Lasiodora parahybana-final enclosure. What's this I hear about bioactive terrariums?

[Stylopidae]

I currently have 3 0.5" Lasiodora parahybana slings and given how fast these grow, I'm thinking about the final enclosure for the single female I intend to keep.

A lot has changed since I last kept tarantulas, and it's hard to keep track of everything. The fossorial enclosures from Tarantula cribs appeal to me, and I was thinking about creating a bioactive enclosure. However, I also don't want to overdo it on the humidity. These also seem a bit small for this species.

As of now, I'm seriously considering a 10 gallon enclosure with a simple water dish, fake plants and hide.

How are you folks keeping your adult L. parahybana nowadays?

 

[Smotzer]

So yeah it may seem like a lot had changed but in reality it hasn’t, the marketing for things has just changed get people to spend more money that they don’t need to.

On that, going the fake plant route is still 100% acceptable nowadays and most people do this. “Bioactive” is a marketing ploy, even the fake plant set up is bio active, in reality the “bioactive” is just a planted tank. You can 100% do this easily, people make all sorts of “bio active” products like speciality substrate/soil mixes that are 100% extraneous etc. “Bioactive” just forces people to spend more money than they really need to. Any enclosure is bioactive, so is every surface and object you have ever seen.

If you want to go the live-plant planted tank route than you totally can, I do it for some moisture loving species and it looks great. the hobby has struggled with concepts of ventilation and moisture/humidity for a long time, but with just a little forethought it can be pretty simple and not be harmful to the tarantula at all!

 

[Stylopidae]

So yeah it may seem like a lot had changed but in reality it hasn’t, the marketing for things has just changed get people to spend more money that they don’t need to.

On that, going the fake plant route is still 100% acceptable nowadays and most people do this. “Bioactive” is a marketing ploy, even the fake plant set up is bio active, in reality the “bioactive” is just a planted tank. You can 100% do this easily, people make all sorts of “bio active” products like speciality substrate/soil mixes that are 100% extraneous etc. “Bioactive” just forces people to spend more money than they really need to. Any enclosure is bioactive, so is every surface and object you have ever seen.

If you want to go the live-plant planted tank route than you totally can, I do it for some moisture loving species and it looks great. the hobby has struggled with concepts of ventilation and moisture/humidity for a long time, but with just a little forethought it can be pretty simple and not be harmful to the tarantula at all!

Yeah, I was considering adding isopods/springtails to the cage...but it's good to hear that this is mostly BS.

I'll just keep it dry and with a water dish.

 

[Dorifto]

I currently have 3 0.5" Lasiodora parahybana slings and given how fast these grow, I'm thinking about the final enclosure for the single female I intend to keep.

A lot has changed since I last kept tarantulas, and it's hard to keep track of everything. The fossorial enclosures from Tarantula cribs appeal to me, and I was thinking about creating a bioactive enclosure. However, I also don't want to overdo it on the humidity. These also seem a bit small for this species.

As of now, I'm seriously considering a 10 gallon enclosure with a simple water dish, fake plants and hide.

How are you folks keeping your adult L. parahybana nowadays?

Not LP but perfectly suitable for them

original_250afeb4-3cee-4ff4-b5ce-6fa193dbb5d0_IMG_20211118_141027.jpg

• Dorifto
• Jul 18, 2022
• 3

Humidity won't be an issue using the right soil, plants and a tank with ample of ventilation. The plants will help you keeping it stable via evapotrandpiration, even if the top layer starts to dry. Simply choose medium to low moisture dependant species.

Are you a crafty guy? Maybe you can mod your tank, to make it much more suitable for a vivarim style one.

IMG_20220630_223820.jpg

• Dorifto
• Jun 30, 2022
• 4

Fish tank mod

That's a mod/design I did to convert easily a fish tank into a great viv with ample and very efficient ventilation system.

Cuc wise, I recomend Trichorhina tomentosas, Porcelio pruinous orange, springtails and earthworms. All together they work wonders.