Is this a good enclosure for a .5 inch Heteroscodra Maculata

EulersK

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I'm not sure that you understand what you just bought. This is up there with the most advanced species in the hobby. Difficult to keep alive as slings, and will send you to the hospital from a bite as adults.

Yes, it's an arboreal that will burrow as a sling. Offer anchor points and substrate for burrowing. Good luck, you're definitely going to need it.
 

nicodimus22

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If this is your first tarantula, you are in for a major challenge. If you're not up for it, I would sell or trade it ASAP and get something that doesn't have medically significant venom. If you ARE up for it and want to keep this sling, you have a ton of research to do. People here can be very helpful, but it is up to you as the owner to do the bulk of the research. Whatever you decide to do, I hope you have a positive outcome.
 

ediblepain

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Since you have been keeping Ts for only a month.. and you have already had one escape.. Its probably in your best interest to find a more experienced person, and trade them this little guy for sometime a little easier. I highly recommend researching the heck out of a critter (and its care) before you bring one home. Most slings burrow. Good luck..
 

Jeff23

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Even though it will burrow as a sling, I would put it a piece of cork bark or plastic plant in there for climbing as well. You may not have enough substrate.

As others have mentioned, this is NOT a good choice if you don't have experience with tarantula's. You may survive right now, but at some point you will have to rehouse this tarantula into a larger enclosure. What is your game plan for the enclosure change?
 

Anoplogaster

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They burrow as slings. An arboreal enclosure would be completely pointless at this size.

Here's a trick: Set this spider up in as small of an enclosure as you can. This way, you always know where it is. When you go to rehouse, you won't have to be digging around looking for it, only to have it explode out of a corner you didn't expect it to be. When I first got mine, I put her in a teeny deli cup with deep substrate and a flat piece of cork placed over the substrate. The idea is the spider will naturally want to burrow underneath the cork, which creates a nice solid ceiling to her cave. And I knew exactly where she was 100% of the time. Not to mention being able to see her from the clear bottom of the cup:)

H. macs are lightning fast! Your best advantage is always knowing EXACTLY where that spider is.
 
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cold blood

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I'm not sure that you understand what you just bought. This is up there with the most advanced species in the hobby. Difficult to keep alive as slings, and will send you to the hospital from a bite as adults.

Yes, it's an arboreal that will burrow as a sling. Offer anchor points and substrate for burrowing. Good luck, you're definitely going to need it.
Add to that its one of the most skittish species on the planet...almost schizophrenic...they're ridiculously fast and absolutely photosensitive....they freak out when light hits anywhere near them. Terrible t for viewing until adulthood.

As said, this is one of the very most advanced species....I got my first ones 12 years into the hobby.

As mentioned as well, they're fragile slings, that grow slowly (I lost a couple trying to get it right at first and I had tons of experience)...it can be really hard walking the line with regards to the moisture...too much and they quickly go down hill...not enough and they dehydrate...IME dry is generally better though, even when small.

Make sure there's a water dish...tough because of the webbing as it needs to be removed and replaced or cleaned constantly, but a necessity.

It needs lots of clutter...wood/plants..as mentioned, they're heavy webbers, and heavy cover is not only good for anchor points for this web, but also because for an H. mac, having a place to hide and "call home"(for a lack of a better term), is critical, or every time you touch [or look at] the enclosure you can and will get a whirlwind H. mac.

On top of that, you have to consider who or what else you live with...other people in the house? Dogs? Cats? Children? These tag a pet and its goodbye pet, no emergency room, no vet assistance...just a hole dug in the yard....tag a human and you have a bad week and a long night in the er in tremendous pain. Important to note, considering your limited experience that already has seen an escape.

Have fun, if you haven't made the purchase, I strongly urge you to reconsider...they are dirt cheap and are always available, there's no hurry.

If I had to make a top 3 worst beginner species, this would be #1 or #2, right there with S. calceatum.

If you were my loving brother or sister and considering this, I would physically stop you if I couldn't talk you out of it...break your phone and computer if I had to...but I'm all the way in WI, so this one is on you to make the right decision.;)

Getting this is like getting a Siberian tiger with a month of domestic cat experience, or a gaboon viper after keeping a garter snake for a few weeks.
 

Andrea82

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I never thought i would say this, but i really really really hope this is a troll.....:(
 

boina

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I have cats. I love my cats. I'm as careful as anyone, but something can always go wrong, we are all human and mistakes or accidents just happen sometimes. I'm not going to get a H. mac, although I absolutely love them.
 

cold blood

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I never thought i would say this, but i really really really hope this is a troll.....:(
Yep, 100% troll all the way...op hasn't even logged in since he made the thread...:meh:

I hate people....trolls are even worst people.:troll:
 

TownesVanZandt

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At least the old ones made good stories...which can not be said about this new generation crap..

Ah, I absolutely love this old Swedish folk song! Trolls were one of those aspects of Old Norse mythology that survived the Christianisation of Scandinavia for a long time and they even took a new meaning after Christianity became the main religion. They were always considered as creatures unfriendly towards humans, but in Christian times they were seen as especially hostile towards Christianity (as this songs refers to the "mountain troll" as). This song also exists in an Italian version and I know for a fact that our friend @Chris LXXIX is familiar with that one :):

 

TownesVanZandt

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@Andrea82 : And since we´ve already derailed this thread slightly with a Swedish song, let´s post some traditional Norwegian songs as well :)

This is a medieval song and portraits the battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066 from a Norwegian perspective. We lost that battle and in history it is seen as the end of the Viking era. Sometimes I wonders what might have happened if Harald Hardråde and his army did win. After all, they were about conquer all of England at that time :):


This is Folque, a folk rock group from the 1970´s that I like a lot:


I have no idea who performs this song, but it´s quite nice. The English of the guy who made this video is as broken as mine, but what he writes makes sense. It´s a nice casual introduction to some of the creatures we have in our folklore:

 

Andrea82

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@TownesVanZandt , I was kinda hoping you'd notice :)
I started with the soundtrack of 'vikings' but somehow I find myself branching out and exploring new music and folklore legends. Heck, I even found some Dutch folklore!
http://www.worldoftales.com/Dutch_fairy_tales.html

I know the 'haggard' version as well, but I prefer the version posted above. There is something powerful in the womans voice which struck me really.
Currently exploring Wardruna and Duivelpack as well. I was somewhat familiar with Celtic traditions and myths, but never explored more North :)
 
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