Would it be okay to put an arboreal into a large 8x8x12 enclosure at a young age?

[itchyhands]

Hi guys

I have a 1.5 inch Psalmopoeus cambridgei. I have a large 8w x 8l x 12h enclosure and I was wondering if, since she's arboreal, I could just move her into this large enclosure now to minimize the need to rehouse her?

She's a good eater and very busy, always moving dirt around and building web curtains.

I don't have an arboreal enclosure in the mid-size right now, I only have a 6x3x3 terrestrial crib, and would like to keep her in a display cage rather than a dollar store container, I keep her near my desk and am very aesthetic-oriented about my space. Hoping I can also avoid spending even more money on yet another tarantula crib.

If it's not a good idea, would it be better off in a 6x3x3 instead ?

Right now she's in a 2x2x3, which is just way too small. I thought I was getting a 1/2 inch sling and got a bit of a surprise when she was quite a bit bigger than that.

If ultimately people feel it's really not a good idea I will just spring for a mid size tarantula crib but I'd really rather not.

I understand why terrestrials should be housed in small containers, but does this rule really apply to arboreals?

I see this spider moving around from place to place all day and it just seems like it would enjoy a larger space to explore and build in.

 

[Wolfram1]

i would say it depends on how you decorate it

if you provide a hide that is appropriate for her current size (for example a small half round in one of the corners), and leave the rest relatively bare, it will be easy to feed her and there wont be many crevices for her food to hide from ether you or your your spider.

if it is cluttered she may never come across the pray and if you decorate it for a larger spider in mind the hide may be too big and she may not feel safe, leading to other complications.

but thats just my opinion and the way i would go about it.


when she has outgrown the hide you could rehouse her into the same enclosure, just changing the setup to fit her new size

on the other hand, the current one may be small, but she could still stay in there for a molt

 

[itchyhands]

i would say it depends on how you decorate it

if you provide a hide that is appropriate for her current size (for example a small half round in one of the corners), and leave the rest relativrly bare, it will be easy to feed her and there wont be many crevices for her food to hide from ether you or your youbg spider.

if it is cluttered she may never come across the pray and if you decorate it for a larger spider in mind the hide may be too big and she may not feel safe, leading to other complications.

but thats just my opinion and the way i would go about it.


when she has outgrown the hide you could rehouse her into the same enclosure, just changing the setup to fit her new size

on the other hand, the current one may be small, but she could still stay in there for a molt

That's a good idea thank you, and yes I was thinking too that it would be good to give her one more molt in this cage before moving her.

I have a variety of sizes and shapes of cork bark. I'm glad you mentioned not making it cluttered because I was totally ready to give her lots of naturalistic hiding spots and branches and leaf litter because I read that's better for these defensive / flighty species to have lots of places to run and hide . I'll save that for when she's bigger.

 

[Wolfram1]

it is, there is a balance to strike however

on the one hand lots of decorations will give her more options to hide, but on the other if you provide a really good hide all the rest are not neccecary

she may also set up shop were you dont want her to

depending on just what you have available i might decorate it differently

i personally like the style Dave uses for arboreals, simple but effective, no clutter, just a half round against the back, or back corner, slightly angled, works all the time

 

[SpookySpooder]

Hello again, glad to see you're enjoying your T's despite the setae incident.

I wouldn't put her into the bigger enclosure just yet. Plenty of reasons and risks to it, not much benefit for the T itself.

I understand your desire to view it better.

Consider one of these appropriately sized containers? They're also cheap, and have great viewability.

clicky

 

[itchyhands]

Hello again, glad to see you're enjoying your T's despite the setae incident.

I wouldn't put her into the bigger enclosure just yet. Plenty of reasons and risks to it, not much benefit for the T itself.

I understand your desire to view it better.

Consider one of these appropriately sized containers? They're also cheap, and have great viewability.

clicky

I don't have any way of putting holes into those otherwise I would. I'd end up having to buy some kind of equipment I don't have I think which would cost me more than another tarantula crib.

 

[viper69]

The average person ends up with a dead T

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

it is, there is a balance to strike however

on the one hand lots of decorations will give her more options to hide, but on the other if you provide a really good hide all the rest are not neccecary

she may also set up shop were you dont want her to

depending on just what you have available i might decorate it differently

i personally like the style Dave uses for arboreals, simple but effective, no clutter, just a half round against the back, or back corner, slightly angled, works all the time

Cool video wow live moss he uses ! Impressive collection he’s got behind him woah !!

I don't have any way of putting holes into those otherwise I would. I'd end up having to buy some kind of equipment I don't have I think which would cost me more than another tarantula crib.

Drills aren’t that expensive and you might need them for other stuff .

 

[Wolfram1]

as i said, you can make it work, if you do try make it as simple as possible

if you decide to go for an in-between after all, do the same, keep it simple, its not the final enclosure, you will survive a cheap homemade enclosure that doesn't look the best, but provides all the spider needs.

i will never understand why people spend so much money on "nice" sling enclosures when you can reuse so many things that probably work better because you can modify them exactly the way you want them

To be fair i do buy my enclosures but they are plastic containers from the gastronomic industry that cost maybe 1€ a pop. So things are somewhat uniform.

I don't have any way of putting holes into those otherwise I would.

you can't borrow a drill?

 

[SpookySpooder]

His point is that a tool would cost more than the T crib. That's up to you OP, if you plan on having a large collection later, I would consider the cost of the tools and making your own enclosures vs. the cost of buying an enclosure for every T.

If you only plan on having a few, it might make more sense to buy the crib.

Personally I like DIY and I've got almost a hundred slings so I drill my own enclosures out of acrylic boxes.

I don't compromise on aesthetics, cost, or the husbandry of my slings.

I found a soldering iron on Amazon that when coupled with the AMAC box is still cheaper than the T crib. Interested?

EDIT: Also found a rotary tool with bits kit included for $50 if you change your mind

Also this, I have 5 drills, come over and I'll drill them for you.

You can't borrow a drill?

 

[Wolfram1]

Cool video wow live moss he uses ! Impressive collection he’s got behind him woah !!

Drills aren’t that expensive and you might need them for other stuff .

ignore the almost handling, not everything he does is perfect, but the way he sets these up is worth copying

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

You can also find drills used at garage sales or eBay, Craigslist, offer up, etc. (not sure if you’re in Washington or Canada).

 

[itchyhands]

My disabilities would prevent me from safely and painlessly using power tools like drills and dremels. Not interested in even trying it. I would wayyyy rather just buy a tarantula crib. They look really nice and they're not /that/ much money.

 

[itchyhands]

The average person ends up with a dead T

That's unfortunate, what is it exactly that kills them in this situation? not being able to find food ?

 

[ladyratri]

she may also set up shop were you dont want her to

Nailed it

I agree the bigger enclosure could be fine, particularly given how fast they grow. I put my irminia in a 6x6x9 at that size, and I think if it were set up similarly, an 8x8x12 would not have been much different.

This was my setup (minus the water dish):




Didn't take long for my sling to pick a corner, and then pretty much only show me toes for four months.



If you can get a few leaves against the side like that, and convince it to set up its webbing so you can vaguely see in, that helps monitor it in the larger bin.

Over the next couple molts, mine did some pretty good digging and has been adjusting the "burrow" as it grows.


Probably about 3.5" now and only just started to venture all the way out of the web tunnel.

I don't know about the price of the brand-name tarantula cribs, but this 6x6x9 is fine for viewing, did not need any modification at all for a psalmo, and was pretty cheap on Amazon... You can see the brand name in the photos. I think the magic search term was "reptile breeding box" or something similarly unlikely.

 

[CrazyOrnithoctonineGuy]

While it is good to reduce the number of rehouses with arboreals, moving an 1.5" sling into a 8"x8"x12" is probably excessive. Aside from anything else, feeders small enough for a spider that size could easily escape through the hinges or the ventilation holes.

 

[ladyratri]

Aside from anything else, feeders small enough for a spider that size could easily escape through the hinges or the ventilation holes.

In my case, the 8x8x12 that houses my larger irminia has the same magnetic sliding lid, so no hinges, and exactly the same size vent holes as the 6x6x9.

These are really good points to look out for though.

 

[CrazyOrnithoctonineGuy]

In my case, the 8x8x12 that houses my larger irminia has the same magnetic sliding lid, so no hinges, and exactly the same size vent holes as the 6x6x9.

These are really good points to look out for though.

Your irminia are large enough that they can eat feeders too big to fit through the vent holes, the same doesn't necessarily apply for a 1.5" Psalmo sling.

 

[itchyhands]

Nailed it

I agree the bigger enclosure could be fine, particularly given how fast they grow. I put my irminia in a 6x6x9 at that size, and I think if it were set up similarly, an 8x8x12 would not have been much different.

This was my setup (minus the water dish):
View attachment 450399
View attachment 450400
View attachment 450401

Didn't take long for my sling to pick a corner, and then pretty much only show me toes for four months.
View attachment 450402
View attachment 450403

If you can get a few leaves against the side like that, and convince it to set up its webbing so you can vaguely see in, that helps monitor it in the larger bin.

Over the next couple molts, mine did some pretty good digging and has been adjusting the "burrow" as it grows.
View attachment 450404

Probably about 3.5" now and only just started to venture all the way out of the web tunnel.

I don't know about the price of the brand-name tarantula cribs, but this 6x6x9 is fine for viewing, did not need any modification at all for a psalmo, and was pretty cheap on Amazon... You can see the brand name in the photos. I think the magic search term was "reptile breeding box" or something similarly unlikely.

Did you have any issues with her eating in there?

My cambridgei is a really good eater right now, pounces right on the crickets the second i drop them in her tunnel. I thought since she is so active and kind of aggro that maybe it wouldn't be too bad.

I'll see if I can find a mid-sized container that is thin enough for me to burn through with a hot nail or a glue gun.

I'm in Canada and things on amazon are a lot more expensive here than they are in the states and we don't always get the same stuff on amazon unfortunately but I will see what I can find.

 

[itchyhands]

Your irminia are large enough that they can eat feeders too big to fit through the vent holes, the same doesn't necessarily apply for a 1.5" Psalmo sling.

my psalmo is eating medium sized crickets already and the holes on the tarantula crib are 4mm. I pre kill her food but I'm not sure if I need to, she's pretty voracious. It also has a magnetic sliding lid, no hinges.