the spiders could NOT come in contact with each other.....it would be mainly climate and "spider sense" issues......although i am sure Murphy's Law would take affect wherever it could...

my adult male G. rosea doesnt move around much at all.....he is a pretty docile and calm spider right now (as long as you dont disturb him while he is in his burrow then he will go into threat posture and strike at anything within reach if disturbed too much) but i dont know if that would change if he "sensed" another spider nearby......i would prefer to get a female of a particular species to put in the other half (not a G. rosea as they are too boring for me...no offense)......i am thinking about a green bottle blue but i havent read up on them enough to know if the climate requirements are similar enough for cohabitation..

 

[Botar]

From what I understand, the climate requirements are similar enough to not present a problem. However, it sounds like you will be going to way too much effort to provide what may turn out to be inadequate housing. I'd just buy another tank or similar type enclosure.

 

[savian]

I have a 20 long that I split into 4 tanks. I made it so the plex goes above the lip of the inside and is even with the top. I use aquarium silicon to seal it up. I don't like to take the chance with regular silicon, it does have chemicals that can kill the fish. So I feel why take a chance with my T's. Anyway for a top I use a screen top with claps and I put some small keepers on top just to make sure. My Trinidad loves it. I have my male and female cobalt in there to. I will be trying to breed them hopefullly this week. I also have my king baboon in there to. I did one more thing for safety and that was to make seperate tops for each enclosure. I drilled hole in the tops of those for ventilation. I use those when I am going to be working on the tanks.

Ps one other thing is just to pick up some Kitter keepers, they are cheap and very easy to use. Most of my T's are in them.

 

[skinheaddave]

I agree with Botar. The amount of effort it takes to ensure that one T can't nab the other probably more than offsets the cost involved in seperate housing -- especialy if you are going to be providing seperat lids anyways.

I do have a split enclosure that I custom-made out of glass and wood. It is now sitting in my garage unused. Both occupants are now in seperate enclosures. I plan to take it apart, reclaim the pieces, and make a single larger enclosure.

Cheers,
Dave

 

[Bearacuda42]

You People!!

Did it ever hit you in the heads that some people just like spending alittle more time on making a good house for there Ts and that some people love doing these things.. ;P ;P ;P

 

[galeogirl]

I've seen it done with molded plexiglass enclosures (there's a dealer in Seattle who displays large Ts in them for shows), but those are pretty expensive.

I'd be a little paranoid about losing a spider; as I read the posts here I couldn't stop thinking about the time I went into Petco and found a large zebra tarantula snacking on a baby gecko after the spider had crawled through a very small space in the glass divider between their cages. The staff was horrified, but they sold the tarantula to the friend who was with me at a very nice discount to "get that thing out of the store."

 

[rknralf]

Considering the cost of enclosures and the ability to stack PetPals, I wouldn't do it.
The risk involved in making sure the tarantulas can't get into the other side wouldn't be worth it.
Just my opinion.

 

[savian]

Just so that ya kow SHD that the cost was not much at all. I went and bought a big sheet of plexi then all I had to due was to cut it up. The sheet cost under 10$. One sheet made everything and I still have half the sheet left over.

 

[atavuss]

Originally posted by kosh
i was thinking about dividing my 10 gallon aquarium in half to house two t's in the same (but separate) enclosure...anyone done this.....how about some opinions...
:?
my main concerns are climate and whether or not the spiders would know the other one was there and possibly be offended or something...

I wouldnt do it......I have one 20 long with a foamarium cave at either side for a "red" phase g. rosea. I also have three 10 gallon "reptile" style terrariums with sliding screen tops as display enclosures for: a. chalcodes adult female, b. boehmei adult female, g. rosea "normal" phase adult female, also a tall ten gallon "hex" aquarium with a modified top that has cork bark slabs glued to the three back walls for a juv h. mac, I would not dream of trying to divide any of these enclosures to get more than one t in them.......the majority of my t's are in stackable kritter keepers of various sizes. just my two cents worth.
Ed

 

[kosh]

i would agree with bearacuda...although not as "forcefully"...making the two sided enclosure would be more fun and more like a hobby/project than "too much effort"......the main reason i would even consider doing this is that i am not a professional T keeper and i dont plan on becoming one so i want to keep the space my T (s) take up to a minimum!!!! (i wouldnt mind having 3 or 4 T's but my girlfriend has ruled that out and i live with her so she's da boss when it comes to critters in her house...she says im already pushing it with my T and my 3 house cats)
and i dont particularly care for the little plastic "critter keepers" that are sold in national chain type pet stores......i like the glass aquariums......maybe if i dont divide my 10 gallon i will just buy two 5 gallon tanks and use my 10 gallon to put fish in for the kids or i will build something that will enable me to stack two 10 gallon tanks on top of each other while still allowing plenty of ventilation for the bottom tank...i like my T to have plenty of space!!!!

 

[skinheaddave]

Re: You People!!

Originally posted by Bearacuda41
Did it ever hit you in the heads that some people just like spending alittle more time on making a good house for there Ts and that some people love doing these things..[/COLOR] ;P ;P ;P

For those who love custom-building enclosures -- or at least doing up fancier aquarium-based enclosures, I would still suggest two seperate enclosures. The amount of time, effort and money that goes into creating one properly divided enclosure could be just as well put towards making two seperate and equaly well done enclosures. In fact, I would think that true enclosure conneiseurs would appreciate two seperate enclosures.

As for cost -- any used aquarium under 20 gallons usualy goes for about $5-$10 CDN around here. The wood/screening etc. to make a custom-fitted top for an aquarium usualy runs about another $5-$10, depending on hardware and the level of security needed (my C.exilicauda tank has hardware cloth to stop things from falling into the screening).

While we're still on the topic, there are other advantages of having two enclosures instead of one big divided one:

- More configurations: if you move or change things around, you can seperate the two to fit into smaller nooks, stack them, put them side-by-side or do anything else.

- Easier to transport: they fit better into a vehicle, are easier to carry and if you move them with the Ts inside, it limits the number of things you have to catch should you drop and smash the enclosure (not generaly a concern, but I always try to minimize the risks of the unthinkable with my more dangerous scorpions).

- No obligation to fill the space: if you have two Ts now, but may have one in the future, you will not have to worry about wasting space. Just stick the spare enclosure in the garage or closet. Likewise, if your collection changes, you will not have to worry about both Ts having similar care requirements. If you replace one of the humidity-loving species with a dry-loving species, just move the enclosure to another location or change the conditions inside.

Cheers,
Dave