Is this okay? Housing question...

[Nixphat]

My wife and I recently rescued two (what we think to be) G. rosea from a hoarder's house. We are new to having Ts as pets and are very excited, and also have done a ton of research. Our main question is we were wondering if the two of them would be able to sense each other the way the enclosure is set up. It is a little difficult to see in the picture but they are in a 10 gallon tank that is separated in the middle with a wall of Plexiglas. There are no holes or ways for the Ts to interact, but we weren't sure if they would still know they are in the same enclosure with each other. The plexiglas is held up with gorilla and super glue. I was also a little unsatisfied because their substrate is taking longer to completely dry than we anticipated, and were worried if that would be a problem for them since they normally prefer more dry substrate with not as high humidity. Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[Venom1080]

no they shouldnt be able to sense each other. avoid dividing cages i the future, it usually doesnt work out.

 

[DeanK]

It needs more substrate. There shouldn't be more the 1.5x the DLS(diagonal leg span) of the T between the floor and ceiling of the enclosure. I'd also bury those plant pots a little more as the T will feel safer in a tighter space to hide in if it feels the need. There may also be some issues from left over residues from the glues but I'm not sure on that. You might wanna pick up some sterilite tubs in case you need to house them separately

 

[Nixphat]

Okay great. Yeah, housing them together wasn't ideal but we figured we could get better enclosures as time goes on. I wondered about the height as well. I'm thinking if we pick up some additional peat moss, dry it out, and add it to the tank, they should be more comfortable. Thanks!

 

[Tarantula20]

Yep as others have stated replace it with bone dry substrate leaving no more than 1.5x there legspan in height, beside that you just need a water dish and a hide which you have already provided. Good Luck!

 

[BorisTheSpider]

Yep as others have stated replace it with bone dry substrate leaving no more than 1.5x there legspan in height, beside that you just need a water dish and a hide which you have already provided. Good Luck!

Agreed . A good way to this cheaply is go to Home Depot and grab a bag of peat moss . It's bone dry right out of the bag and tens dollars will buy enough to last for years .

 

[Nixphat]

Thank you all very much! We're leaving now to go get peat moss and we're going to get their enclosure ship shape!

 

[viper69]

also have done a ton of research

It's great to see new owners asking questions!

I hope you haven't relied on care sheets? It certainly seems you have based on the picture and the things mentioned. And FYI CARE SHEETS KILL TARANTULAS!

the enclosure is set up

Poorly. Few people recommend a divided setup for a variety of reasons. Regarding your question on sensing each other, it's believed that Ts do produce pheromones, and have ability to detect each other. However, this is believe to be done via touch, with males detecting the chemical messengers on the females webbing. There is not enough research done in this area.

a little unsatisfied because their substrate is taking longer to completely dry than we anticipated

I would have not put the Ts into that container then. You can always bake things in the over to dry them quicker.

You def. need more height as others mentioned above, 1.5x DLS for distance to top from sub. ALSO, are you using a screen top? If so, don't. They get their tarsal claws caught. Use an acrylic lid w/holes drilled in the top, of course locked down in some manner.

 

[Andrea82]

From what I've read, dividing a tank is risky. You have to make sure there is no gap between the top of the dividing glass/acryllic and the lid. If a carapace fits through it, then it is to wide a gap. Another thing to consider and or watch out for is opening the enclosure. When the lid is of one piece, that means that you will have two enclosures open, side by side, every time you need to do maintenance. This is a recipe for disaster. Tarantula (yes, G.rosea as well, even though they look slow) are in general faster than humans. All it takes is two seconds, and you will have two T's in one enclosure, which is always bad.
So make the lid divided as well to have separate lids.
Good job on saving them!

 

[Nixphat]

Update:

Okay, so we went and got peat moss and completely replaced the substrate there from before. So it is now dry for the Ts. I had seen care sheets, but most of them were on shoddy websites in the first place, so I didn't really trust them. I got my information from the G. rosea care info on this site. I've really just been using arachnoboards for everything because everyone here really knows what they're talking about from experience.

There is no gap between lid and plexiglas, I really didn't want them to even have a hint of being able to come in contact with each other. I also have been wanting to cover the screen top with something else, because I did read the Ts can get stuck on the screen. I thought of either taping a layer of coffee filters across the inside so there was no contact with the screen, or even covering the entire lid with panty hose to keep them from the screen part of the lid. Any recommendations?

We've been preparing for the Ts since last Saturday and only have had them since Thursday and are IN LOVE. I want to do everything I can to give the best environment. Of course, the double enclosure is far from ideal, but in comparison to where they were, it is a major improvement. Over time we'll put them in their own space, and I'm still researching as I go to continue bettering their care.

 

[Tarantula20]

What I do to cover up screen lids is make a 2-3 inch barrier around the outside of the lid with clear packing tape. This should work just fine for your situation. Nearly anything you can think of in terms of storage boxes work great for T enclosures, steralite containers, Shoe box enclosures such as the plastic and acrylic ones sold by The container store, even really useful boxes.. and yes that is the brand name lol.

And if your looking for something more on the means of a display enclosure a five gallon tank, custom acrylic enclosure and even the 12x12 exo terras will work just fine for you rosies!

 

[Nixphat]

What I do to cover up screen lids is make a 2-3 inch barrier around the outside of the lid with clear packing tape. This should work just fine for your situation. Nearly anything you can think of in terms of storage boxes work great for T enclosures, steralite containers, Shoe box enclosures such as the plastic and acrylic ones sold by The container store, even really useful boxes.. and yes that is the brand name lol.

And if your looking for something more on the means of a display enclosure a five gallon tank, custom acrylic enclosure and even the 12x12 exo terras will work just fine for you rosies!

Okay great! I will look into those! It's nice that they can be so low maintenance. I had seen some of the T specific enclosures that looked really nice and seemed to have good space for them. This enclosure will be more temporary than anything else, and a back up in case we need to do any more rescue missions. Haha

 

[cold blood]

Divided tanks are bad news for tarantulas...I'd re-think housing and give them each their own home.

 

[cold blood]

The spiders appear to be G. porteri

 

[Nixphat]

The spiders appear to be G. porteri

Really? Okay, great! We weren't sure and are very inexperienced with identifying the type they are. And yes, we'll definitely be looking into better enclosures that are separate from each other.

 

[cold blood]

Really? Okay, great! We weren't sure and are very inexperienced with identifying the type they are. And yes, we'll definitely be looking into better enclosures that are separate from each other.

Its still considered to be a "rose hair".

 

[Nixphat]

Its still considered to be a "rose hair".

Good! I panicked for a second and started looking into the differences in care and such Glad they're similar. We're happy with them either way