- Joined
- Jan 19, 2014
- Messages
- 13,259
B. hamorii are great....but keep in mind, young ones can be skittish and after a molt, pretty food motivated. this species can also be heavy flickers, so if you see its back legs going, back off...lol.
You are over-thinking the housing, both the enclosure and the substrate.
At its size, you really want to stick with a samller enclosure, im guessing much smaller than you are expecting. A small kritter keeper is more than enough room and it wont escape.....most ts would never be able to get out, much less chew through the vents on a kritter keeper. I have a big mean P. cancerides I had to move from a big kritter keeper because she was snapping fangs on the venting (this is rare, and FAR from a common problem), if she couldn't get out, no Brachypelma on earth would stand a chance.
Substrate...there is no one best substrate, its more of a keepers personal choice. Any good sub is fine, you don't need to mix, and you don't need additives, and you definitely don't need to go buy vermiculite. The moss is more of a surface additive, like a functional decoration. I'm not familiar with the other two, but If they're like coco fiber, its fine. Cheap top soil, peat moss, eco earth, jungle mix or any coco fiber brand name or derivative are all fine, alone or mixed. Sub matters especially little for a species kept dry, like your hamorii. Just don't use soil marketed for growing plants (additives), don't use wood chips of any kind, don't use sawdust, etc., and you should be just fine.
3 on your list;
gbb, they can be skittish, and very flicky...they can also be very food motivated as well. Not a difficult keep, but these are things to keep in mind for a phobe, or formerphobe.
versicolor, they do have more specific husbandry, can be fast and even defensive...they web a lot, eat well and grow fairly fast. Beautiful and fun to own...not sure I would have wanted one when I was arachnophobic, though.
B. albiceps are one of those super duper uber mega spectacularly slow growers as slings...better, as juvies and adults become really good eaters. Just beautiful, too, one of my favorites. Docile and friendly though??...well no way, not close...lol...very skittish and can actually be quite defensive. Their temperament is more like a B. vagans...they can be a little feisty. Still not hard to deal with, just food for thought.
Good luck with your new t, you sound like you are eager to, and really serious about getting over your phobia, IME, that makes you exactly the type of phobic person that's fully capable of over-coming the fear...interest trumps fear every time, at least for me.
You are over-thinking the housing, both the enclosure and the substrate.
At its size, you really want to stick with a samller enclosure, im guessing much smaller than you are expecting. A small kritter keeper is more than enough room and it wont escape.....most ts would never be able to get out, much less chew through the vents on a kritter keeper. I have a big mean P. cancerides I had to move from a big kritter keeper because she was snapping fangs on the venting (this is rare, and FAR from a common problem), if she couldn't get out, no Brachypelma on earth would stand a chance.
Substrate...there is no one best substrate, its more of a keepers personal choice. Any good sub is fine, you don't need to mix, and you don't need additives, and you definitely don't need to go buy vermiculite. The moss is more of a surface additive, like a functional decoration. I'm not familiar with the other two, but If they're like coco fiber, its fine. Cheap top soil, peat moss, eco earth, jungle mix or any coco fiber brand name or derivative are all fine, alone or mixed. Sub matters especially little for a species kept dry, like your hamorii. Just don't use soil marketed for growing plants (additives), don't use wood chips of any kind, don't use sawdust, etc., and you should be just fine.
3 on your list;
gbb, they can be skittish, and very flicky...they can also be very food motivated as well. Not a difficult keep, but these are things to keep in mind for a phobe, or formerphobe.
versicolor, they do have more specific husbandry, can be fast and even defensive...they web a lot, eat well and grow fairly fast. Beautiful and fun to own...not sure I would have wanted one when I was arachnophobic, though.
B. albiceps are one of those super duper uber mega spectacularly slow growers as slings...better, as juvies and adults become really good eaters. Just beautiful, too, one of my favorites. Docile and friendly though??...well no way, not close...lol...very skittish and can actually be quite defensive. Their temperament is more like a B. vagans...they can be a little feisty. Still not hard to deal with, just food for thought.
Good luck with your new t, you sound like you are eager to, and really serious about getting over your phobia, IME, that makes you exactly the type of phobic person that's fully capable of over-coming the fear...interest trumps fear every time, at least for me.
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