I’m caring for 21 different Tarantulas

[MathKavKy]

Honestly, I’ve never owned one (please don’t bash or lecture me about how these aren’t good for beginners. The situation is what it is and I’d like a little input from people with experience with these- not any negativity!) But one day last month I was asked to care for 21 tarantulas that my niece acquired. They are as follows:
Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens
Poecilitheria vittata
Poecilitheria regalis
Brachypelma hamorii
Thrixopelma pruriens
Citharacanthus cyaneus
Tliltocatl vagans
Acanthoscurria geniculata
Bonnetina minax
Pterinopelma sazimai
Ephebopus cyanognathus
Pterinochilus murinus
Monocentropus balfouri
2- Grammostola pulchra
Brachypelma boehmei
Ephobopus refescens
Aphonopelma seemanni
Psalmopoeus irminia
Phormingochilus arboricola

I’ve been doing an extreme amount of research, as well as: watering daily (in an unobtrusive manner), misting (some that require misting), cleaning, feeding (and breeding crickets now), and ensuring temperatures and humidity are correct for their species/type/category. But, I do wonder how normal it is for many of these tarantulas to be as active as they are. I’m monitor them throughout the entire day- since I work from home- and I have an exorbitant amount of animals, creatures and critters already, so I do get to see that the tarantulas are drinking and eating. Their temperatures stay consistently at 71.5°- 73° at night and during the day it is anywhere from 74 to 80°. I do have additional UVB lighting as they are in a temperature controlled room without windows. I would just love any input and information that may not be as readily available on the net that you think I should know. I’m completely obsessed with them now and want to ensure they get the correct care!
I will also upload pics after I change the photo format

 

[Wolfram1]

Well, it would be easier to help in a case by case basis as some of the requiremenrs differ for terrestrial or arboreal spiders for example.

Do check out the help-section for beginners:

Tarantula Information for Beginners (and More)

Below are some helpful resources. (Rather than having half a dozen or more pinned threads, which clutter the top of the board, we are pinning this index.) While the focus is on beginners, there are other threads on health and more advanced species that may be useful to more experienced keepers...

arachnoboards.com

that is the place to start really.

Other than that there is really no need for uvb lamps or other forms of heat as you are well inside the range of temperature for all of these theraphosidae. When in doubt check out the min-max temperature ranges in their native habitat or the closest approximation and subtract a few degrees from the extremes, that will be the range temperatures are allowed to flucate in.

There is really no need to follow exact humidity numbers. Rather they need good ventilation and if you see condensation its usually too much. Then you can consider wetting down about 3/4 of the dirt for moisture loving ones and rehydrate once it gets a little drier, and for regular or arid species you can do a little less and here also let it dry a bit in between. There is nothing wrong with flucating moisture levels.

In essence, keep it simple.
I just water them a bit like a houseplant, once the first few centimeters dry, i water again. More consistently for moisture loving ones, less consistently for more arid species. Humidity gauges only lead to more and more water beeing added...

Welcome to AB and pictures always help if you want some more precice answers.

 

[goofyGoober99]

Damn bro that's a lot to take on with no experience!
I would recommend downloading the Exotikeeper app to keep track of all of them and spend some time on Tom Moran's youtube channel.

Best of luck with all your spiders!!

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

I second Tom Moran “Tom’s Big Spiders”. No flash or super animated characters vexing their tarantulas, just real, trustworthy care and rehousing info on many different T’s from sling to adult.
Also can’t stress “ventilation” enough, especially with your moisture dependent T’s.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Damn bro that's a lot to take on with no experience!
I would recommend downloading the Exotikeeper app to keep track of all of them and spend some time on Tom Moran's youtube channel.

Best of luck with all your spiders!!

I didn’t know about these channels back in the day maybe they weren’t around when I started but I that’s a Great idea !! learn fast and avoid bad caresheets outdated info all over internet. There may be a few legit ones .

Honestly, I’ve never owned one (please don’t bash or lecture me about how these aren’t good for beginners. The situation is what it is and I’d like a little input from people with experience with these- not any negativity!) But one day last month I was asked to care for 21 tarantulas that my niece acquired. They are as follows:
Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens
Poecilitheria vittata
Poecilitheria regalis
Brachypelma hamorii
Thrixopelma pruriens
Citharacanthus cyaneus
Tliltocatl vagans
Acanthoscurria geniculata
Bonnetina minax
Pterinopelma sazimai
Ephebopus cyanognathus
Pterinochilus murinus
Monocentropus balfouri
2- Grammostola pulchra
Brachypelma boehmei
Ephobopus refescens
Aphonopelma seemanni
Psalmopoeus irminia
Phormingochilus arboricola

I’ve been doing an extreme amount of research, as well as: watering daily (in an unobtrusive manner), misting (some that require misting), cleaning, feeding (and breeding crickets now), and ensuring temperatures and humidity are correct for their species/type/category. But, I do wonder how normal it is for many of these tarantulas to be as active as they are. I’m monitor them throughout the entire day- since I work from home- and I have an exorbitant amount of animals, creatures and critters already, so I do get to see that the tarantulas are drinking and eating. Their temperatures stay consistently at 71.5°- 73° at night and during the day it is anywhere from 74 to 80°. I do have additional UVB lighting as they are in a temperature controlled room without windows. I would just love any input and information that may not be as readily available on the net that you think I should know. I’m completely obsessed with them now and want to ensure they get the correct care!
I will also upload pics after I change the photo format

The size of the tarantulas is also very important info as some slings require more moisture but they don’t need misted . You wet the substrate , if I use a spray bottle ever it’s to mist the dirt of slings. Some of those are fast species you would do best to avoid an escape.

 

[fcat]

Where did you do your research?

Something tells me it wasn't here...you omitted the most important descriptor (following the species anyway)

watering daily (in an unobtrusive manner), misting (some that require misting),

I do have additional UVB lighting as they are in a temperature controlled room without windows

Explain this to me and then tell me where tarantulas live in the wild

Honestly, I’ve never owned one (please don’t bash or lecture me

I can't imagine going to another hobbyist site and doing/saying this.

I wouldn't be advocating for your tarantulas if I left this one alone. Barring inheriting them from a deceased family member I don't see what circumstances would justify "it is what it is" and what's wrong with saying no to something you aren't prepared for? You're either fit/experienced or you arent. I guess jail or hospital aside, you could've used this an an example to teach... that animals deserve better... and that one has to be fit to keep them. If you have a tendency to hoard animals, if you can't say no to a potentially deadly situation for the animals, then who pays the price for being nice? And since you have a lot of other animals already make sure you could already be a hoarder....... The animals pay for that too. Sorry, I have too much respect for these creatures.

In the words of the great, "I don't see a question?"

 

[Tentacle Toast]

I can't imagine going to another hobbyist site and doing/saying this.

It's an incredibly frequent occurrence. And what follows usually warrants warnings they don't want to hear.

I wouldn't be advocating for your tarantulas if I left this one alone. Barring inheriting them from a deceased family member I don't see what circumstances would justify "it is what it is" and what's wrong with saying no to something you aren't prepared for? You're either fit/experienced or you arent. I guess jail or hospital aside, you could've used this an an example to teach... that animals deserve better... and that one has to be fit to keep them. If you have a tendency to hoard animals, if you can't say no to a potentially deadly situation for the animals, then who pays the price for being nice? And since you have a lot of other animals already make sure you could already be a hoarder....... The animals pay for that too. Sorry, I have too much respect for these creatures.

In the words of the great, "I don't see a question?"

Excellent points that needed to be made whether she wanted to hear them, or not.

 

[Brewser]

Quite a Menu of Ts Sweet, Sour, Salty, Spicy, and Hot.

 

[LilithArachne]

Well, you came to the right place. I second what Wolfran1 says too, treat it as a case-by-case thing because each tarantula species is different and have different needs from one another. You can use the search bar and type in the species of the tarantula and go from there. You can bookmark the pages too so you can always go back to it because remembering 21 different tarantulas is a lot... lol

Whenever you can, can you please take a picture of their enclosures and what the tarantulas look like so we can give you more narrower advice to suit your Ts?

 

[MathKavKy]

It's an incredibly frequent occurrence. And what follows usually warrants warnings they don't want to hear.

I wouldn't be advocating for your tarantulas if I left this one alone. Barring inheriting them from a deceased family member I don't see what circumstances would justify "it is what it is" and what's wrong with saying no to something you aren't prepared for? You're either fit/experienced or you arent. I guess jail or hospital aside, you could've used this an an example to teach... that animals deserve better... and that one has to be fit to keep them. If you have a tendency to hoard animals, if you can't say no to a potentially deadly situation for the animals, then who pays the price for being nice? And since you have a lot of other animals already make sure you could already be a hoarder....... The animals pay for that too. Sorry, I have too much respect for these creatures.

In the words of the great, "I don't see a question?"

Excellent points that needed to be made whether she wanted to hear them, or not.

I understand. Its not worth explaining how I ended up with them, although, I'm only caring for them for another 2 weeks. The Mexican Red Knee will be staying with me as I've put a lot of time into monitoring her and ensuring her enclosure set up was correct.
My other animals are my 4 dogs, 4 snakes, and the rats I breed to feed them.
As no one else could take them to watch for her, I did, because I didn't know better- but I can afford to help her set them up correctly and take the time to research information. So, I guess I want to give her the right info for care. Most of them are set up in a sphagnum moss & cocofiber. I just don't think that the Mexican red leg and copperhead are as happy as they do spend alot more time hanging out outside their hides and spend time on the lids. Both are terrestrial, so I thought this might be stress reaction. Pics of their enclosures are necessary and I'm going to get them on here later today with more specific questions. But I guess I wasn't sure just how active I should expect them to be as they're all out and about.
I want to learn, but I think I'm more apt to start myself off with a basic tarantula that beginners can learn from. This is alot more work/everything than I realized, and I don't want to be bashed for trying to help where no one else would or could for her, but I also worry for them when they go home to my niece. Is it normal to spend an hour or three to care for them everyday? I just want them to thrive so I monitor them closely everyday. I understand I took on way more than I should have, but am doing my best to learn before I go in and rearrange or rehouse to prevent any undue stress. so I'll take some poo from everyone and get called out. Deserved for my lack of understanding, but hopefully I can ensure they are cared for correctly.

Quite a Menu of Ts Sweet, Sour, Salty, Spicy, and Hot.

its alot... and let me tell you, I would probably pass Tarantulas 101 after my crash course. But nothing over that without more education. These guys are needing more than I can give if this was long term! I like to think I'm doing what I can for them

Where did you do your research?

Something tells me it wasn't here...you omitted the most important descriptor (following the species anyway)



Explain this to me and then tell me where tarantulas live in the wild


I can't imagine going to another hobbyist site and doing/saying this.

I wouldn't be advocating for your tarantulas if I left this one alone. Barring inheriting them from a deceased family member I don't see what circumstances would justify "it is what it is" and what's wrong with saying no to something you aren't prepared for? You're either fit/experienced or you arent. I guess jail or hospital aside, you could've used this an an example to teach... that animals deserve better... and that one has to be fit to keep them. If you have a tendency to hoard animals, if you can't say no to a potentially deadly situation for the animals, then who pays the price for being nice? And since you have a lot of other animals already make sure you could already be a hoarder....... The animals pay for that too. Sorry, I have too much respect for these creatures.

In the words of the great, "I don't see a question?"

I guess as a snake and dog owner for decades, that I would help where I could, but you are correct when you say you need to know who, what, where, why, and hows. I'm trying to put more info together about that so get specific help. Bear with me, I'm a beginner learning the hard & wrong way

 

[fcat]

A half inch tarantula will have very different needs in the span of two weeks than a 5" specimen (slim to no needs beyond a full water dish)

Not saying to do this, but youd likely do less damage if you did nothing with them for two weeks...compared to watering them every day or misting ever...which can create stagnant conditions and even displace oxygen where they need it the most...at the soil level

How much time you spend is relative to the keeper and everything else they have, but if they are all adults they could probably go two weeks without eating, so very little time. It only takes me a minute or two to check on over 100 tarantulas, feeding and watering take much longer of course. I'm looking for signs of death, dehydration, irregular positioning or behavior. Otherwise I leave them alone. But I definitely pop in throughout the day, stand there and watch them, make little growling sound effects in my head when they catch their prey, especially the little guys

IF your niece was doing it right....Just keep them out of the sun and extreme temps, make sure the water dish is full, keep the substrate slightly moist for the moisture dependent species like the E rufescens and cyanognathus. Unless you feel comfortable pulling uneaten feeders that will attract nasties, they probably don't even need to eat. Size matters. Pictures are everything, my advice may not apply. I feed when they look hungry (abdomen size and signs of intermolt)

 

[CutThroat Kid]

They are as follows:

I always try to psychoanalyze based on collections and this one confuses me a little, lol. My hypothesis is that she started buying pet store T's, and then quickly transitioned to online shops more colorful T's, but only the one's she could get on holiday sale deals. If money wasn't a factor there would be some other, more popular species in there I think.

But one day last month I was asked to care for 21 tarantulas that my niece acquired.

I wanna know the story here. She go to college or something and didn't want to rehome them?


Honestly don't listen to the people trying to scare you here, yeah 21 is a lot of T's to manage and will probably take up more of your time than you realize, but tarantulas are quite hardy compared to other exotics and can be kept alive (not enriched) within a few general parameters, and it seems like you pretty much have those parameters figured out.

Some things I will say though:

misting (some that require misting)

We've pretty much determined that misting causes more trouble than good, better to pour water directly onto the substrate, overflow water bowls, and drip water on to webs. Don't overdo it though. Your P. Irminia, being a more wetland species, you can adequately provide moisture through these means rather then misting. Also, good ventilation is a must, especially if you're adding moisture to an enclosure.

I will add however that I am an advocate of keeping almost all matured tarantula species in an almost completely dry environment with a big water dish. I've kept my adult P. Irminia basically dry for almost 2 years now with no issues, the water bowl provides ample ambient humidity. I didn't come up with this practice, but I endorse it.

ensuring temperatures and humidity are correct

"If you're cold in a short sleeve t shirt then they are cold too." - A good maxim but you seem to have temps covered. Do not worry about humidity levels or percentages, just follow the above guidelines.

UVB lighting

Not needed. They are Arachnids after all; they could be kept in pitch black darkness and tbh would probably prefer it that way.

 

[fcat]

I always try to psychoanalyze based on collections

Do me next!!

Jk my 80% North/South American long-lived terrestrials screams attachment and trust issues, does it not??

 

[Wolfram1]

pictures would be helpful and dont mid the more direct comments
we like to make sure the animals do well and sometimes egos get hurt in the process, but no-one is out to get you for something you are not responsible for.

lots of people come here with faulty knowlege and many are already very set in their ways so we try to correct anything major right away, short pain, long gain, but dont take it against you personally, once you read a bit you will see we still do things differently and there are many ways that work

have an open mid consider that not all critisism is always voiced as intended (nor can we always guess your circumstances correctly) and try to get to the essence of the advice, in the end we want to help you help the spiders.


if you are the listening type, there is a podcast by tom moran and he even has episodes where you can quiz yourself about most of the beginner information you need

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

Do me next!!

Jk my 80% North/South American long-lived terrestrials screams attachment and trust issues, does it not??

Thank you. I needed that hard laugh today!

 

[sparticus]

Do me next!!

Jk my 80% North/South American long-lived terrestrials screams attachment and trust issues, does it not??

I was thinking the exact same thing. I want to be judged by my spider collection!!!

 

[viper69]

Where did you learn UVB was needed? Stop it

You neeed to read a lot or they will all die