Re-housing Taco.

[Bitis gabonica]

Ok finally got my first T - Mexican Red Knee (B. smithi) and named him Taco. Love him already. He is a hair over 3" and gorgeous. Got his habitat setup last night after spending time microwaving the eco earth to get it to dry.....messy but fun. So to try and stress him as little as possible I put his critter keeper that he came in INSIDE the new 10 Gallon tank and just let it sit there overnight so he could climb out of his own accord when he was ready......he did not do so last night so I gently tilted the keeper over and gently nudged him with a soft paint brush....he flicked some hairs but didn't move towards opening...should I just let him be or try to get him in main area where water will be, etc?


Thanks in advance!

 

[ReclusiveDemon]

Why not just keep it in that kritter keeper for now? From the look of the picture, it seems comfortable in there.

The aquarium you're trying to put it in is quite large for that size of spider. I would keep it in that plastic cage, then move it to the aquarium when it gets larger. Also, the tank you have for that spider is actually dangerous; with that much room between the floor and the ceiling of the cage, a fall could kill the spider. You need to elevate the level of the substrate. You can use less dirt by putting in something like a plastic container upside down on the bottom of the tank to take up space in the cage that you won't need to fill with substrate.

 

[Yentlequible]

Leave him in the critter keeper. He can live in there for a lot longer. Mine is bigger than yours and is in the same size cage, by the looks of it. Plus, your spider kind of looks to be in premolt, so you wouldn't want the added stress of a new home on top of that.

 

[Blut und ehre]

And absolutely....when you do transfer to the larger enclosure.....Add much more substrate....If your T decides to clime the walls [in which they do] and falls .....that long of a drop can kill your T.... Bring the substrate level up higher....and shorten the drop.
It will be satisfied in it's critter keeper for a molt or two more with ease.
Good luck

 

[Bitis gabonica]

Will do..... Thanks a bunch guys.

Btw.....what about the look says pre-molt......it's my first T so learning a bit as a go....thanks again-

 

[Quinquangular]

I think that you can keep it in there for a while.
I'm even sure that you can keep a fully adult b smithi in an XL Kritter Keeper with deep substrate, since they don't need so much. (unless the current one you have is XL)

Or you can get a breeder box since they are terrestrials and the breeder boxes are pretty long with length and is good for terrestrials. Have one for my Rosie

 

[reunsch]

Btw.....what about the look says pre-molt......it's my first T so learning a bit as a go....thanks again-

To me he appears to have a bit of a bald spot, which is black underneath. The black would come from the new urticating hairs underneath the old exoskeleton. I circled what looks like the bald spot. Then again, it could just be the flash from the camera and I could be completely wrong. A normal bald spot without the urticating hairs underneath will be a brown/beige, so if he had this before and it now appears black he would be in pre-moult. Do you have another photo with a close up of his abdomen?

 

[viper69]

I'd take that tank fill it up much higher, and give him a palace. I did that with one of NW Ts of that size, and no ill effects. I think on some level the idea of giving our Ts smaller containers is highly overrated when they have some appreciable size on them.

 

[misslovebunny]

beautiful T! I agree with adding more substrate, I have a few that like to climb walls, they are very delicate creatures Congrats on the new member of the family!

 

[klawfran3]

It looks as though "he" is really a "she". I don't think I have ever seen a male tarantula with that big of an abdomen. When he molts, post us some pictures of his inner abdomen so we can sex it. It's at a good size to tell.have fun with your new tarantula!

 

[korg]

It looks as though "he" is really a "she". I don't think I have ever seen a male tarantula with that big of an abdomen.

Abdomen size isn't really a valid way to sex tarantulas... it's easy to get immature males with fat abdomens if you feed them heavily.

 

[klawfran3]

Abdomen size isn't really a valid way to sex tarantulas... it's easy to get immature males with fat abdomens if you feed them heavily.

That is true, by at 3", usually the males thin out a bit. The stocky legs and fat abdomen are very good indicators of a female. I guess only time will tell though...

 

[Bitis gabonica]

Thanks for all the replies! Took a couple close up pics with a better camera.....let me know if this tells anything different.

Ok so here are my honest thoughts about Taco. I appreciate all the feedback so far. My initial goal was to get a good beginner type T that was pretty, and easy to care for. After reading a bunch I decided on the B. Smithi. Searched far and wide and finally found one local for a good price -$40. When the wife and I talked about the T acquisition and our plans for it was to get a nice tank, and essentially put it on display for my 3 yr old daughter and never handle it. We also have a older cat that is not very mischievous but is still a cat. We wanted to take good care of it, feed it well and hopefully have it for a long time. I've dealt with snakes for a long time and am very comfortable with them but not nearly as comfortable with spiders. Here are my main issues with this critter keeper:

1. It seems really unstable or flimsy.....I have to keep it up away from where my daughter can't get to it, or the cat but by doing so it's essentially up on a shelf away from where we can really see it...kind of defeats the purpose, IMO. If that critter keeper somehow fell 5 feet it would likely crack or the top would possibly pop off. If Taco gets out, my wife may dismember me in my sleep.

2. I already don't like how small the thing is when putting crickets in, putting or changing water or taking crickets out. I don't want to take the top completely off for fear of it running up the side and out of the keeper, which would be bad for me (see #1 repercussion if Taco gets out). I can open the little top but using tongs or what not is just really weird....I feel like I'm playing the game Operation....such a small area to deal with. Just took a cricket out that was in there 24 hours and it was a bit of a chore....Taco flicking hairs at me...must have gotten too close.

3. There's no real room for anything other than Taco, the bottle cap for water and a cricket. No room for hide, silk plant, etc. Taco just moved into a studio apartment and he's not happy. I promised him much larger domain when I picked him up.

4. If Taco is a she, what the heck is her new name gonna be????


What about a 5 gallon tank?

Thanks again!!

 

[Keith B]

Thanks for all the replies! Took a couple close up pics with a better camera.....let me know if this tells anything different.

Ok so here are my honest thoughts about Taco. I appreciate all the feedback so far. My initial goal was to get a good beginner type T that was pretty, and easy to care for. After reading a bunch I decided on the B. Smithi. Searched far and wide and finally found one local for a good price -$40. When the wife and I talked about the T acquisition and our plans for it was to get a nice tank, and essentially put it on display for my 3 yr old daughter and never handle it. We also have a older cat that is not very mischievous but is still a cat. We wanted to take good care of it, feed it well and hopefully have it for a long time. I've dealt with snakes for a long time and am very comfortable with them but not nearly as comfortable with spiders. Here are my main issues with this critter keeper:

1. It seems really unstable or flimsy.....I have to keep it up away from where my daughter can't get to it, or the cat but by doing so it's essentially up on a shelf away from where we can really see it...kind of defeats the purpose, IMO. If that critter keeper somehow fell 5 feet it would likely crack or the top would possibly pop off. If Taco gets out, my wife may dismember me in my sleep.

2. I already don't like how small the thing is when putting crickets in, putting or changing water or taking crickets out. I don't want to take the top completely off for fear of it running up the side and out of the keeper, which would be bad for me (see #1 repercussion if Taco gets out). I can open the little top but using tongs or what not is just really weird....I feel like I'm playing the game Operation....such a small area to deal with. Just took a cricket out that was in there 24 hours and it was a bit of a chore....Taco flicking hairs at me...must have gotten too close.

3. There's no real room for anything other than Taco, the bottle cap for water and a cricket. No room for hide, silk plant, etc. Taco just moved into a studio apartment and he's not happy. I promised him much larger domain when I picked him up.

4. If Taco is a she, what the heck is her new name gonna be????

What about a 5 gallon tank?

OK, lots of questions lol. here goes... This is a PERFECT beginner T, and if female, will live a VERY long time. I have a female B. smithi and she is by far my easiest T to deal with. Cats aren't a huge problem with tarantulas. It's actually the crickets. Cats LOVE to chase and attack crickets. As long as your feedings are supervised and the cricket is eaten or removed, your cat will show little interest in the T. If crickets are left in there, the cat will almost definitely bat at the keeper and knock it over. Multiple cats are more of a problem (I have multiple), because they play and chase eachother and knock EVERYTHING over. A little discipline if they go up on the counter where the T is (Raising the voice and spraying a little water at them should do), they tend to learn not to go up there.

1. They aren't unstable or flimsy. They're just light. If it weren't for the presence of a cat in your house, there would be no problems using it. And may not be a problem anyway.

2. It isn't the prettiest thing to use, no... but it's functional. While your precautions with your T are nice, they are a little unnecessary for this species. As long as Taco is settled in, he or she won't really care to run up the sides. B. smithi are already not very energetic about running away, and get even slower when they're climbing vertical. If he/she escapes, it'll be easy to corral before it gets anywhere far, too. Just keep your catch cup within reach. Tongs are a wonderful tool once you get used to them. You don't really want to pick up cricket remains with your bare hands do you? lol.

3. You can move Taco into a big domain no problem. I raised my female in a 10 gallon from a small size due to the cats not being trained yet. This is your only T, and a lot of us are used to saving space for more T's, so our initial advice is that that much space is overkill. It is overkill lol, but it's not gonna kill the T either. If you decide to do that, what you should do is get her into a deli cup temporarily, clean her kricket keeper, flip it upside down, and place it in the aquarium. This will take up space so you have to use less substrate when filling it, cause you should fill it all the way up to about 4 or 5" from the top. As the sub settles, it will sink another inch or two. Decorate away. Just keep in mind when decorating that crickets like to hide in snug places and will stay there and dessicate sometimes. You'll have to keep an eye out for lost prey, cause the T won't find it unless the prey wanders near it. B. smithi aren't very aggressive hunters IME. Totally wait and ambush (and really waiiiit) hunters. The cricket has to practically sniff the T's butt to get eaten lol. I haven't really seen many 5 gallon tanks, so I can't help you there, cause I'm not sure of the dimensions.

OH and 4. I'm sure you'll improvise. My female was named "Tostito" until it was big enough to sex. When I found out it was a girl, she became "Tortilla". :laugh: We call her "Tort" for short.

EDIT: This is your only T and it doesn't sound like your wife wants more lol. So why not give him/her a penthouse condo?

---------- Post added 12-17-2013 at 11:54 PM ----------

Abdomen size isn't really a valid way to sex tarantulas... it's easy to get immature males with fat abdomens if you feed them heavily.

Ditto. Probably better off using the thickness of the chelicerae over the abdomen size, and still neither is very reliable at all. At 3" it should be pretty easy to sex ventrally. Your camera seems to take pretty clear pics, bitis. If Taco climbs on the side while adjusting to the move, see if you can't get a clear ventral shot of the front booklungs. Use the flash, and get it as clear as possible. Female B. smithi are exciting. I'm very fond of mine

 

[PlaidJaguar]

4. If Taco is a she, what the heck is her new name gonna be????

Thanks again!!

What's wrong with Taco? I think it could just as easily be a girl name. If you're dead seat on changing it, you could always go with Chalupa, Fajita, or Flauta.

---------- Post added 12-18-2013 at 12:28 AM ----------

Oh, another thing. Some spiders don't like soft paintbrushes. My curly is one of those. She's cool with a plastic ruler though, so that's what I herd her with whenever I need to move. Something that may or may not be useful in the future.

From the pics it looks like your T is probably in premolt, so stress minimization is a good idea. Don't prod Taco, just let him/her chill wherever s/he feels comfy. It's ok if he doesn't make it to the waterbowl for a couple days; Ts are durable. If you're really worried, you can use an eye dropper or syringe to deposit some water near him. Just make sure he has ready access to water when he molts. They usually come out thirsty.

 

[Silberrücken]

I have a B. smithi who is now 4" DLS. Before her last most, she was in a large KK. Huge on kicking hairs at the slightest thing, while going nuts trying to hide. While she was in pre-molt, I rehoused her to a 10-gallon tank.

The change in her was amazing. She no longer flicks, NEVER uses her hide, and rules her home from her rock perch. She has no trouble at all with catching prey - drop a few crix in one end, she is on them in a flash.

 

[SPIDERGRL]

Why not keep the kritter keeper in the 10 gallon tank?

 

[Quinquangular]

Why not keep the kritter keeper in the 10 gallon tank?

Sounds like a good idea!

KKs are lightweight and perfectly viewable and are cheaper than terrariums usually, and if you want to expand your T collection, they are stackable so it's another advantage!
If you add a lot of substrate, you should be fine. Height isn't needed as much as length since it's a terrestrial species, so make sure there isnt too much height that is can fall off, if it somehow wants to climb.

 

[Keith B]

I have a B. smithi who is now 4" DLS. Before her last most, she was in a large KK. Huge on kicking hairs at the slightest thing, while going nuts trying to hide. While she was in pre-molt, I rehoused her to a 10-gallon tank.

The change in her was amazing. She no longer flicks, NEVER uses her hide, and rules her home from her rock perch. She has no trouble at all with catching prey - drop a few crix in one end, she is on them in a flash.

Don't think it's the space. Something in the previous enclosure was likely irking her, possibly moisture. Mine was in a 10 gallon acting up. I replaced the really dry sub with even drier sub in the same tank and she settled down. They're pretty mysterious sometimes and easily annoyed lol. You could opt to put the KK in the 10 gallon to keep it safe for now if you wanted. I had my first tarantula (20 years ago) in a large KK filled nearly to the top with substrate. My mom went in to clean and my cat followed. Went after the crickets and easily knocked it off the dresser. It landed upside down and the soil crushed the tarantula. I was heartbroken. I'm not big on trusting KK with cats. I prefer to train the cats to stay away from the KK, and even then, keep them as far away from the edge as possible.

 

[Shrike]

What kind of taco are we talking about? Carnitas, Baja fish, carne asada? It's all too easy to overstuff the tortilla with these amazing ingredients. If you avoid "power feeding" your standard corn or flour tortilla should work well. But if you can't comfortably pick up the taco without its contents spilling out the end, you may want to rehouse to something bigger.

On a side note, you should name one of your tarantulas Taco. In my opinion, Taco is a fantastic, unisex name for a tarantula.