New to the Hobby, B. Hamorii starting to set up

[CentiPete]

Hello everybody, nice to meet you all. My name is Peter and Iam new to keeping spiders. I have read a lot on it and watched a lot of content on the known channels, dark den, TC, etc. My kid was asking me for years now to get a spider and this weekend we got our first spider from the terra expo, a small b. hamorii. I plan to document our journey with the little guy on this board on a regular basis.

It is unsexed, date of hatching is 2020 and we build a little temporary enclosure until we figure out all the details. From what I have gathered before, I have put it in a smaller container for now to be able to better observe and see how the spider is adapting to the new surroundings. I used a small faunarium which I used to keep locust for my pogona before.

Substrate is lucky reptile jungle bedding which I had handy and a top layer of coco fiver which came in the spiders container. Roomtemp is 22C on average, depending on time of day and season it can be a couple degrees more, rarely less than that.

The spider spend the last night building a deep burrow under the little leave cave we build for her and is now residing underground probably coping with her new environment and taking a break. Conveniently the main chamber is right next to the wall so I can look inside.

It was already awesome to watch her rearrange the surroundings and we are immediately in love

I hope to get some feedback and help or constructive criticism along the way. Best regards

 

[Wolfram1]

Welcome to AB.

not sure if that leaf will cause problems in the future (is it dry? looks like a yellowing Scindapsus leaf), but other than that all should be fine, good job.

 

[Olan]

Looks perfect, you shouldn’t have to change anything for a few years till it outgrows it.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Looks good I miss my red knees 🥲rip. If you see a lot to climbing deepen the substrate on the shallow side otherwise looks perfect. Maybe get a c shaped hide.

 

[Smotzer]

Welcome to AB and the hobby to both you and your kid!!

 

[444 critters]

Looks great.. I actually like the look of that leaf cave. There isn't too much weight for a collapse so I think it will work out just fine.

 

[Wolfram1]

my problem with it is not a possible collapse, if the dirt was pressed down it should be structurally sound on its own, but that these types of thick leaves may mold as they deteriorare

it remains to be seen if that happens

 

[CentiPete]

Wow, thanks for the warm welcome guys! I have to say it is really refreshing to see such a lively community on a message board this day and age.

@Wolfram1 you are exactly right. The leaf was not completely dried out yet, I will watch it closely and take it out should if it deteriorate before drying I think structurally the leaf probably is already obsolete since the spider‘s rearranging of the substrate

edit: Current pics attached

 

[Smotzer]

Wow, thanks for the warm welcome guys! I have to say it is really refreshing to see such a lively community on a message board this day and age.

Glad to hear! Arachnoboards is a great place! Hope you enjoy and get acquainted with the search function here on the site to look for information on husbandry, species info, photos, etc.

 

[ThatsUnpossible]

What a cutie I love these spiders, they're so pretty. Enjoy watching your little one grow! Very slowly

 

[444 critters]

my problem with it is not a possible collapse, if the dirt was pressed down it should be structurally sound on its own, but that these types of thick leaves may mold as they deteriorare

it remains to be seen if that happens

Totally went over my head. Good point

 

[CentiPete]

Hey Smotzer thanks for the pointers I am already lurking on here and gathering info

Today I introduced some springtails, because I saw some condensation in a couple of corners. Especially with new enclosure I have experienced mold blooms in the first couple of days, it was true for my centipede, planted terrarium and also frog enclosures, no matter the ventilation or setups. Springtails made quick work with that and I have just introduced a couple dozen of those guys and some small white isos to take care of any white mold that happens to show up. I saw many owners on here do the same, and I figured to go ahead and introduce some cleanup crew here as well.

 

[vancwa]

Substrate should be packed down and dry. Simply overflowing the water dish is enough. Cork bark for hides is best.

 

[CentiPete]

Just a quick update, the spider is still holed up in her cave, its moving from time to time shifting positions, no desire to venture outside atm. The spot where its standing can experience some draft and will fog the plastic a little bit when a window is opened. It goes away after five minutes, but I think I am going to move the enclosure to a different spot. Upon further investigation it seems the spider has completely shut the entrance, what looked like a small opening under the leaf roof was indeed sealed shut.

I have no information when the spider last molted. I have a little baby locust sitting up top to see if it will lure the spider out eventually.
Curious what the little one is up to.

 

[CentiPete]

Short update, sling is still holed up. It is moving inside its cave sometimes hiding in the back, sometimes sitting against the glass. The locust is living its best live upstairs, having a slice of apple and hanging by the pool I have since found a couple other stories like this where the sling sealed the burrow after rehousing and emerged after two weeks, and of course stories of spiders hiding for months on end, so I am guessing this is all in the normal range of things? The spider still looks exactly like on the photos, the leaf seems to be drying rather than rotting. We are not doing anything to the spider apart from checking in once or twice a day to see if it is still okay.

The substrate top layer has dried out considerably, the deeper jungle bedding layer retains moisture much longer with some light condensation forming on the side of the enclosure in the morning when opening the window and room temps dropping one or two degrees.

 

[Smotzer]

Yes, all sounds perfectly normal!!

 

[CentiPete]

Small update, no news

The little rascal is chilling out, waiting in the dark and sometimes looking out the window. Substrate keeps drying out I refresh the water bowl once a week when it dries out.

Its an exercise in patience, I gotta tell ya, hehe.
It reminds me of my pacman frog who didnt show up and also didnt eat for weeks after arriving. The little guy came around eventually, and is not really more active than your average spider I guess ^^

 

[aprilmayjunebugs]

Welcome to the hobby of Hurry Up and Wait! Best advice (not that you need it) get another spider, lol.

 

[CentiPete]

Now that you mention it, I DO have an empty 20x20x30 enclosure sitting idly by…

 

[Smotzer]

Its an exercise in patience

Patience is the single best skill you can develop in this hobby