New GBB, is this enclosure OK?

[SmallAxe525]

Hi there - my first "real" post here. We recently acquired a little GBB, her name is Vasquez (who here's seen Aliens?). I say "she" but really have no clue yet as to sex. What do you experts think of our enclosure? She's not my first spider, but my last tarantulas were when I was a kid, so, roughly 174 years ago, that I kept in gravel bottomed critter keepers with bottle caps filled with water... and that's it. Trying to upgrade Vasquez's experience. It's a 10 gallon tank with a mixture of peat, coir and orchid bark over pea gravel, all the plants are alive (aloe in the back and a small leaved hoya in the front, I think I'm going to switch out the hoya, it was just what I had on hand.) Water dish to the right is filled with gravel. Room temp and room humidity, light for plants is on for about 6 hours/day. Humidity is about 25% (I live in a very dry part of the US.)
Questions:
That log is hollow, is that OK? She webbed up the log and molted in there over the weekend, is she ever going to come out?
Would she climb up the glass? Should I build up the substrate so that there's less space between the top of the tank and the "floor"?

 

[Wolfram1]

Don't get me wrong i love your enclosure it is beautiful but i wonder if it is the right kind for your spider. As far as i know it is a species very well adapted to extremely dry conditions and those look like all live plants that will need lots of watering. that cork bark is probably the driest place in there. I have read tons of tipps from experts already because if this species ever appears around my area as a sling i will instantly throw my pokeball anyway most seem to keep them bone dry but with a water dish. I cant tell you if this will work but i am sure someone who has actual experience will give his or her opinion shortly.

When it comes to height you would definitly make it safer for your spider if you add more substrate but that can also have an effect on how they behave as in some cases they then adapt the entire terra as their burrow and get more defensive.
A half tube would probably be better since it then can burrow.

 

[Blueandbluer]

Take out the live plants/moss, for a few reasons.
1) The aloe can be spiky, which can damage a spider, especially if it climbs and falls on it.
2) GBBs are prolific webbers, any live plants are going to get absolutely covered in silk and will not get enough light or water. You'll be left with ugly dead plants that you can't remove as they'll be silked in place.
3) GBBs abhor damp, so watering live plants will make them very unhappy.

If you must have plants, make them fake and make sure they're soft with no hard or pointy parts/edges.

I would also increase the amount of substrate a little. Standard terrestrial spider rules say you should have no more than 1 to 1.5 X the spider's outstretched legspan of glass space. Considering the substrate will compact over time, you will want to add more to be close to that. GBBs do have a little more leeway on this as they will also build silk that will raise the floor level... but that still looks too low to me.

Take the gravel out of the waterdish. I promise, your spider cannot drown as long as the dish isn't ocean sized. All the gravel will do is make the dish hard to clean. Don't be sad when the spider webs over the dish; it will, just pour right on top of where the dish used to be. The spider will be fine.

Enjoy your GBB! They are REALLY fun, hardy guys. Keep in mind they can be skittish so I hope you weren't thinking of handling.

 

[SmallAxe525]

Don't get me wrong i love your enclosure it is beautiful but i wonder if it is the right kind for your spider. As far as i know it is a species very well adapted to extremely dry conditions and those look like all live plants that will need lots of watering. that cork bark is probably the driest place in there. I have read tons of tipps from experts already because if this species ever appears around my area as a sling i will instantly throw my pokeball anyway most seem to keep them bone dry but with a water dish. I cant tell you if this will work but i am sure someone who has actual experience will give his or her opinion shortly.

OK, cool. Those plants are pretty "dry" plants that don't require a bunch of water, in fact I don't think we've watered them at all since we planted them - but I get what you're saying. You're thinking she's in the log because that's the driest place?

 

[Tarantuland]

That enclosure looks too large for a spider that size, the GBB also like it dry and that substrate looks wet. A heat lamp can be deadly, so you definitely don't need one of them. This species should not live anywhere that moss could grow.

You should put it in something smaller with a thicker layer of dry substrate and ditch the heat lamp.

Also I'm not sure what's in the water dish, but you don't need to put anything in it. A water bottle cap would work just fine or a 1 oz deli cup.

Forget humidity with keeping tarantulas.

Cork round is totally fine, my GBB likes to hide, others say theirs stay out, but cork is good because its resistant to mold.

Welcome to the boards, and happy keeping!

 

[SmallAxe525]

Take out the live plants, for a few reasons.
1) The aloe can be spiky, which can damage a spider, especially if it climbs and falls on it.
2) GBBs are prolific webbers, any live plants are going to get absolutely covered in silk and will not get enough light or water. You'll be left with ugly dead plants that you can't remove as they'll be silked in place.
3) GBBs abhor damp, so watering live plants will make them very unhappy.

If you must have plants, make them fake and make them soft with no hard or pointy parts/edges.

I would also increase the amount of substrate a little. Standard terrestrial spider rules say you should have no more than 1 to 1.5 X the spider's outstretched legspan of glass space. Considering the substrate will compact over time, you will want to add more to be close to that. GBBs do have a little more leeway on this as they will also build silk that will raise the floor level... but that still looks too low to me.

Enjoy your GBB! They are REALLY fun, hardy guys. Keep in mind they can be skittish so I hope you weren't thinking of handling.

I knew that they tend to web up the place, I was sort of planning on maybe removing the plants eventually. I can't seem to reconcile having a tank with nothing in it - seems, I don't know, boring? Plus I actually thought that succulents would help soak up any excess water. Would a spider really hurt themselves on a spiky plant? I guess I thought they were a little more graceful than that?

 

[Wolfram1]

This species should not live anywhere that moss could grow.

This

 

[SmallAxe525]

That enclosure looks too large for a spider that size, the GBB also like it dry and that substrate looks wet. A heat lamp can be deadly, so you definitely don't need one of them. This species should not live anywhere that moss could grow.

You should put it in something smaller with a thicker layer of dry substrate and ditch the heat lamp.

OK, cool. It's not a heat lamp, LEDs just for the plants. It's been hot here, so the temp in the tank has been in the upper 70s, low 80s. I get what you're saying about the moss - which, truthfully, has mostly died since I took this picture anyway. Point taken. Thank you.

Another real, totally honest question: why would an enclosure be "too big"? Won't she just stay on one side? I mean, if I can get the temp/humidity right, does it matter if she has extra space?

 

[Tarantuland]

I knew that they tend to web up the place, I was sort of planning on maybe removing the plants eventually. I can't seem to reconcile having a tank with nothing in it - seems, I don't know, boring? Plus I actually thought that succulents would help soak up any excess water. Would a spider really hurt themselves on a spiky plant? I guess I thought they were a little more graceful than that?

You'll be surprised how clumsy they are. Fake plants are great. The live plants serve you, not the spider. It can work for moisture dependent species but these guys like it dry as can be.

 

[Wolfram1]

You could probably leave it as is and just let it dry out completely, i am sure dry webbed up plants will look better than fake ones. But don't listen to me, those guys have way more experience.

 

[Tarantuland]

Glad to hear it’s a LED and not heat lamp, but I wouldn’t put live plants in with one of these guys. They’re gonna web it up and like it dry.

I didn’t mean to come off as abrasive, so apologies if it sounded that way.

Here are some pictures of my enclosure though.


best of luck!

 

[SmallAxe525]

So, I'm in Colorado - and the part of CO that gets 9 inches of annual precipitation every year. We're dry, is what I'm saying. I took this picture just after I constructed the enclosure - which was about a week ago. The substrate has dried out a LOT since then.
I think I'll take out the spiky aloe plants. I don't want any aloe injuries! I get the sentiment that the plants are for the people, point made - loud and clear. I'll keep thinking. I'd like to keep a nice balance of "pretty terrarium" and "safe spider habitat".

 

[SmallAxe525]

Glad to hear it’s a LED and not heat lamp, but I wouldn’t put live plants in with one of these guys. They’re gonna web it up and like it dry.

I didn’t mean to come off as abrasive, so apologies if it sounded that way.

Here are some pictures of my enclosure though.
View attachment 388223 View attachment 388224 View attachment 388225

best of luck!

I don't think you sounded abrasive. I have TEENAGERS, so not much left to say to me that hasn't already been said.

 

[Smotzer]

Do not use live plants got a Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens they will be covered in web and die and that enclosure should be bone dry per it’s husbandry requirements. And forget about what you have read about needing temperature/humidity requirements. It’s not going to help you and will only make your life more complicated. Dry, with a water dish, no misting, no supplemental heat.

I knew that they tend to web up the place, I was sort of planning on maybe removing the plants eventually. I can't seem to reconcile having a tank with nothing in it - seems, I don't know, boring? Plus I actually thought that succulents would help soak up any excess water. Would a spider really hurt themselves on a spiky plant? I guess I thought they were a little more graceful than that?

We did say have nothing in it, just not to use lube plants. Fake plants are what you need to use. Amd you can for a time being make it look just as nice as live plants.

I also believe that is too big of an enclosure and it has too much height between substrate level and lid. You want normally only 1.5x dls between those but you could push it to 2x for this species since it will be webbed up completely.

here’s examples of what you can do

Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens Set up.

• Smotzer
• Feb 22, 2021
• chromatopelma chromatopelma cyaneopubescens cyaneopubescens enclosure new world nw terrarium terrestrial vivarium webbing

An example of set up for a juvenile C. cyaneopubescens.
Enclosure is an Mdesigns container...

Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens

• Smotzer
• Feb 22, 2021
• 2
• chromatopelma chromatopelma cyaneopubescens gbb terrestrial web webbing

Groops living in his web cloud castle! (2.75in)

and an example of how non live tanks can look just as nice (not a tarantula)

Scolopendra heros var. castaneiceps Enclosure

• Smotzer
• May 19, 2021
• 7
• centipede enclosure headed heros myriapod myriapoda red scolopendra terrarium texas

New fancy digs for my S. heros var. castaneiceps: Rocinante.
The wood is a hollowed out branch...

 

[SmallAxe525]

OK. great. Thank you for the examples! The bulk of my "zookeeping" experience is with reptiles, so temp/humidity requirements are just sort of my comfort zone, I guess

Still would like to know: when you say "too big" do you mean horizontally? I don't understand how an enclosure can be too big for a living thing. I get "too tall" for safety and falling reasons. But, in all my years of all different kinds of pets I have never heard of an enclosure being too big for them. Does it stress them out? Do they not have the ability to just make a home for themselves in a space that they like?

 

[Wolfram1]

OK. great. Thank you for the examples! The bulk of my "zookeeping" experience is with reptiles, so temp/humidity requirements are just sort of my comfort zone, I guess

Still would like to know: when you say "too big" do you mean horizontally? I don't understand how an enclosure can be too big for a living thing. I get "too tall" for safety and falling reasons. But, in all my years of all different kinds of pets I have never heard of an enclosure being too big for them. Does it stress them out? Do they not have the ability to just make a home for themselves in a space that they like?

Well thats something i dont get ether, i personally dont think giving them more space than they need is a bad thing but there are a few downsides to large enclosures.

First of all, they take up a lot of space once you have a few spiders it is hard not to get more and space becomes a concern.

Secondly while it there is the possibility that the prey item hides and dies somewere, this wont happen if you like me stand there and watch the enclosure until it has been eaten and potentially nudge them torwards the spider but if you are short on time and just throw in that cricket you might miss that your spider is in premolt or otherwise has no appetite. a hungry cricket is a death sentence for a molting spider. A smaller, sparcer enclosure is often safer for your spider.

In short: The easier it is for you to take care of it, the safer it is, the more attention it needs the more risk you run.

But if you only have this one Spider i dont think it is wrong to give it as large an enclosure you are willing to maintain.

I hope this is helpful, in the time it took me to write this i am surr you got some advice already that is better worded and takes things into account i missed.

 

[Tarantuland]

They’ll have a harder time finding the food, and if a cricket or worm burrows or hides you won’t see it as quickly. It’s also easier to do maintenance on a smaller enclosure. A large enclosure isn’t inherently harmful, but the height is where it becomes a problem. A fat spider falling 6 inches onto something hard like the edge of a water dish can cause it’s abdomen to rupture.

 

[Smotzer]

OK. great. Thank you for the examples! The bulk of my "zookeeping" experience is with reptiles, so temp/humidity requirements are just sort of my comfort zone, I guess

Still would like to know: when you say "too big" do you mean horizontally? I don't understand how an enclosure can be too big for a living thing. I get "too tall" for safety and falling reasons. But, in all my years of all different kinds of pets I have never heard of an enclosure being too big for them. Does it stress them out? Do they not have the ability to just make a home for themselves in a space that they like?

it’s not a reptile amd should not be treated as such, care and husbandry is completely different for a reptile and an arachnid. Tarantulas live in small confined spaces, burrows, and hides naturally in a huge open space that is nature, and you will not be able to recreate their natural habitat in an enclosure. Simply they do not need the space. they are not roaming creatures they are sit and wait ambush predators that do best housed appropriately, which is smaller incrementally as they grow. Feeding is much easier, smaller spaces will hopefully allow you to see it out more of it feels secure and as if it’s all it’s hide, and managing its life cycle and knowing when it has molted will also be easier. Sure you could completely oversize it’s enclosure, but should you?

 

[viper69]

Setup is too large currently both in height and width. Ts fall, go SPLAT and DIE
This species comes from very xeric conditions!!!

What size is your GBB? Looks like maybe 3" DLS ? If so, drop it in an ExoTerra Breeder Box Small, OR another similiar sized container.