Poecilotheria Enclosure Size

[SonsOfLeda]

Hey, everyone!

I'm looking to increase the size of my pokie collection (with the goal of keeping all that are in the hobby and eventually do some breeding) and am in the process of space planning. I prefer nice looking displays rather than shelves of Tupperware, so I'll end up spending a fair amount of time creating nice looking enclosures. Mind if I ask some questions?

1. Do vertical 10 gallon aquariums (10x12x20) work for all adult females? If not, which species would you recommend upgrading to a vertical 20 gallon high aquarium (12x16x24)?
2. If, instead of the vertical aquariums I decide to go with Exo Terras, are 12x12x18s large enough for everyone? Again, if not, which would you recommend upgrading (to 18x18x24 or larger)?
3. What about the males?

Also, here's what I've been able to find and have been using as my guide to adult (I assume female) pokie sizes. Can anyone help me out with the few I've been unable to find? Similarly, are there any that need to be majorly changed? How large are the males relative to their female counterparts?

P. bara: 7"
P. fasciata: ???
P. formosa: 6"
P. hanumavilasumica: ???
P. metallica: 8"
P. miranda: 8"
P. ornata: 9"
P. pederseni: 7"
P. regalis: 8"
P. rufilata: 9"
P. smithi: ???
P. striata: 8"
P. subfusca: 7"
P. tigrinawesseli: ???

Thanks for your advice/assistance in advance!

Eric

[SentinelPokie]

Hi! So for starters, yes most pokies should be kept in 10-15 gallons as a full grown (Your preference). However, for pokies such as the P. ornata or P. rufliata, a 15-20 gallon is mandatory; 20 gallons preferably. As for the exo-terras, I'm not so sure...from what I've seen at the pet stores, they seem like a terrestrial enclosure, even with that height. So my opinion, is to just go with the 10-20 gallon aquariums, but remember that it's my own preference and opinion. As for the males, they are a bit smaller than their female counterpart. When I say a bit smaller, I can't really specify because each Pokie has different genes. Another thing, is that males are also usually duller in color and a lot more thinner most of the time. For male housing, just keep the tank a bit smaller then the female's tank. For the female measurements,

P. fasciata: 7 - 8 inches
P. hanumavilasumica: Not sure (Still a very very very rare pokie, and I think it's also critically endangered in the wild...not sure. Check the IUCN and see if they have its conerv. status)
P. smithi: Not sure (Still a pretty rare pokie)
P. tigrinawesseli: 7 inches? Not Sure, but it probably is.

So yeah. I hope this answered most of your questions. Good Luck!

[Kruggar]

If you plan on breeding I'd suggest watching some of tarantulaguy1976 here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/tarantulaguy1976

He has plenty of videos of pulling sacs, showing why he makes his enclosures a certain way. The more beautiful your enclosures are the more difficult this can be.

P. hanumacilasumica is in the hobby, but its one of the pricey ones.

Good luck to you.