When do you rehouse?

[twbillings]

That's my LP. I currently have him/her in the medium Jamie's enclosure. This is my first run with slings. I've had adult, or near enough, for a long time. When should I rehouse? I know you aren't suppose to start them out in there final enclosure, but build up. My L. parahybana doubled in size this molt, and I want to much sure it's happy. In the picture it's stalking a cricket. It doesn't wonder around much, though it just finished a molt. I've just fed it, so if I was going to rehouse I would want to do it soon. I know it takes some time to adjust. So, when do you guys rehouse?

 

[telepatella]

I would rehouse right about now, or wait for the next molt.

 

[MrsHaas]

What's the longest one should go before rehousing?

---------- Post added 10-10-2014 at 06:54 PM ----------

If it isn't running out of room, I mean

Just referring to general maintenance

 

[twbillings]

You would only rehouse for space or infestation/other environmental events occur. The general rule is no longer then three total lengths of the t. I've kept adult ts for a long time, but just got slings a few months ago. So I'm not sure when I should rehouse my guys, mainly my LPs.

 

[MrsHaas]

Lemme see if I get this
So if it lives 30 years, only clean three times?

 

[twbillings]

I'm sorry, I don't understand your question. Rehouse is changing the enclosure. You clean bolus, dead prey items, and poop as needed. You aren't constantly shifting enclosures, nor are you continuously replacing all substrate.

 

[cold blood]

Lemme see if I get this
So if it lives 30 years, only clean three times?

I've had my G. porteri in the same enclosure, with the same sub, for 14 years, there will never be a need to re-house unless something tragic happens (like twbillings mentioned), and as its kept dry, that's highly unlikely.

Re-housing is done because the t is outgrowing its enclosure, not because a certain amount of time has passed or anything.

 

[xkris]

if your asking maintenance vise, after every meal/moult clean us (remove gross stuff), also remove poop when you see it. add water when it evaporates, clean water bowl every 3-4 days.
change substrate every 6months-1year. (very important! -if you smell mold, remove substrate, change or bake it, clean everything with vinegar, rinse, put back)

other than that there is not much else to do.

rehouse when you see T has grown and needs more space. i give mine more space than most do, also more horizontal space even for terrestrials, with things to climb, because mine like to climb.
in that light, your lp could use a bigger house, right about now, or if you dont have a new enclosure ready, it could wait one more moult.

 

[cold blood]

change substrate every 6months-1year.

Ignore this part. Sub does NOT need to be changed, the only thing this will accomplish is needlessly upsetting your spider every 6 months to a year...substrate DOES NOT just go bad and can be left indefinitely as long as there isn't an issue with some sort of infestation.

If you do have a spot of mold, just pick it out and increase your ventilation, its not a reason to panic and re-house in the least.

"very important"...lmao

 

[Poec54]

Lemme see if I get this
So if it lives 30 years, only clean three times?

I don't change the substrate in existing cages. I spot clean the boluses, waste, and dead prey. That's all you need to do, and that also keeps mite populations to a minimum. If the substrate smells bad, you're either not cleaning it often enough or keeping it too moist. You're also better off using disposable water bowls (1 oz and 3 oz soufflé cups, buy the by the sleeve from restaurant supply stores), then constantly cleaning ceramic bowls.

 

[xkris]

Ignore this part. Sub does NOT need to be changed, the only thing this will accomplish is needlessly upsetting your spider every 6 months to a year...substrate DOES NOT just go bad and can be left indefinitely as long as there isn't an issue with some sort of infestation.

If you do have a spot of mold, just pick it out and increase your ventilation, its not a reason to panic and re-house in the least.

"very important"...lmao

i dont know about that. if there are spores left in there, its just a matter of time before they come back. i prefer things cleaner.
same sub for 14 years? lol...
cant you afford to change it??

 

[cold blood]

i dont know about that. if there are spores left in there, its just a matter of time before they come back. i prefer things cleaner.
same sub for 14 years? lol...
cant you afford to change it??

There's NO REASON to change it...NONE. Changing sub after 6 months or a year is a complete joke, it has NOTHING to do with affording it. If there's spores...lol...dry the enclosure...problem solved and the t doesn't need to re-acclimate over and over again, which makes little sense.

 

[jigalojey]

Had some of my tanks set up 5 years now, if it starts looking "dirty" just skim the top off.

 

[xkris]

There's NO REASON to change it...NONE. Changing sub after 6 months or a year is a complete joke, it has NOTHING to do with affording it. If there's spores...lol...dry the enclosure...problem solved and the t doesn't need to re-acclimate over and over again, which makes little sense.

that's according to you.
a sign of enlightened mind is being able to entertain a idea without embracing it. try it sometimes.

i pity your poor spiders who have to walk, live, eat and sleep in their own filth.
at least change that spider sub once before it dies, so it may experience what it is like to be clean.

 

[cold blood]

that's according to you.
a sign of enlightened mind is being able to entertain a idea without embracing it. try it sometimes.

i pity your poor spiders who have to walk, live, eat and sleep in their own filth.
at least change that spider sub once before it dies, so it may experience what it is like to be clean.

Ahhh, I do spot cleaning, and the enclosures are in fact, quite clean.

I could use the same "enlightened" line on you.

 

[jigalojey]

If there is one thing I have learned it's to never insult someones pet T's living conditions, I have seen people get into fights over this stuff in person LOL, Cold Blood would probably give you a quick one to the jaw with a comment like that in person :wink:

 

[MatthewM1]

Because T's abandon their burrow and make a nice clean one every 6 months- a year right? Your T's spend alot of time adjusting their homes to their liking, leave 'em be. As said before if your enclosures smell moldy its a husbandry problem.

 

[BobGrill]

The only reason you should have to rehouse an adult specimen is due to mold or a serious mite infestation. Or if the tarantula was in a bad setup to begin with and you're just reviving it. The spider isn't " living in its own filth". Spot cleaning for dead prey items or boluses is enough to keep the enclosure clean. So enough with the personal jabs okay? I'm sure he takes fine care of his spiders.

 

[viper69]

I've had my G. porteri in the same enclosure, with the same sub, for 14 years, because I've found slum-loarding and Shantytown to be an effective means of cost controls in today's high priced economy

Interesting, very interesting indeed!

 

[Drache]

The one tarantula I had long term before I recently got into it, was very fastidious about bringing any waste to the front of the cage. It was an avic, and had constructed a double-chambered web lair behind the cork bark slabs, and after her demise I found those lairs to be quite clean. Not to anthropomorphize or anything, but I'd be pissed if someone demolished my house regularly because they don't trust me to keep it clean. So I just let her be, and provided "curb-side" trash removal. On the other hand it took a bit more vigilance to find where my A. chalcodes dumps her waste, but it's usually in the same vicinity of her enclosure - just not in front. There are some animals that remain amazingly functional in captivity. While many animals' lives don't require them to deal with their feces in any special ways in the wild, I don't believe any will keep them in their burrow, nest, cave, lair, etc. So if you must clean, leave their living areas alone and provide services - it will certainly be closer to what a tarantula could expect in nature. Unless you introduce something, there isn't any reason the substrate would go bad.