New keeper and his spiders

EulersK

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Tarantulas are shockingly adaptable creatures. They'll make due with just about anything. Here's what happened when I offered a hide that was far too large for the spider:
 

Andrea82

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In that case I would remove them and the fake leaves, they look so sharp at certain points, by all means use fake plans but softer textured ones......
Leaves have sharp edges? How is that a danger? Wood? Yes. Rocks? Yes. Leaves? Not so much, they will just crumble when the spider steps on it ;)
@op, welcome here :) good job on the researching!
Keep an eye on your Gbb. If it stays inactive or get worse, your enclosure is too humid. This is one of the few causes for illness and death among this otherwise bulletproof species.
I understand you needed moist/damp sub to get it in shape and holds the decorations. What I do is I set up the enclosure with damp substrate, and then let it dry out completely before I put the Gbb (or other arid species) in. You could take out the damp substrate and only put back the dry top layer which is on top now. It will dry out quicker that way.
For awesome webcastles, add some sticks standing this way and that, you won't be disappointed :)
 

MGery92

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Tarantulas are shockingly adaptable creatures. They'll make due with just about anything. Here's what happened when I offered a hide that was far too large for the spider:
Yeah, they are really simple creatures, but on the other hand, they are ingenious as hell. :)
Oh, and love your videos, man! I learned from them so much. And still waiting for a new video... :rolleyes:
 

mconnachan

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Leaves have sharp edges? How is that a danger? Wood? Yes. Rocks? Yes. Leaves? Not so much, they will just crumble when the spider steps on it ;)
@op, welcome here :) good job on the researching!
Keep an eye on your Gbb. If it stays inactive or get worse, your enclosure is too humid. This is one of the few causes for illness and death among this otherwise bulletproof species.
I understand you needed moist/damp sub to get it in shape and holds the decorations. What I do is I set up the enclosure with damp substrate, and then let it dry out completely before I put the Gbb (or other arid species) in. You could take out the damp substrate and only put back the dry top layer which is on top now. It will dry out quicker that way.
For awesome webcastles, add some sticks standing this way and that, you won't be disappointed :)
Not the leaves but the plastic vines that are attaching them together, in the first photo of the GBB it is much more noticeable and yes they do look sharp, why else would I mention it.......
 

EulersK

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Oh, and love your videos, man! I learned from them so much. And still waiting for a new video... :rolleyes:
I knooooow :banghead: Short story is that I lost a lot of footage, and I rage quit for a bit. Working on it.

Not the leaves but the plastic vines that are attaching them together, in the first photo of the GBB it is much more noticeable and yes they do look sharp, why else would I mention it.......duh
I go out of my way to get the fake leaves with wire through the stems. Makes them more stable for the spider to web. If some plastic vines would kill a spider, then I doubt they'd be as biologically successful as they are. As long as there isn't exposed sharp wire, then it's fine.
 

MGery92

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Leaves have sharp edges? How is that a danger? Wood? Yes. Rocks? Yes. Leaves? Not so much, they will just crumble when the spider steps on it ;)
@op, welcome here :) good job on the researching!
Keep an eye on your Gbb. If it stays inactive or get worse, your enclosure is too humid. This is one of the few causes for illness and death among this otherwise bulletproof species.
I understand you needed moist/damp sub to get it in shape and holds the decorations. What I do is I set up the enclosure with damp substrate, and then let it dry out completely before I put the Gbb (or other arid species) in. You could take out the damp substrate and only put back the dry top layer which is on top now. It will dry out quicker that way.
For awesome webcastles, add some sticks standing this way and that, you won't be disappointed :)
Thank you! I will definitely make changes for him on the weekend. He is looking fine and plump now. :) Actually, he already ate a roach in this setup, so it is not that bad. But not perfect. :)

@mconnachan Maybe these plastic things look a bit sharp here and there, but I can fix it with soldering iron.
 
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Andrea82

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Not the leaves but the plastic vines that are attaching them together, in the first photo of the GBB it is much more noticeable and yes they do look sharp, why else would I mention it.......
No need to get agitated...
The vines you mention have blunt tipped ends and are the soft plastic ones from what I can see...like EulersK mentioned,unless there is wire protruding, they're not a hazard....

@MGery92
As you can see, opinions can differ from one keeper to the next. Open hide/close hide, vines/no vines. When I post a question about care here, I usually take the middle ground of what has been commented. ;)
 

Venom1080

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I think everyone should agree that a hide should be open to allow burrowing if the spider wants to. I still say they were too big, spiders like tight spaces. Good to hear they're being fixed.
 

MGery92

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No need to get agitated...
The vines you mention have blunt tipped ends and are the soft plastic ones from what I can see...like EulersK mentioned,unless there is wire protruding, they're not a hazard....

@MGery92
As you can see, opinions can differ from one keeper to the next. Open hide/close hide, vines/no vines. When I post a question about care here, I usually take the middle ground of what has been commented. ;)
Yes, it is a good tactic, and I have read this quote a lot on this forum (yeah, I was hidden in the dark for many months, like our beloved pets and now was the time to be part of this all): "figure out what works the best for you". Of course, after a lot of research. ;)
 

mconnachan

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Thank you! I will definitely make changes for him on the weekend. He is looking fine and plump now. :) Actually, he already ate a roach in this setup, so it is not that bad. But not perfect. :)

@mconnachan Maybe these plastic things look a bit sharp here and there, but I can fix it with soldering iron.
OK if you feel that will do the job go ahead, just glad to hear he's settling in a bit...........
 

mconnachan

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No need to get agitated...
The vines you mention have blunt tipped ends and are the soft plastic ones from what I can see...like EulersK mentioned,unless there is wire protruding, they're not a hazard....

Not agitated, just concerned for the T, don't want it getting hurt on sharp pieces of plastic, but the OP has said he'll sort that so no worries.......
 

MGery92

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So, I've made some changes for my GBB. Here is the new setup.

GBB encl1.jpg GBB encl2.jpg GBB encl3.jpg

Bone dry substrate, that thin moist layer is holding the terracotta pot. The hide is still a little bit bigger than needed, but much smaller than the old one. I've blunted the plastic vines. Well, I didn't say, but the vines are made of flexible plastic, without any wires.

I hope it's going to be okay for him, he is discovering his new place right now. :happy:

What do you think? Any suggestions/feedback would be appreciated! :)
 

Trenor

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Just make sure the height from the sub to the lid isn't too tall and it's good. It'll be webbing up before you know it.
 

MGery92

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Just make sure the height from the sub to the lid isn't too tall and it's good. It'll be webbing up before you know it.
My thoughts exactly. I tried to make a semi-arboreal setup for him, I hope he will use those vines for good and webbing up the whole enclosure. :rolleyes:
 

Trenor

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My thoughts exactly. I tried to make a semi-arboreal setup for him, I hope he will use those vines for good and webbing up the whole enclosure. :rolleyes:
Have you seen my GBB that only lives in his hammock off the ground? :D He has a nice hide on the ground but has never used it. He hangs out up in the webbing he put out. That's an older photo when he had been in the enclosure 2 weeks or so. He has webbed up a lot more now.
 

MGery92

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Have you seen my GBB that only lives in his hammock off the ground? :D He has a nice hide on the ground but has never used it. He hangs out up in the webbing he put out. That's an older photo when he had been in the enclosure 2 weeks or so. He has webbed up a lot more now.
Wow, that is a great idea. :cool: I hope mine will make something like this.
What are those sticks made of, though?
 

Andrea82

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Looks good @MGery92 :)
Very smart to leave some space between the waterdish and the vines and hide too. Limits the odds of the Gbb webbing it over. :)
The sticks Trenor used are those bamboo skewers you use for meat on a skewer for the bbq or something. :)
 

Trenor

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Yeah, they are used to grill meat and veggies. I drilled holes into the enclosure and ran them all over to make a kinda maze. Then glued them in place.
 

MGery92

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Looks good @MGery92 :)
Very smart to leave some space between the waterdish and the vines and hide too. Limits the odds of the Gbb webbing it over. :)
The sticks Trenor used are those bamboo skewers you use for meat on a skewer for the bbq or something. :)
I think the water dish is always a critical point for heavy webbers, like my C. Elegans, the two D. pentaloris slings, and of course, the GBB. They always attach the dish to their webs somehow.

Bamboo? :eek: Ah, alright, thanks!
 
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