Need Help Beginning

NewToIt

Arachnopeon
Joined
May 30, 2011
Messages
8
Well, I'm planning on getting a tarantula but I need some help. I've got some questions so please answers a question or two while you're on this thread.

The tarantula I plan to get will be a Greenbottle Blue (Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens). Would this make a good first tarantula?

I live in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. Would the humidity here be acceptable?

What temp should I keep my tarantula's living space? http://www.bighairyspiders.com/cyaneopubescens.shtml This site says 80* While this site http://www.petbugs.com/caresheets/C-cyaneopubescens.html says 70* or above.

Do I need some sort of heat lamp or pad?

Would an aquarium filled with about 2 inches of soil work make a nice living space for my spider?

Any foliage?

How long do they live? One site said males live 2-4 years while females live about 10-12. I'm going to be a freshmen in high school next year so I figure I'd like a male. Can I specifically order a male?

Should I give my spider a water bowl?

1-2 crickets a week?

How often should I clean my spider's cage? What do I need to do exactly (As in do I put all new soil in or what? I was thinking that my spider might not like all his webbing cleared).

If I buy a baby how do I take care of it until it's ready to eat crickets?


Please, I really need some help before I make the decision to buy this spider. If you'd like to recommend a different spider, which one? I'd like one that looks good.
 

Chris_Skeleton

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 31, 2010
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1,309
The tarantula I plan to get will be a Greenbottle Blue (Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens). Would this make a good first tarantula?
Yes and some other good choices are B. albopilosum, G. pulchripes, B. smithi, and G. rosea.

What temp should I keep my tarantula's living space?
Room temperature. If you are fine, then your T will be fine.

Do I need some sort of heat lamp or pad?
No, not unless your temps get down to 60 or less. If you must have heat it would be wise to invest in a space heater. A pad can be used as long as it is on the side and not the bottom. And a lamp can be used as long as it is far enough away not to cook your T. Both will have to be monitored.

Would an aquarium filled with about 2 inches of soil work make a nice living space for my spider?
No. It all depends on the size of the tank. Whatever you use will have to have enough substrate so that if your Ts front legs can touch the top, then it's back legs are touching the ground. This is, of course, for an adult tarantula. For a sling, and as it grows, you will be using sterilite or deli cups as it grows. Regardless, 2 inches is not enough for any spider over 2-3" in any size tank.

Any foliage?
Totally up to you.

How long do they live? One site said males live 2-4 years while females live about 10-12. I'm going to be a freshmen in high school next year so I figure I'd like a male. Can I specifically order a male?
Males will be on average between 2-5 years, some a little longer. Females can live 10 years and even longer for some species. Why is it exactly you want a male? You will get the greatest satisfaction in ordering a sling and watching it grow up. Slings will also be a whole lot cheaper than adults for the GBB. Ordering an adult will hit your wallet pretty hard.

Should I give my spider a water bowl?
Anything over 2" you can give a waterdish. Slings will need some of the substrate moist to drink from.

1-2 crickets a week?
Correct

How often should I clean my spider's cage? What do I need to do exactly (As in do I put all new soil in or what? I was thinking that my spider might not like all his webbing cleared).
Spot clean it daily or weekly. That's it. You will really never need to redo the whole setup.

If I buy a baby how do I take care of it until it's ready to eat crickets?
You can give them prekilled baby pinheads or give them leg pieces from adult crickets.


Welcome to the wonderful world of tarantulas. Don't worry too much about what spider you get, as you will have more later. Trust me.
 

Cuddly Cobalt

Arachnosquire
Joined
Apr 18, 2011
Messages
116
i think you are over stressing it a little ;) all you need is a terrarium, substrate, a hide, and a water bowl. As for humidity just mist the terrarium once in a while. if your house is cold then get a small heat pad. Thats it :}
 

grayzone

Arachnoking
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Jan 17, 2011
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Spot clean it daily or weekly. That's it. You will really never need to redo the whole setup.
its actually recommended that you THOROUGHLY clean the cage at least 1 time every 6 months/ 2x a year.... that COULD just be preference however
 

Scoolman

Arachnolord
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 9, 2010
Messages
612
The home range for GBB is the Venezuela scubland, very hot and very dry. Do not mist a GBB (unless it is a spiderling), and room temp for a GBB will keep it alive, but will not allow it thrive.
 
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grayzone

Arachnoking
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heat is a big debate... if you want it to live 20 years keep it at room temp... if ya want it to live 10 or 15 higher heat=higher metabolism=bigger appetite=bigger spider.... all up to you .... ****note numbers given are just for example** i PERSONALLY like to keep it slightly warmer and have my ts eat alot. im in it for the science yes, but i like the entertainment as well.... i have , to date, NEVER had any deaths or problems with any of my ts molting. i have NEVER had mites, AND MY TS NEVER STRESS CURL.... maybe to some people i do some things wrong but my ts SEEM pretty content
 

Scoolman

Arachnolord
Old Timer
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Messages
612
heat is a big debate... if you want it to live 20 years keep it at room temp... if ya want it to live 10 or 15 higher heat=higher metabolism=bigger appetite=bigger spider.... all up to you .... ****note numbers given are just for example** i PERSONALLY like to keep it slightly warmer and have my ts eat alot. im in it for the science yes, but i like the entertainment as well.... i have , to date, NEVER had any deaths or problems with any of my ts molting. i have NEVER had mites, AND MY TS NEVER STRESS CURL.... maybe to some people i do some things wrong but my ts SEEM pretty content
Ditto!
Room temp is not an accurate way to measure the Ts temp. Since the sub contains water and water can be 10-15 degrees cooler than the air a 70 degree room could mean the T is sitting on 60-65 degree substrate. I keep air temps regularly, and check sub temps often. Unless, of course your sub is absolutely void of water, in which case it may well match the air temp.
 

grayzone

Arachnoking
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Ditto!
Room temp is not an accurate way to measure the Ts temp. Since the sub contains water and water can be 10-15 degrees cooler than the air a 70 degree room could mean the T is sitting on 60-65 degree substrate. I keep air temps regularly, and check sub temps often. Unless, of course your sub is absolutely void of water, in which case it may well match the air temp.
ditto to what you said as well{D{D i have a thermometor on the side with a blue night time heat bulb. it keeps air (on that side) in the 80's i often check the substrate on the opposing side of the 10 gal. tank and it is usually around 74 degrees. this is how i housed my grown parahybana. now hes gone and i have 10 slings in individual houses inside the tank to save space. it SO FAR is working great... to get a better idea as to what my setup looks like read my profile and look at the uploaded images
 

fartkowski

Arachnoemperor
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Jan 5, 2007
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its actually recommended that you THOROUGHLY clean the cage at least 1 time every 6 months/ 2x a year.... that COULD just be preference however
I have several enclosures that I have not cleaned in years. Haven't had any problems at all.
Also my tarantula room is kept at 70 all year round and again no problems.
When I started out in the hobby I would drive myself nuts worrying about temps, exact humidity, mites, stuff like that. I found that the more I stressed about these things, the more the tarantulas were stressed. Now I just feed, water, observe:)
 

jondee84

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 15, 2011
Messages
39
ditto to what you said as well{D{D i have a thermometor on the side with a blue night time heat bulb. it keeps air (on that side) in the 80's i often check the substrate on the opposing side of the 10 gal. tank and it is usually around 74 degrees. this is how i housed my grown parahybana. now hes gone and i have 10 slings in individual houses inside the tank to save space. it SO FAR is working great... to get a better idea as to what my setup looks like read my profile and look at the uploaded images

hi there, just wondering how the blue night light works for you? I've been thinking about a blue or red lamp for at night but was worried about disturbing my T's.
 

campj

Captive bread
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
Messages
479
I just feed, water, observe:)
Likewise... this is one of the lowest maintenance hobbies around. You CAN go all out and monitor everything, but it probably won't make much of a difference in the long run. I have over 50 spiders right now and spend a couple hours a week in my spider room (and most of that time is just because I want to, not because I have to).

And GBBs don't necessarily need a lot of substrate. They are nimble spiders. If it were a heavy bodied terrestrial I'd agree, but GBBs can be considered semi-arboreal.
 

Poxicator

Arachnobaron
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Nov 16, 2007
Messages
354
The home range for GBB is the Atacama desert, very hot and very dry. Do not mist a GBB (unless it is a spiderling), and room temp for a GBB will keep it alive, but will not allow it thrive.
LOL, GBB come from the dry scrublands of Venezula, G. rosea come from the outskirts (not in) of the Atacama. And, although this is one of the driest places on earth its certainly not very hot, infact its very cold, its just bone dry where some areas have not received rain for hundreds of years and the highest elevations are covered in snow!

The habitat of both of these species receives mist/dew providing fauna with the necessary water, but this is very quickly evaporated by the sun. So, I sometimes provide a quick spray to their webbing but, unless they're slings, you shouldnt keep it damp, it quickly takes them to death row.

I provide arboreal furnishings for all my GBBs, they'll web over it creating an interesting enclosure. I've never noticed any burrow.
 

grayzone

Arachnoking
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Jan 17, 2011
Messages
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I have several enclosures that I have not cleaned in years. Haven't had any problems at all.
Also my tarantula room is kept at 70 all year round and again no problems.
When I started out in the hobby I would drive myself nuts worrying about temps, exact humidity, mites, stuff like that. I found that the more I stressed about these things, the more the tarantulas were stressed. Now I just feed, water, observe:)
good to know fartkowski... i will admit my way is quite bothersome at times. i just like to pretend im providing the best conditions possible lol... good to hear a fellow members ( with much more input) opinions. maybe ill try your feed water observe method with the next t or two. thanks for the insight
 

Tym Hollerup

Arachnoknight
Joined
Mar 13, 2011
Messages
207
If it's a sling I would suggest mealworms, waxworms, or spikes. You can find them at any bait shop.
 

NewToIt

Arachnopeon
Joined
May 30, 2011
Messages
8
Males will be on average between 2-5 years, some a little longer. Females can live 10 years and even longer for some species. Why is it exactly you want a male? You will get the greatest satisfaction in ordering a sling and watching it grow up. Slings will also be a whole lot cheaper than adults for the GBB. Ordering an adult will hit your wallet pretty hard.
First of all I want to say THANKS so much for the help :). The reason I was interested in getting a male was just because I'm going to be a freshmen in high school next year and if I got a female I'd need to care for it in college. Now that everyone told me it's a very low maintenance pet, I don't mind which gender I get. I feel I could manage it in college or if things got too busy, I could always find some middle school science class who needs a new class pet.

One last thing I was wondering was how do I clean? I was thinking I'd just remove things like cricket limbs as needed but do I need to worry about destroying my spider's web?
 

Raven9464

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
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Apr 3, 2011
Messages
66
One last thing I was wondering was how do I clean? I was thinking I'd just remove things like cricket limbs as needed but do I need to worry about destroying my spider's web?
I wouldn't change the substrate, removing uneaten prey and such should be enough. Clean the water dish every once in awhile. Webbing that goes into the water dish will usually siphon out the water so that would be the only web you would have to remove/disturb.

GBB's are semi arboreal, I give mine cork bark and plants to climb and web to.
Some will web their home up high, some low, and some will web throughout.
But you will definitely enjoy these beauties!
 
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