Rehousing my female OBT!!!

[Tbone192]

My OBT, Lara, is starting to look a little cramped in her enclosure. She is just about 4" now and I want to give her more room. Here is the new enclosure I've started on.

Substrate
Cocoa fiber - mostly
Cedar and cocoa fiber mix - a bit
Sphagnum moss - a good bit

Cork bark hide
Fake plants -a couple
Water dish
Maybe a fossil or plastic prop
Lid is about 3-4" above cork bark
Lowest point is maybe 5" from lid

Ideally I would add more sub but I just ran out and can't get some until later in the week. Should I move her today or wait? She ate yesterday would that affect moving at all?

Any suggestions or thoughts? TIA

 

[ArynAlba]

In my experience, I'd wait until you have the full enclosure together before rehousing! She can wait until later in the week--you'll want to have everything in the new enclosure ready to go so you can leave her to settle in once she's all moved. IMO, these guys get a bad reputation for being overly defensive, but they're really just very skittish--and so giving her ample opportunity to settle in would be optimal.

As far as I'm aware, her eating shouldn't affect moving! Really, only a recent molt would affect moving (unless her abdomen is absolutely gigantic, which would mean you should be more careful about making sure she doesn't fall--but otherwise, I can't see any issues with moving her later in the week.)

 

[Tbone192]

My biggest concern is fall risk due to the height of the enclosure. That is why I would like more sub but other than that I think she has everything she needs in there to get comfy. Unless maybe more anchor points, that might actually solve my height problem as well.

What are the recommendations on falling height to body size ratio, if anyone knows?

 

[ladyratri]

What are the recommendations on falling height to body size ratio, if anyone knows?

No more than 1.5x the T's DLS between substrate and ceiling.

Of course, that lasts until they move everything

 

[Tbone192]

No more than 1.5x the T's DLS between substrate and ceiling.

Of course, that lasts until they move everything

Tyvm that helps a bunch. Luckily I found another bag of cocoa fiber and cedar mix which I've used to reduce height and increase sub depth. Could I use schleich dinosaur as decor, or is it toxic?

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Tyvm I actually found another bag of cocoa fiber and cedar mix which I've used to reduce height and increase sub depth. Could I use schleich dinosaur as decor, or is it toxic?

Why didn’t you just buy cocoa fiber itself?? Or bricks you can expand in water.

 

[Tbone192]

Why didn’t you just buy cocoa fiber itself?? Or bricks you can expand in water.

I ran out of pure cocoa fiber near the end of filling the new enclosure and all I had available was mix. Figured I should use it instead of waiting for pay day and getting some more pure cocoa fiber then, probably will still get a big bag after pay day.

This OBT needs to move, she is way too big and I fear it may only become a more dangerous task if I leave her. She is typically a sweetheart but now that she doesn't have the space, she is starting to get very defensive.

 

[viper69]

My OBT, Lara, is starting to look a little cramped in her enclosure. She is just about 4" now and I want to give her more room. Here is the new enclosure I've started on.

Substrate
Cocoa fiber - mostly
Cedar and cocoa fiber mix - a bit
Sphagnum moss - a good bit

Cork bark hide
Fake plants -a couple
Water dish
Maybe a fossil or plastic prop
Lid is about 3-4" above cork bark
Lowest point is maybe 5" from lid

Ideally I would add more sub but I just ran out and can't get some until later in the week. Should I move her today or wait? She ate yesterday would that affect moving at all?

Any suggestions or thoughts? TIA

Wait- do you know why?
No- Ts aren’t like snakes in that manner or pigged out humans

Suggestion- read more on T husbandry, your questions are fine, but if you armed yourself with info your T would be better off

 

[spideyspinneret78]

I think it would be better to wait a few more days until you can get things set up correctly. It will be less stressful for her in the long run to have better substrate and a well thought out enclosure. Also, of course be prepared, but there's also no need to psych yourself up thinking that rehousing her is going to be a huge, dangerous ordeal. Do rehousings in a secure location, be patient, and have the right tools at hand, and it really shouldn't be a huge scary thing. I suggest watching some rehousing videos to get an idea. Watching Tom Moran on YouTube really helped me a lot with rehousing when I first started out.

 

[Arachnophobphile]

Substrate
Cocoa fiber - mostly
Cedar and cocoa fiber mix - a bit

NO!!!!!!! Do not use anything coniferous such as cedar. Cedar is toxic to tarantulas.

Are tarantulas alergic to cedar??

Just wondering thats all

arachnoboards.com

 

[Tbone192]

Wait- do you know why?
No- Ts aren’t like snakes in that manner or pigged out humans

Suggestion- read more on T husbandry, your questions are fine, but if you armed yourself with info your T would be better off

Her old enclosure was fine, needed more sub for burrowing, but now that she has molted she is far too big. I want to make sure she has the space and depth to burrow and feel more comfortable. Height from lid is important so she doesn't fall and rupture her abdomen while exploring. I have also been looking at different materials and their toxicity but that is easily said not done. OBT's are weird, they will climb and web a lot but also like to make burrow systems.

Thanks I will take your suggestion to heart, never hurts to read more on the subject. My only issue is the amount of misinformation out there. T's seem very manageable to care for IMO.

-Feed and water occasionally
-Always check for moults
-If they are stressed leave them alone immediately
-proper enclosures are important, most of mine are OW fossorial so plenty of substrate and anchor points for webbing.
-very little temp control necessary
-T's are solitary, they appreciate their space and prefer to run and hide away if possible
-comfort over looks 100%
-do not disturb them unless absolutely necessary
-mine get a nice day night cycle with plenty of shade during daylight hours.
-cross ventilation
-have a humid corner of enclosure that is more moist than rest of enclosure

Please correct me if I missed something, I am here to learn. Thanks again for the input and thanks to my roommate who is helping me write this out.

NO!!!!!!! Do not use anything coniferous such as cedar. Cedar is toxic to tarantulas.

Are tarantulas alergic to cedar??

Just wondering thats all

arachnoboards.com

Thank you for letting me know, I am going to change the sub ASAP

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

I ran out of pure cocoa fiber near the end of filling the new enclosure and all I had available was mix. Figured I should use it instead of waiting for pay day and getting some more pure cocoa fiber then, probably will still get a big bag after pay day.

This OBT needs to move, she is way too big and I fear it may only become a more dangerous task if I leave her. She is typically a sweetheart but now that she doesn't have the space, she is starting to get very defensive.

Ceder is a natural insecticide.
@Arachnophobphile nailed it!

 

[Tbone192]

Thank you for letting me know, I am going to change the sub ASAP

I reached out to my buddy, he is keeping reptiles and says he'll give me his half empty bag of straight cocoa fiber if I let him snap some pics of my T's, carefully of course. Very nice indeed

 

[Arachnophobphile]

It is fir and peat moss. Looked it up and I think I still need to remove it

Yes fir is coniferous definitely don't use it.

 

[viper69]

Her old enclosure was fine, needed more sub for burrowing, but now that she has molted she is far too big. I want to make sure she has the space and depth to burrow and feel more comfortable. Height from lid is important so she doesn't fall and rupture her abdomen while exploring. I have also been looking at different materials and their toxicity but that is easily said not done. OBT's are weird, they will climb and web a lot but also like to make burrow systems.

Thanks I will take your suggestion to heart, never hurts to read more on the subject. My only issue is the amount of misinformation out there. T's seem very manageable to care for IMO.

-Feed and water occasionally
-Always check for moults
-If they are stressed leave them alone immediately
-proper enclosures are important, most of mine are OW fossorial so plenty of substrate and anchor points for webbing.
-very little temp control necessary
-T's are solitary, they appreciate their space and prefer to run and hide away if possible
-comfort over looks 100%
-do not disturb them unless absolutely necessary
-mine get a nice day night cycle with plenty of shade during daylight hours.
-cross ventilation
-have a humid corner of enclosure that is more moist than rest of enclosure

Please correct me if I missed something, I am here to learn. Thanks again for the input and thanks to my roommate who is helping me write this out.

There is very little misinformation here

There are many things we do that are not absolutely the same for all keepers- that is not misinformation.

Keep it up

 

[Tbone192]

Honestly, thank you all very much. AB is a godsend, I don't think I've come across any bad info on these forums during my time on here.

Biggest sources of bad info in my opinion
Old care guides
YouTube
Pet store chains

Best thing you can do for your T's is get a copy of The Tarantula Keepers Guide by Marguerite and Stan Schultz, and hop on AB. Those my feelings.

 

[Arachnophobphile]

Honestly, thank you all very much. AB is a godsend, I don't think I've come across any bad info on these forums during my time on here.

Biggest sources of bad info in my opinion
Old care guides
YouTube
Pet store chains

Best thing you can do for your T's is get a copy of The Tarantula Keepers Guide by Marguerite and Stan Schultz, and hop on AB. Those my feelings.

That's a great way to start exactly how I started. I still refer to The Tarantula Keeper's Guide from time to time. It still has alot of relevant information. This is how I actually began before ever buying my first T.

 

[Tbone192]

Okay check out the new set up!

Same bin but more sub and only cocoa fiber, sphagnum, with cork bark and plastic plants. I've used the plants in my other enclosures with great success.

How it is looking now?

 

[Arachnophobphile]

Okay check out the new set up!

Same bin but more sub and only cocoa fiber, sphagnum, with cork bark and plastic plants. I've used the plants in my other enclosures with great success.

How it is looking now?

That.....looks.......MARVELOUS

 

[Mike Withrow]

NO!!!!!!! Do not use anything coniferous such as cedar. Cedar is toxic to tarantulas.

Are tarantulas alergic to cedar??

Just wondering thats all

arachnoboards.com

Yeah I wasn't to sure about this but I'd never use anything like that for a mix in my substrate. But I was thinking that since it's recommended to use cedar in bedding for things like pups and stuff because of it being a natural repellent for fleas this would not be a good idea.