P. metallica care

[astraldisaster]

The more I read about and look at pictures of P. metallica, the more I want one..I'm strongly considering ordering a 2 - 2/5" female.

This is probably the most I'd ever be spending on a single spider (or any animal for that matter), so naturally I'd want to make sure I'm doing everything perfectly when it comes to her care. (Not that I don't want to take great care of my non-valuable Ts, of course!)

I was thinking of going with a small (6" x 6" x 10") arboreal cage from tarantulacages.com, with a piece of cork bark and Eco Earth as bedding. Would that enclosure be appropriate for a 2.5" T, or too large? Also, temperatures in my apartment tend to be in the low 70s these days...would a small heat mat wrapped in some sort of insulator be a good idea? I found a care sheet that says they like it between 71º and 78º, so I'm not sure. For humidity, I'd plan on having a water dish and spraying every couple of days.

Is there anything else I should know? I'd be grateful for any advice. This would be my second pokie, the first being a P. ornata sling that seems to be doing well.

This is still a hypothetical purchase, but it can't hurt to prepare anyway!

 

[grayhound]

The more I read about and look at pictures of P. metallica, the more I want one..I'm strongly considering ordering a 2 - 2/5" female.

This is probably the most I'd ever be spending on a single spider (or any animal for that matter), so naturally I'd want to make sure I'm doing everything perfectly when it comes to her care. (Not that I don't want to take great care of my non-valuable Ts, of course!)

I was thinking of going with a small (6" x 6" x 10") arboreal cage from tarantulacages.com, with a piece of cork bark and Eco Earth as bedding. Would that enclosure be appropriate for a 2.5" T, or too large? Also, temperatures in my apartment tend to be in the low 70s these days...would a small heat mat wrapped in some sort of insulator be a good idea? I found a care sheet that says they like it between 71º and 78º, so I'm not sure. For humidity, I'd plan on having a water dish and spraying every couple of days.

Is there anything else I should know? I'd be grateful for any advice. This would be my second pokie, the first being a P. ornata sling that seems to be doing well.

This is still a hypothetical purchase, but it can't hurt to prepare anyway!

A Pokie sling will grow into that enclosure QUICK!!

I would NOT recommend puting a heat mat on an acrylic enclosure.... or ANY tarantula enclosure for that matter unless its your LAST option for heat. You say your apartment is in the low 70's..... you also say they like it between 71 and 78.... ??????? ..... whats the issue there?

 

[astraldisaster]

A Pokie sling will grow into that enclosure QUICK!!

I would NOT recommend puting a heat mat on an acrylic enclosure.... or ANY tarantula enclosure for that matter unless its your LAST option for heat. You say your apartment is in the low 70's..... you also say they like it between 71 and 78.... ??????? ..... whats the issue there?

None, hopefully. Just wanted to confirm that she'd be okay without an added heat source, rather than relying on the info in one care sheet.

Hmm, I wonder if going a size up to the medium (7" x 7" x 13") would be a good idea. Seems kind of big to me for a spider under 3", but it would mean I wouldn't need to rehouse her for a little while.

 

[TarantulaHomes]

P. metallica is a hardy species and doesn't require any special conditions. Room temperature (75-82) and 65-75% humidity would be just fine.

Here's a climate chart for Nandyal, the closest location to their habitat:

Don't put a heat mat on acrylic enclosure, it may cause warping or discoloration. Use a space heater instead.

 

[Blurboy]

They are very sensitive to bright light so make sure wherever it's kept it's either in shade or you actually darken it's enclosure. I moved my girl into the sunlight to do some work in her home and she went mental but I'd read about this and knew I'd done wrong. She's kept in the corner of a room which is in the shade so I see her out quite often.
Put a good amount of substrate in as juvenile pokies do burrow as they feel safer there when young. As they mature they will then go up the trees in their native habitat which is also what they do in captivity.

 

[Motorkar]

If you want to heat glass enclosures you can try make your own "heat mat". Get a 25 watt heat cable, isolation foam and a copper plate. I heat 4 glass enclosures with one heating cable and it doesen't warm it too much and if tarantula wants basks on the side or if it is too hot it can rertreats away from it. But care for P. metallica is similar to any tarantula, make sure it has some shady retreat, like said, 65-75% humidity and so on and you'll be fine.

 

[astraldisaster]

P. metallica is a hardy species and doesn't require any special conditions. Room temperature (75-82) and 65-75% humidity would be just fine.

Here's a climate chart for Nandyal, the closest location to their habitat:

Don't put a heat mat on acrylic enclosure, it may cause warping or discoloration. Use a space heater instead.

Thanks! Those charts are quite helpful.

As for the heat mats, I currently have a couple of 4" x 5" ones wrapped in cotton insulation on my GBB's and H. lividum's (acrylic) enclosures. They are warm to the touch, definitely not hot -- and raise the temperatures in the tank 5 - 7º on one end. For my four slings, I do the same except that I keep the insulated heat mat taped to a thin bookend and place their enclosures an inch or so away from it. Should I sill be worried about warping? There's no way I can conveniently use a space heater with my current set up.

---------- Post added at 05:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:11 PM ----------

If you want to heat glass enclosures you can try make your own "heat mat". Get a 25 watt heat cable, isolation foam and a copper plate. I heat 4 glass enclosures with one heating cable and it doesen't warm it too much and if tarantula wants basks on the side or if it is too hot it can rertreats away from it. But care for P. metallica is similar to any tarantula, make sure it has some shady retreat, like said, 65-75% humidity and so on and you'll be fine.

That sounds like an excellent heating solution! I'm not sure I'll switch over to glass enclosures, but if I do I'll definitely consider it. I was originally planning to use Exo Terra tanks for my arboreals when they reach a good size, but have heard some negative things about them. I really like the acrylic tanks sold by Adam at tarantulacages.com (EDIT -- and yours, just checked them out!), I just have to figure out a good way to heat them in the colder months. Once I move to a larger apartment (most likely in August), I can set up a nice shelving unit just for Ts and use space heaters. Since it should be warming up here soon anyway, I probably won't need to worry about heat much more until the fall.

---------- Post added at 05:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:18 PM ----------

They are very sensitive to bright light so make sure wherever it's kept it's either in shade or you actually darken it's enclosure. I moved my girl into the sunlight to do some work in her home and she went mental but I'd read about this and knew I'd done wrong. She's kept in the corner of a room which is in the shade so I see her out quite often.
Put a good amount of substrate in as juvenile pokies do burrow as they feel safer there when young. As they mature they will then go up the trees in their native habitat which is also what they do in captivity.

I'll keep that in mind, thanks. My apartment tends to be fairly dim, and the shelves I have my Ts on even more so...and I can always close the blinds to make it even dimmer. I'll be sure to give her plenty of substrate, too.