New tarantula is making me nervous

specht0312

Arachnopeon
Joined
Dec 5, 2022
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0
My son has always had a love for reptiles, ALL reptiles.. this past year he has been talking about wanting a tarantula and now that he’s 10 going on 11 we decided we would get him one as a Christmas gift.. so over the last few months/weeks I’ve been spending all my nights after he goes to bed watching all kinds of videos on YouTube and reading whatever I can and gathering all of the things he needs including finding the tarantula he loves, which I got a week ago tomorrow.
Last week I got his tarantula and once I put him in his terrarium he eventually dug a hole under his long and has been in there ever since.. I clean and refill his water dish every single night, the room he is in has good humidity, is mostly dark, and is warm, but it doesn’t look like he’s come out at all..
I guess what I’m looking for is reassurance that what I’m doing is right and that this can be normal behavior.. I am terrified that I am going to mess this up… I’m also not sure when or if I should attempt to feed him..
Any advice would be so helpful and greatly appreciated!
 

Frogdaddy

Arachnoprince
Joined
Nov 13, 2019
Messages
1,067
First thing is take a deep breathe and relax. Tarantulas are really pretty easy to take care of. Now this is pretty normal behavior your T is showing. There could be a few different reasons it's hiding. It could be preparing to molt or perhaps it is still settling in and getting used to its new enclosures.
The fact that it has burrowed and made itself a home is a good sign of normal behavior.
I wouldn't clean and replace the water every day. Once or perhaps twice a week is usually sufficient. Of course you want to make sure it has water at all times, but no need to open the enclosure and disturb it everyday.
It would help us to know what kind of tarantula it is, how big it is, and if possible to see photos of the actual enclosure and tarantula.
 

DonLouchese

Arachnosquire
Joined
Oct 16, 2022
Messages
96
^
Hello there,

Everything above holds up.

As I can see from the pictures this is straight up very good enclosure , nothing seems off. Indeed that water dish is to big so if you switched it up It's gonna do perfect.

Way to go with the species aswell since he can learn and progress with a tarantula that is very docile and hardy. Keep in mind to not disturb the tarantula enclosure everyday since this is not a reptile and it will need feeding once in 1-2 weeks. Aswell the same goes for water , usually just pour water over the top of the water dish once it dries out.

The hiding is natural behaviour , most of the tarantulas that I've had and have start with the hiding proccedure and a molt follows up quite fast. I know it might seem abit sketchy at first but you should know you did everything okay.

I'm sure your son will love it and the fact of anticipation that the tarantula comes out of it's hiding to see it for the first time is more thrilling probably than seeing it straight away on the top :p , eventually she'll be on the lookout all the time.

Best regards,

Don
 

Frogdaddy

Arachnoprince
Joined
Nov 13, 2019
Messages
1,067
Ok well the enclosure doesn't look too bad. It may be a tad big for your B. hamorii but not the biggest of issues.
The things I see right away is yes that water bowl is way to big. A small 2ox deli (condiment) cup would be big enough.
The substrate looks a little loose. T's like the substrate to be compacted and fir. In order to compact it you would need to remove the T with a catch cup in order to keep it safe. Also I see your using coco fiber as a substrate and it seems to be a bit damp, and personally I would get rid of the moss.
Brachypelma is endemic to Mexico and it prefers drier substrate. It should dry out I'm the enclosure fairly quickly if it has good ventilation.
As far as feeding your T may still settling in. It's been a week, so it wouldn't hurt to theo a prey item into the enclosure to see what the spiders response is. What do you have for feeders?
 

specht0312

Arachnopeon
Joined
Dec 5, 2022
Messages
0
Yes, unfortunately it was pretty wet at first (that was a fail on my part) but the enclosure does have good ventilation and it did dry very quickly! And I also did replace the dish with a much smaller one!
I have small crickets…

If you haven't seen this yet: https://arachnoboards.com/threads/tarantula-information-for-beginners-and-more.318718/

The behaviour you described seems normal.
Tarantulas tend to dislike loose substrate, so you might want to get rid of some of that moss.
I will definitely get rid of some of that l! Thank you!!

^
Hello there,

Everything above holds up.

As I can see from the pictures this is straight up very good enclosure , nothing seems off. Indeed that water dish is to big so if you switched it up It's gonna do perfect.

Way to go with the species aswell since he can learn and progress with a tarantula that is very docile and hardy. Keep in mind to not disturb the tarantula enclosure everyday since this is not a reptile and it will need feeding once in 1-2 weeks. Aswell the same goes for water , usually just pour water over the top of the water dish once it dries out.

The hiding is natural behaviour , most of the tarantulas that I've had and have start with the hiding proccedure and a molt follows up quite fast. I know it might seem abit sketchy at first but you should know you did everything okay.

I'm sure your son will love it and the fact of anticipation that the tarantula comes out of it's hiding to see it for the first time is more thrilling probably than seeing it straight away on the top :p , eventually she'll be on the lookout all the time.

Best regards,

Don
Thank you so much!!!!!!! I will definitely not change the water everyday☺
 

viper69

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 8, 2006
Messages
17,851
Moss- not needed at all
Sounds normal
T- a little thin, but not dangerous yet
 

NMTs

Spider Wrangler
Arachnosupporter +
Joined
Jan 22, 2022
Messages
1,331
If you try to feed it, just offer 1 of the crickets - don't just dump a bunch of them in there. I would recommend crushing the head of the cricket and dropping it right in front of the hide where your T is hanging out, then closing the lid and leave it alone. The reasoning for crushing the cricket head is so you know when you check in the morning that if it's gone the T took it and it's not just hiding in the enclosure somewhere (this isn't really necessary, but will give you peace of mind that it is indeed feeding). As the T gets more confident and comfortable it'll eat in front of you and it won't be needed to prekill/maim the feeders. If the cricket is still there the next day, just take it out and try again in a week or so. Be patient.

Your kid is going to be stoked!
 

Smotzer

ArachnoGod
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Joined
Jan 17, 2020
Messages
5,275
Not a bad first start to keeping a tarantula! But I would remove that moss and allow the substrate floor to be unobstructed that way you will have an easier time feeding!

On feeding maybe aim for once every 1-2weeks and allow the abdomen to plump up slowly over time so that you can feed it all the way through its molt cycle and not have a long fasting period.
 

specht0312

Arachnopeon
Joined
Dec 5, 2022
Messages
0
Not a bad first start to keeping a tarantula! But I would remove that moss and allow the substrate floor to be unobstructed that way you will have an easier time feeding!

On feeding maybe aim for once every 1-2weeks and allow the abdomen to plump up slowly over time so that you can feed it all the way through its molt cycle and not have a long fasting period.
Thank you! This is totally out of my wheelhouse but I am trying really hard to make sure I’m doing everything right! I appreciate all the help from everyone! I did take the moss out and I will try to feed him tonight since he hasn’t eaten since I got him a week ago.

If you try to feed it, just offer 1 of the crickets - don't just dump a bunch of them in there. I would recommend crushing the head of the cricket and dropping it right in front of the hide where your T is hanging out, then closing the lid and leave it alone. The reasoning for crushing the cricket head is so you know when you check in the morning that if it's gone the T took it and it's not just hiding in the enclosure somewhere (this isn't really necessary, but will give you peace of mind that it is indeed feeding). As the T gets more confident and comfortable it'll eat in front of you and it won't be needed to prekill/maim the feeders. If the cricket is still there the next day, just take it out and try again in a week or so. Be patient.

Your kid is going to be stoked!
Thank you!!! I will definitely try this this evening! He really is! He won’t believe that I’m actually doing this for him 😋
 
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