Plants for G.pulchripes enclosure

[eggsbenedict]

Some of you may have seen a number of my other posts but I recently received my first T on Wednesday, a G.pulchripes juvenile. Eventually I want to move her on to a larger container with plants from their native range, but seem to be having some difficulty identifying many. So far I've identified a few candidates that could be good, including Sedium morganianum, Graptopetalum paraguayense and Tillandsia recurviflora. I was wondering if anyone else has planted enclosures for this species, or planted enclosures for other species with a similar distribution.

 

[Charliemum]

I doubt you would ever be able to find exactly the right plants and these dig ALOT I would try to match plants that can cope with dryness and being bull dozed rather then native plants for now, maybe try your t with some pothos or plastic first n see if she will leave it alone or if she kills it .
Not all t's are suitable for planted enclosures and your t's personally can change from one moult to another.
I would keep researching and test her with different plants in the mean time see what she does, start with plastic work your way up to more expensive plants . Gives you time to find native viv appropriate plants ie small robust n smooth leafs.
I am not a massive plant person but its where I would start .

 

[Wolfram1]

you are stressing out enough as it is, adding plants into that mix wont improve the situation
that said there is nothing wrong with preparing for the future, i'd say get the plants you are thinking about and keep them in pots for now, see if you manage to care for them

you don't do yourself any favours by limiting yourself to plants from their native range, but i get the appeal

Tillandsias can be quite a challenge inside a regular flat, so be warned

they dont seem to like plants too much:

Chaco Golden-knee Tarantula (Grammostola pulchripes)

Chaco Golden-knee Tarantula from Gral Güemes, Chaco, Argentina on November 2, 2024 at 06:09 PM by Mauro Aquino

www.inaturalist.org

just joking, this is likely the result of all the deforestation and habitat destruction rather than anything else
i like to look at i naturalist and other sources with pictures from the wild, and then pick plants that fit the habitat, if not neccessarily the region of the world
there is a reason some plants are cultivated as houseplants, not every plant can deal with subpar conditions so well

 

[eggsbenedict]

I doubt you would ever be able to find exactly the right plants and these dig ALOT I would try to match plants that can cope with dryness and being bull dozed rather then native plants for now, maybe try your t with some pothos or plastic first n see if she will leave it alone or if she kills it .
Not all t's are suitable for planted enclosures and your t's personally can change from one moult to another.
I would keep researching and test her with different plants in the mean time see what she does, start with plastic work your way up to more expensive plants . Gives you time to find native viv appropriate plants ie small robust n smooth leafs.
I am not a massive plant person but its where I would start .

I was thinking of a few succulents because they are fairly robust and resilient to being disturbed, some of them will even propagate and spread from bits of leaf or stem broken off! Tillandsia seem like a decent candidate because I notice a few tarantula suppliers stock tillandsias for their enclosures, some of them are also very small/low growing and will spread a bit, many are sold growing on cork bark too so I guess that would avoid the problem with being dug up. I might try a pothos too, seem to be a staple.

However, I do have some reservations, namely because many commercially produced plants will have been treated with pesticides, fungicides, fertilizer etc. so that could be a risk, I would have to contact the nursery to ask them. In anycase, this would be much further down the line, the main priority now is getting used to tarantulas and learning good husbandry!

 

[eggsbenedict]

you are stressing out enough as it is, adding plants into that mix wont improve the situation
that said there is nothing wrong with preparing for the future, i'd say get the plants you are thinking about and keep them in pots for now, see if you manage to care for them

Ahh fortunately I am an experienced horticulturalist and early career plant scientist so plant care is something I am pretty confident about! I don't wish to sound that I'm bragging though

you don't do yourself any favours by limiting yourself to plants from their native range, but i get the appeal

Yeah, I think it's probably going to limit me too much, quite a few of the plants I was thinking could be suitable are from Arid/Semi-Arid habitats in central America.

Tillandsias can be quite a challenge inside a regular flat, so be warned

As for the tillandsia I was thinking that could be something I'd grow on the cork bark hide as more specimen tillandsias tend to be sold like that. Although, I've never grown Tillandsias before tbh.

they dont seem to like plants too much:

Chaco Golden-knee Tarantula (Grammostola pulchripes)

Chaco Golden-knee Tarantula from Gral Güemes, Chaco, Argentina on November 2, 2024 at 06:09 PM by Mauro Aquino

www.inaturalist.org

just joking, this is likely the result of all the deforestation and habitat destruction rather than anything else
i like to look at i naturalist and other sources with pictures from the wild, and then pick plants that fit the habitat, if not neccessarily the region of the world
there is a reason some plants are cultivated as houseplants, not every plant can deal with subpar conditions so well

Yeah, just wanting to get some fairly robust reliable species that can survive disturbance.

Although I've read that G.pulchripes have a habit of being landscape gardeners themselves so maybe I should just let them build their little zen garden

 

[Charliemum]

I was thinking of a few succulents because they are fairly robust and resilient to being disturbed, some of them will even propagate and spread from bits of leaf or stem broken off! Tillandsia seem like a decent candidate because I notice a few tarantula suppliers stock tillandsias for their enclosures, some of them are also very small/low growing and will spread a bit, many are sold growing on cork bark too so I guess that would avoid the problem with being dug up. I might try a pothos too, seem to be a staple.

However, I do have some reservations, namely because many commercially produced plants will have been treated with pesticides, fungicides, fertilizer etc. so that could be a risk, I would have to contact the nursery to ask them. In anycase, this would be much further down the line, the main priority now is getting used to tarantulas and learning good husbandry!

That's why most actually set up the viv 6 months to a year before they add a t you also wash the plants or some do.
@Wolfram1 is the plant man .

For now I honestly would try plastic plants see if she digs them up first, you have only just started your t journey and you don't want to bite of too much too quickly, Grammostola are looooooong lived you have decades to make and plan a beautiful viv for her there us no rush . Time and understanding are the tools you need concentrate on her moulting spend a few months with her before you get sidetracked by plants. I know its your thing but be patient lol .

 

[Wolfram1]

Ahh fortunately I am an experienced horticulturalist and early career plant scientist so plant care is something I am pretty confident about! I don't wish to sound that I'm bragging though

then you got great chances with most things, meeting the light requirements is actually the biggest challenge

it will be nice to have some more people here on AB i can geek out about plants with XD

I notice a few tarantula suppliers stock tillandsias for their enclosures

they all deteriorate and die, slowly, i have yet to see one thrive in a tarantula enclosure
they have different requirements but most of them need good airflow and either get wet dayly or be dunked into a water bath for about an hour a once a week
the first doesn't really work with most tarantulas and the second can't be done if it has a fixed position or without disturbing the spider each time

perhaps there are some that would work, but you would need to test them out

 

[eggsbenedict]

then you got great chances with most things, meeting the light requirements is actually the biggest challenge


they all deteriorate and die, slowly, i have yet to see one thrive in a tarantula enclosure
they have different requirements but most of them need good airflow and either get wet dayly or be dunked into a water bath for about an hour a once a week
the first doesn't really work with most tarantulas and the second can't be done if it has a fixed position or without disturbing the spider each time

perhaps there are some that would work, but you would need to test them out

Yeah it just occurred to me that they are probably not the most suitable for a G.pulchripes enclosure, since they need to be misted and Chacos like a relatively dry environment.

 

[Mustafa67]

Some of you may have seen a number of my other posts but I recently received my first T on Wednesday, a G.pulchripes juvenile. Eventually I want to move her on to a larger container with plants from their native range, but seem to be having some difficulty identifying many. So far I've identified a few candidates that could be good, including Sedium morganianum, Graptopetalum paraguayense and Tillandsia recurviflora. I was wondering if anyone else has planted enclosures for this species, or planted enclosures for other species with a similar distribution.

To be honest I wouldn’t. They’ll make it a lot of trouble.

Just have a terrestrial set up with plenty of coco fibre, a water dish, dry sub. G pulchripes will make their own burrow and will do some construction works (mine did). Don’t worry, enjoy your T