Tarantula Housing

[jams1oo]

I am new here and not quite sure if theres a posting about this already. If there is im very sorry about asking the same question again.

Anyway im not a beginner for owning spiders i would say im about average ive own 3 species for 4 years til they passed away from old age. Im thinking about owning a few more but my main question was i have a 40 gallon breeder tank i house one of my ball pythons in and was wondering if it would be a great tank to house for a Mexican red knee, a cobalt blue, and a Goliath bird eater or possibly a trapdoor or a green bottle blue? or if they need to be in a plastic 5-10 gallon inclosure. They are all going to be female adults and im thinking of modifying the tank with plastic sections so they wont be mixed in one place secured with the same water tight caulking or epoxy they use on fish tanks so it wont budge.

Just trying to make the most out of a tank so 3 sections for 3 spiders i think is enough room for themselves to burrow and roam. the walls will be covered with plastic tint so they wont see each other as well.

Good idea or should i just stick to professional 10 gallon fish tanks for each one or plastic containers?

Again sorry if this question has come up in the forums or this seems like a dumb post. I just want my terrains to be ready before buying any spiders and make sure they has the best care they can recieve.

 

[Lokee85]

I've never used conjoined enclosures myself, but I remember reading a thread a while back where someone who did ended up with one getting into the other's side and eating them. I'm sure it's probably possible to modify an enclosure to make sure that doesn't happen, but I just don't risk it myself.

 

[jams1oo]

Thanks for the reply. And i have unlimited tools and supplies to make a conjoined tank with custom feed slots for me to feed diet worms just didn't know if experts and professionals think its a great idea or not. Ill keep your post in mind about T's breaking into other enclosures.

 

[Lokee85]

Like I said, I'm sure it's probably possible as long as you secure each section with it's own lid, make sure there's no gaps or any way they could possibly get out or into each other's enclosures. Personally, I think it'd look interesting if it can be done right.

 

[jams1oo]

yea that was the idea for the custom lid. it would be silicone lid that will be secured forever with little feed doors that open upwards and have airholes

 

[Lokee85]

If you decide to go ahead with the design, you should post pictures. It'd definitely be interesting to see in completion.

 

[jams1oo]

oh i surely will haha Thanks

 

[TheFox]

I know in the tarantula keeper's guide they strongly recommend against doing something like this (I think they refer to it as making tarantula condos) but I have considered doing something similar to split a 10 gallon tank in half and putting two very different Ts on each side (I think the contrast would be very cool for display). I think that as long as you're using the right sillicone, and make sure that it's 100% sealed, the only thing you need to worry about is how you do the lids. I think it's very smart to have separate lids for each T and make sure no two lids are open at the same time. You'll also want to make sure those lids have a latch or something to keep them closed, and that they sit flush with the top of the tank so that there's no room for the Ts to slip into the other enclosures by the lids.

In my opinion, if you set it up like that there should be no more risk keeping them that way than if you were to have three separate tanks and have them side by side. I wish you good luck with the construction if you do decide to go this route

 

[Nightshady]

Sounds like a very cool project. Looking forward to seeing some pics.

 

[cold blood]

Thanks for the reply. And i have unlimited tools and supplies to make a conjoined tank with custom feed slots for me to feed diet worms just didn't know if experts and professionals think its a great idea or not. Ill keep your post in mind about T's breaking into other enclosures.

Then do it...just don't keep tarantulas in it.


Divided enclosures are bad news for ts.

 

[cold blood]

In my opinion, if you set it up like that there should be no more risk keeping them that way than if you were to have three separate tanks and have them side by side. I wish you good luck with the construction if you do decide to go this route

The past has seen a litany of individuals who thought the same....most have less tarantulas as a direct result.

Heck @Poec54 had one break off a piece of plexi to get to its neighbor. For every good ending with a divided cage, there are 1000 failures...soooo not worth the effort.

 

[Sana]

I’ve heard a lot of horror stories coming from projects like this. I’m in the process of running an experiment with an enclosure split in half but with only one tarantula in one half. The other half is going to end up planted. I honestly have a couple huge enclosures I need to do something with and I like tarantulas and carnivorous plants. I’m curious how long it will take the tarantula to get to the other half and how it’s going to accomplish it havif previously heard the broken plexiglass story.

 

[Garth Vader]

Since it is such a large tank, could you construct three small enclosures and place them side by side inside of it? That way you'd get to use your huge tank without the Ts actually sharing walls.

 

[jams1oo]

Since it is such a large tank, could you construct three small enclosures and place them side by side inside of it? That way you'd get to use your huge tank without the Ts actually sharing walls.

What do you mean? like putting small containers inside the tank? or what i said about making 3 diffrent terrains in 3 sections of the tank?

 

[Garth Vader]

What do you mean? like putting small containers inside the tank? or what i said about making 3 diffrent terrains in 3 sections of the tank?

Yes I mean constructing smaller containers inside the tank. Perhaps if done right it could look,good and prevent any issues of Ts escaping. Of course, it would be a lot of work!

 

[darkness975]

Split tanks are not a good idea.

 

[Nightshady]

If having tarantulas share walls is an issue (although not sure how that’s different than having tanks side by side as you see all the time), then just put a piece of woodland background paper on the adjoining walls. Problem solved.

 

[Sana]

If having tarantulas share walls is an issue (although not sure how that’s different than having tanks side by side as you see all the time), then just put a piece of woodland background paper on the adjoining walls. Problem solved.

That’s an interesting thought. Though I would think that given how poor their vision is in the first place that there is something else that would indicate the presence of another tarantula. I suppose it could just be a matter of an exploring tarantula getting out of its enclosure and then discovering it’s neighbor. There are any number of videos and stories of tarantulas escaping their enclosures without an obvious reason. Or at least without a reason that anything other than the tarantula comprehends.

 

[Nightshady]

That’s an interesting thought. Though I would think that given how poor their vision is in the first place that there is something else that would indicate the presence of another tarantula. I suppose it could just be a matter of an exploring tarantula getting out of its enclosure and then discovering it’s neighbor. There are any number of videos and stories of tarantulas escaping their enclosures without an obvious reason. Or at least without a reason that anything other than the tarantula comprehends.

The success or failure of this idea strictly boils down to the construction of the enclosure. The adjoining walls have to be 100% secure. The lids would have to open separately and likewise be secure. If you can do that, there’s no difference in this idea versus three enclosures side by side, except that the adjoining wall is single instead of double.

I haven’t seen any chatter about T’s in side by side habitats going at each other (I’m new to the hobby to be fair so that certainly might exist), but if that is an issue than background paper on the adjoining walls would solve that problem.

Just my 2 cents, FWIW. The idea isn’t something I personally would undertake, but I would be interested to see the finished product. Good luck whatever you decide.

 

[Arachnophoric]

I'm probably echoing a bunch of people here already, but I just wouldn't do it. Conjoined tanks are possible, but unless constructing tanks is something you do on a regular basis and can guarantee without a shadow of a doubt that you wont leave any gaps or insecure areas between the dividers, especially up top where the lid would go, it has far too much risk to justify debatable at best convenience.

To boot, if you're wanting to buy adult females of the species listed, you're looking to spend a pretty penny on them, and my wallet certainly wouldn't enjoy that expensive meal, if one spider manages to get in with another.

I still think that the tank you're wanting to do would be interesting, but not for tarantulas. Although if you're serious about getting an adult female T. blondi (if you find one for sale, you should try your luck on a lotto ticket), I'd just deck the 40g breeder out and use it for that T alone. You could make a much cooler, more attractive setup with that, imo.