Newbie questions- Aphonopelma Anax as a therapy spider

[Garth Vader]

Hi everyone,
I've read over a lot of the threads about first time spider owners. I'm aware a lot of this information I'll be asking for may be posted elsewhere, so please direct me there if necessary. There's a lot of great information here, and I'm very new to the board and to this hobby.
I adopted a small Aphonopelma Anax yesterday- I'm not sure if he's a sling or a juvenile. He's about an inch long. I bought one of those tarantula huts from Petco. Yes, I know. I've since read about how terrible they are and based on some of the information I was given there and the state of the hut itself (no water at all), I can see why buying Ts elsewhere is highly recommended. I will make sure to do so in the future, if necessary. My hope is that this guy will live for a long time.

I'm going to be long winded here, but let me explain why I'm here. I'm a behavioral therapist and one of the things I help people with is anxiety disorders, including phobias. I recently treated my first patient struggling with arachnophobia and really enjoyed providing this kind of treatment and learned a lot about spiders in the process. For exposure to live spiders, I caught spiders from my garden and my shed to bring into my office. I found it really stressful to do this because they are hard to catch and I'd often end up injuring them and during the winter in Western Washington, there really are no spiders around to catch. I decided it made more sense to buy a T and keep it in my office because I'd like to continue with this type of treatment.

I am a devoted pet owner and want to make sure I'm treating this little guy well, especially because it seems like he was really mistreated at Petco. I understand that this breed is quite docile, so I'm glad to have this beginner friendly breed.

Here are some of my questions:
-Is he a sling or a juvenile? I really don't know. He's about 1 inch long.
-I don't know if I have him in a proper enclosure. He's small and is in a 5 gallon tank with a metal screen top. There's a heat pad on the bottom. I put in 2 inches of soil and he has a fake plant and a skull thing or hiding (he's chilling inside the plant right now). I put in a small lid with some water. I fed him 2 crickets last night and he devoured them! I read that people will keep slings in small containers- so is this too big? Or again, maybe he's not even a sling? (so dumb, I know) I'd be glad to post a pic if that would help.
-What do you recommend about moving them around? My original plan was to keep him in the office and then bring him home on weekends. I'm realizing now that might be way stressful for him, in which case I'll keep him in my office. This means I do need to move him there from home. My plan is to get him into a small deli container and move his enclosure separately. Does that seem ok? Moving him from his hut thing into his new enclosure yesterday was really difficult (I used a paintbrush to coax him a long and started over a few times when he seemed really done. It took about 30 minutes total! Ack).
-What about providing exposure experiences to the spider with my clients? I don't want them to handle him, at least not until I get to know him better, because I don't want him to be injured or lose him. I was thinking I could move him from his enclosure into a large dish with sides (like a big tupperware) and they can just watch him move around. Does that sound safe/ humane to do? And would you ever recommend handling them and touching them for this type of purpose? (I know some exposure therapists will have people handle Ts, but not sure which species they have).

Thank you for any suggestions and advice!

 

[Shawnee]

This is quite the post...I will try to corral my thoughts so bare with me

A sling or juvenile is really up to the individual, I personally think a 1 inch specimen is still a sling. It would definitely be helpful if you posted a picture of his enclosure. But I already see something wrong, the heat pad. They are no good for tarantulas, so you need to remove it. What's the average temperature in your office? As long as it's above 70, your spider will be fine. Don't need the heat pad. Some people do put spiders in smaller containers while they are small, and some don't. I have some tiny slings in huge enclosures relative to their size, and they are fine. As long as he's eating and drinking and molting for you, the size of his enclosure is fine. The only thing you want to make sure is that the substrate is high enough to the lid that if he falls he's not going to fall far, as he is a terrestrial species. The screen top as well is not the BEST but if it's all you can do right now then it's not the worst thing. They can get their tarsal claws stuck in it, though.

In my opinion, I would keep him 100% of the time in one place, so probably your office. I can definitely see constantly moving them stressing them out. Just keep him in your office, and he will be fine. Most of us here at arachnoboards do not recommend handling ever. I personally do not ever handle my T's unless they crawl onto me during a rehouse, in which I immediately coax them back into their enclosure. Obviously nobody here can stop you if you do handle him, so if/when you do, please make sure it is low to the ground as they are fragile if they fall. You would have to hold him ideally while sitting on the floor. Also, don't just go in there and handle him all willy-nilly, you need to test his temperament that day before you do. Touch his booty with a paintbrush and see how he acts. Aphonopelma are generally chill, but I have one specimen that threat postures all the time and would be one of the worst of my T's to hold. Also, if he is in premolt I wouldn't handle him at all.

I hope I helped at least a little, if you have more questions I'd be happy to try and help again, but please do post a pic of your new T and his setup! PS if my therapist ever got a tarantula that would be awesome. I always wished she had some type of animal, even a dog or a cat or something. Animals are so therapeutic.

 

[Venom1080]

right off the bat, kudos to you for responsible pet ownership. a 5 gallon is massive, put him in a 16oz deli cup with a couple inches of coco fiber o peat moss substrate, keep sub only slightly moist. a water bottle cap can be used as a water dish. temps 70-80 are fine. heat pads are bad and can burn spiders/tarantulas, remove that. at 1", still a sling. Ts cant drown so dont worry about that. feed live or prekilled criks 1-7 times a week and youll be good to go. well, taking a spider out of its cage is very stressful for the T, i wouldnt recommend doing that more than once or twice a week. they grow very slowly, so be warned. it will take years and years to grow and reach maturity. i wouldnt really let anyone handle him until they are comfortable arounf him, maybe like a final test of sorts. Aphonopelma is a good beginner genus to start with, but other options are Grammostola, Brachypelma, Euathlus, and Chromatopelma. Chromatopelma can be skittish but a careful keeper shouldnt have too much difficulty. wouldnt recommend moving him often if at all.

 

[Garth Vader]

This is quite the post...I will try to corral my thoughts so bare with me

A sling or juvenile is really up to the individual, I personally think a 1 inch specimen is still a sling. It would definitely be helpful if you posted a picture of his enclosure. But I already see something wrong, the heat pad. They are no good for tarantulas, so you need to remove it. What's the average temperature in your office? As long as it's above 70, your spider will be fine. Don't need the heat pad. Some people do put spiders in smaller containers while they are small, and some don't. I have some tiny slings in huge enclosures relative to their size, and they are fine. As long as he's eating and drinking and molting for you, the size of his enclosure is fine. The only thing you want to make sure is that the substrate is high enough to the lid that if he falls he's not going to fall far, as he is a terrestrial species. The screen top as well is not the BEST but if it's all you can do right now then it's not the worst thing. They can get their tarsal claws stuck in it, though.

In my opinion, I would keep him 100% of the time in one place, so probably your office. I can definitely see constantly moving them stressing them out. Just keep him in your office, and he will be fine. Most of us here at arachnoboards do not recommend handling ever. I personally do not ever handle my T's unless they crawl onto me during a rehouse, in which I immediately coax them back into their enclosure. Obviously nobody here can stop you if you do handle him, so if/when you do, please make sure it is low to the ground as they are fragile if they fall. You would have to hold him ideally while sitting on the floor. Also, don't just go in there and handle him all willy-nilly, you need to test his temperament that day before you do. Touch his booty with a paintbrush and see how he acts. Aphonopelma are generally chill, but I have one specimen that threat postures all the time and would be one of the worst of my T's to hold. Also, if he is in premolt I wouldn't handle him at all.

I hope I helped at least a little, if you have more questions I'd be happy to try and help again, but please do post a pic of your new T and his setup! PS if my therapist ever got a tarantula that would be awesome. I always wished she had some type of animal, even a dog or a cat or something. Animals are so therapeutic.

Thank you so much for your response! I am glad to know that the heating pad isn't needed, because I was a bit concerned about a potential fire hazard at night and weekends when I'm not in the office. The office is usually 70 but the heating system is weird (old building) and sometimes it does get much cooler then that. I will watch it closely and use a space heater when necessary.

I noticed he was a bit stuck in the screen on top yesterday when I first put him in (he scrambled up the enclosure) so I see what you mean about getting stuck. I was looking at the enclosure kits on this website- maybe I should get this one instead? https://jamiestarantulas.com/terrestrial-spiderling-enclosure-kit/

Based on the moving experience yesterday, he seems pretty chill. I poked him in the butt with a paintbrush multiple times to move him out and he moved but didn't posture or anything.

Here's a pic of the enclosure. It's hard to see him, he's next to the fake plant.

 

[Garth Vader]

right off the bat, kudos to you for responsible pet ownership. a 5 gallon is massive, put him in a 16oz deli cup with a couple inches of coco fiber o peat moss substrate, keep sub only slightly moist. a water bottle cap can be used as a water dish. temps 70-80 are fine. heat pads are bad and can burn spiders/tarantulas, remove that. at 1", still a sling. Ts cant drown so dont worry about that. feed live or prekilled criks 1-7 times a week and youll be good to go. well, taking a spider out of its cage is very stressful for the T, i wouldnt recommend doing that more than once or twice a week. they grow very slowly, so be warned. it will take years and years to grow and reach maturity. i wouldnt really let anyone handle him until they are comfortable arounf him, maybe like a final test of sorts. Aphonopelma is a good beginner genus to start with, but other options are Grammostola, Brachypelma, Euathlus, and Chromatopelma. Chromatopelma can be skittish but a careful keeper shouldnt have too much difficulty. wouldnt recommend moving him often if at all.

Thank you for this helpful response. I think I will get a smaller enclosure. I'm looking into the terrestrial spiderling enclosure from Jamie's tarantulas- does that seem ok? I'll also minimize how often I move him. It's funny, I imagined taking him places with me, like to meetings and home to office and now I'm realizing that spiders are not that kind of pet. Haha.

 

[Shawnee]

Thank you so much for your response! I am glad to know that the heating pad isn't needed, because I was a bit concerned about a potential fire hazard at night and weekends when I'm not in the office. The office is usually 70 but the heating system is weird (old building) and sometimes it does get much cooler then that. I will watch it closely and use a space heater when necessary.

I noticed he was a bit stuck in the screen on top yesterday when I first put him in (he scrambled up the enclosure) so I see what you mean about getting stuck. I was looking at the enclosure kits on this website- maybe I should get this one instead? https://jamiestarantulas.com/terrestrial-spiderling-enclosure-kit/

Based on the moving experience yesterday, he seems pretty chill. I poked him in the butt with a paintbrush multiple times to move him out and he moved but didn't posture or anything.

Here's a pic of the enclosure. It's hard to see him, he's next to the fake plant.

No problem And yes if you need to supplement heat, use a space heater! I use that for my animal room and it works great I keep it on for 8 hours during the day, as T's can handle night temperature drops.

I have a few enclosures of Jamie's, but personally I prefer this one of hers: https://jamiestarantulas.com/terrestrial-juvenile-enclosure-kit/ I just like the layout better. I currently have a 1.25 inch B. albopilosum in one and he's doing fantastic. Also, if you do use this enclosure, please put more substrate in it. The setup you have now, if he falls from that height he can easily die. There shouldn't be that much room between the ground and ceiling for a terrestrial.

The thing with T's is that they may be chill all the time, and then one day they are not in the "mood" that is why you need to test the temperament every time you are going to hold him. He may just decide one day he doesn't want to be messed with.

 

[darkness975]

I wish more people were like you @spidertherapy78

I would go with a smaller container for now and save the 5 gallon for when it is an adult. You definitely want more substrate to minimize the distance between the ground and the top so that when it scales the sides it will not fall far. You also want to make sure the lid on your new enclosure is not a metal screen type lid so that it will not get stuck in the mesh.

Also, if the goal is to have a large spider more viewable for therapy purposes you might want to look into getting one that is larger sized given their slow growth rates. (This is also an excuse to have more than one Tarantula mwahaha!)

 

[Venom1080]

Thank you for this helpful response. I think I will get a smaller enclosure. I'm looking into the terrestrial spiderling enclosure from Jamie's tarantulas- does that seem ok? I'll also minimize how often I move him. It's funny, I imagined taking him places with me, like to meetings and home to office and now I'm realizing that spiders are not that kind of pet. Haha.

16oz deli cup is bigger and cheaper. that cage is kind of a waste of money IMO.

 

[darkness975]

16oz deli cup is bigger and cheaper. that cage is kind of a waste of money IMO.

It is not really a waste since he can use it when the spider gets bigger. But for the spider's current size yes it is too large.

Also @spidertherapy78 you will want to ensure that it has a better hide when you switch out its enclosure.

 

[Venom1080]

It is not really a waste since he can use it when the spider gets bigger. But for the spider's current size yes it is too large.

not the 5 gallon, the terrestrial spiderling cage jamies tarantulas are selling.

 

[Garth Vader]

It is not really a waste since he can use it when the spider gets bigger. But for the spider's current size yes it is too large.

Also @spidertherapy78 you will want to ensure that it has a better hide when you switch out its enclosure.

Do you think the skull is not a good hide? Too bad, because I think it's awesome! I have some terracota pots from the garden and can put a small one in there if that works better.

 

[darkness975]

Do you think the skull is not a good hide? Too bad, because I think it's awesome! I have some terracota pots from the garden and can put a small one in there if that works better.

I do not really think the skull makes a good hide. It is better suited as an ornament. You don't want to give recovering patients the wrong idea though. The mind can be a funny thing like that.

For a hide yes you can use the broken cheap flower pot method. Works like a charm and is easy on the wallet.

When it gets bigger and you increase the enclosure size you can get cork bark or a half log and bury it at an angle to simulate a burrow.

 

[Garth Vader]

I do not really think the skull makes a good hide. It is better suited as an ornament. You don't want to give recovering patients the wrong idea though. The mind can be a funny thing like that.

For a hide yes you can use the broken cheap flower pot method. Works like a charm and is easy on the wallet.

When it gets bigger and you increase the enclosure size you can get cork bark or a half log and bury it at an angle to simulate a burrow.

Haha. Good point about recovering patients. They might get pretty freaked out about that! I will do something else with it. Oh my god, petco gave me terrible advice about basically everything!

 

[darkness975]

@spidertherapy78 You are now a member of the #1 place for Tarantula care. Any questions you have can be answered here, either in old threads or new ones if you can't find them in the old ones.

Welcome to the hobby and we look forward to seeing your pictures when you have a spider room full of cages in a couple of years. Yes .. it is that addicting!

 

[Garth Vader]

@spidertherapy78 You are now a member of the #1 place for Tarantula care. Any questions you have can be answered here, either in old threads or new ones if you can't find them in the old ones.

Welcome to the hobby and we look forward to seeing your pictures when you have a spider room full of cages in a couple of years. Yes .. it is that addicting!

Okay, damn. I think I should have an adult, because I'm realizing this little guy is so hard to see. I can get him in a smaller enclosure and take care of him though. I think I will get an adult and use this larger tank for him. I'm thinking of a Brachypelma, I think they are cool looking and sound docile, although worry about the hair flicking thing. Would you all recommend that kind? Also, reputable online dealers? Not buying more from Petco.

 

[darkness975]

@spidertherapy78 check the reviews section on the boards here. lots of good info there about online dealers

 

[Garth Vader]

Okay people- here's my plan now that I have read up about so much and received great advice AFTER purchasing a spider (yikes). So I'm going to get a smaller enclosure for the sling. I will return all the crap to petco because I'd need to replace the lid, etc. I'm going to get a larger enclosure from Jamie's and also purchase an adult from Jamie's. I'm looking at an adult Brachypelma Albopilosum. I really like the red knee, but sounds like they are super fast so I'm nervous about that. The curly hair ones sound really docile and fuzzy. I'd like to order him/ her online and go from there. They'll both live in my office. Perfect for exposure- I'll have a small one and a big one.

 

[Garth Vader]

@spidertherapy78 check the reviews section on the boards here. lots of good info there about online dealers

Perfect! Will do. I'll keep researching breeds too. Thanks for your advice. I'll post a pic when I get everything set up.

 

[Mauri]

Currently have a Ap.anax just moulted (around an 1/2 inch) so if you want me to take pics etc will do so.

My other ap. is a Hentzi juve female. Super docile. And yes as a "therapy" T you could use her. The way she take worms is amazingly relaxed.

My first impressions though not big eaters.

 

[Sana]

I'm going to offer my strange preferences. I keep my tarantulas in slightly larger then necessary enclosures. It gives them more time between rehouses and minimizes stress on both the tarantula and me. As long as the tarantula is't having difficulty finding food and water I don't see any issues there. As you're using the tarantula in your work as a part of therapy I wouldn't use a deli cup. For those of us that have more spiders then sense deli cups are a wonderful solution. In your case though I could see using a slightly larger enclosure from Jamie's. I would personally offer quite a bit more substrate and partially bury the hide. I always offer my terrestrials enough substrate that they can burrow if they choose. It also helps to minimize the distance of potential falls. 1.5xDLS (diagonal leg span, standard US measurement of a tarantula) is considered an appropriate distance. With smaller slings I usually go 2xDLS to give time between rehouses. When you tarantula gets a little bigger I don't see an issue with the skull hide. Not really my taste but not terrible as hides go. Again I would partially bury it to make it a little less roomy. Tarantulas prefer to hide in very tight spaces. The others have already covered the heat pad, water dish, and minimal travelling questions. I think that your plan is a very neat way to work with people that suffer from arachnophobia. In discussions with former sufferers here it seems that tarantulas are an excellent step in recovery as they are much larger rather then resembling small black house spiders which are a big trigger apparently. It sounds like you have the plan down and you are well on your way to the addiction that this hobby rapidly becomes. Best of luck to you with this and all future tarantulas.

Edit: I forgot to mention that tarantulas go by species rather then breed.