Trarantulas behind glass walls Stressful?

TalonAWD

Arachnoprince
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Hello. This is my first question here on the forum. I have just acquired 2 tarantulas. B. Boehmei and N. chromatus. I wanted a little red. I actually traded an adult male parahybana for the N. chromatus.

I bought a kritter breeder cage and used the divider to split the tank into two. I sealed it (hot glue gun) so that it won't move and redid the top with Plexi. Now my question is can the two tarantulas get stressed out if one moves since they see shadow images and might see the movement of the other tarantula?. (I know they don't have great eyesight) Right now I put an aluminum contact paper (its more aluminum than paper) but would rather take it off so I can see the other side if looking at the cage at the sides.

The reason being that the cage setup is going in a cubicle (So my wife don't complain. She is afraid of my babies) and it is out of sight. The setup is too big to fit in the cubicle going straight. The cubicle is 13" x 15" and the cage is 17" x 9. So the 9" side is facing me.
 

Mushroom Spore

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They're more likely to be disturbed by feeling the vibrations of the other T moving than they are to be able to see much.
 

WARPIG

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Thats a real good question, with that said, I believe you should be fine, now I say that with no experience myself, however, i have seen a number of people in the hobby who have done exactly what you are proposing.

Secondly T's sight is bad, and i believe that they track their envirment more by vibrations and air movement against their hair.

Good luck, you should be fine.
 

TalonAWD

Arachnoprince
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Yeah I noticed also that many just have enclosures with glass dividers but was not sure if they covered it in a way or not. I covered my divider but wanted to remove the cover (Aluminum contact)
 

sick4x4

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i haven't noticed any stress in my t's... i have several divided set-ups and with the amount of sub, i dont think they even know each other is there... granted they aren't KK's sooo maybe they might with those but the ones i have show no difference to speak of... heres a pick of mines..opps i didnt see charles magnet lol he should pay me something for that lol....

 

xBurntBytheSunx

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i've heard of males and females knowing the other is in a nearby enclosure. i don't know how they detect eachother but they may know the other is there.
 

Stan Schultz

Arachnoprince
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Hello. This is my first question here on the forum. ...
Welcome!

... I bought a kritter breeder cage and used the divider to split the tank into two. ...
Because of your special circumstances and the great care you've taken I will spare you my "don't divide the cage" rant. Besides, it's tiresome even from this end! :D

... Now my question is can the two tarantulas get stressed out if one moves since they see shadow images and might see the movement of the other tarantula? ...
First, there is no clear evidence that burrowing tarantulas are capable of seeing images, even shadows. As far as we know they can only tell whether it's light or dark or somewhere in between.

Secondly, almost surely not. It won't make any difference at all, at least for the short term until they get too large and you have to move them to individual cages.

In nature, tarantulas are constantly subjected to all kinds of stimuli: breezes and wind, sunlight and moving shadows, cattle or wildebeest stomping through, etc., etc., etc. They thrive anyway.

It might be argued that captive bred tarantulas are suffering from sensory deprivation. No wind. No plants blowing on the wind. Almost no temperature fluctuation. Constant, steady, predictable lighting. No moon. No storms or rain. Nearly constant humidity. Once a week they're disturbed while you refresh their water dish and maybe throw in a few crickets. Boring!

Enjoy your tarantulas!
 

TalonAWD

Arachnoprince
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Wow, very elaborate. Thank you for your input. So it is safe to say that I can very well just remove the aluminum contact paper.

That makes perfect sense everything that you stated.
 

Talkenlate04

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Did you make the divider yourself or use the one that came with the tank?
 

TalonAWD

Arachnoprince
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Did you make the divider yourself or use the one that came with the tank?
I used the one that came with the tank. Since the tank is not perfectly square, it was easier to use the one supplied. It is about 1.8" thick. I glued it to its slides (Theres 3 positions and I used the center one) so that it won't accidently fall off (Never know).
 
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