Enclosures for tarantulas in the 7 to 9 inch range

BobGrill

BobGrill

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So I'm curious to know if those of you who keep a lot of larger species (particularly arboreals) prefer using more roomy enclosures. I'm keeping both an adult female regalis and ornata in 12×12×18 inch enclosures, but I feel like I might be able to get away with using a slightly smaller enclosure for the regalis. She doesn't seem to really need the extra room. Then again, I agree that too small of an enclosure would be a bad idea for a fast and skittish arboreal like that. So what would you guys say is an appropriate sized enclosure? The problem with using 10 gallons is that they take up so much room.
 
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Enn49

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I'm not an experienced keeper by any means but my son has a 6.5 inch P. vittata. When he first got her she was put in a 12x12x18 then as she grew to around 6 inch he moved her to a larger viv around 17x17x21 . She didn't seem happy, hardly seen which was unusual for her so after a couple of months he moved her back to her old home and she reverted to her old self.
 
BobGrill

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That seems a bit large for a 6 to 6.5 inch spider. However as I said my question concerns those in the 7 to 9 inch range. Thanks for the help though.
 
Austin S.

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Depends on how much room you have to work with. I keep my stirmis, for example, in 10-20 gal aquariums. I have a few Avicularias around the 7" mark, those are kept in 10 gal long aquariums, flipped upside down, and I make acrylic lids with hinges.
 
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freedumbdclxvi

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Buy the big pretzel jars - those are perfectly roomy for a big arboreal and take up little space. I use them, too.
 
Austin S.

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Bob- are you mainly looking for arboreal or terrestrial containers.
 
gobey

gobey

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Arboreal he said. Pokies, ornata and regalis. I'd love to know too as my little regalis' will be 6~7" in another 2-3 years I know
 
BobGrill

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Yup arboreals. In addition to the pokies I just mentioned I also have 4 cambridgei slings and the odds that one or two will be female are pretty high. The females I've read get around 7 inches.
 
Poec54

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BobGrill said:
Yup arboreals. In addition to the pokies I just mentioned I also have 4 cambridgei slings and the odds that one or two will be female are pretty high. The females I've read get around 7 inches.
Click to expand...
You can keep an adult Pslamo, cambridgei included, in a shoebox size cage.
 
Poec54

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BobGrill said:
Awesome. Thanks.
Click to expand...
As adults/subadults, I've never had a cambridgei run out of it's cage. They just sit on the cork and wait for food. The other Psalmos aren't as big, and usually stay under their cork, so they're not prone to running either.
 
BobGrill

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Yeah. Michael Jacobi describes P.irminia as being "psychotic" which I don't agree with at all. Sure they're more defensive than your average poec, but they're not THAT bad.
 
Poec54

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CBickert said:
When you say shoe box I automatically think horizontal orientation. What exactly do you mean?

Would this deep sweater box work for a large arboreal?
http://www.containerstore.com/shop/...28&green=2649EDB2-EE24-5787-0E91-C41C88E4064E
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Yes, shoebox as in horizontal orientation. I have a lot of juvenile arboreals in those (all, except for Avics). Give them good ventilation, a couple inches of slightly moist substrate, a cork slab leaning on the side at an angle, some plastic plants, and a water bowl. I use sweater boxes for most adult/subadult arboreals, either regular height or tall (both are in the pic you linked). More than half my collection is arboreal and I don't use vertical cages for any of them.
 
viper69

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BobGrill said:
Yeah. Michael Jacobi describes P.irminia as being "psychotic" which I don't agree with at all. Sure they're more defensive than your average poec, but they're not THAT bad.
Click to expand...
Bob check w/Storm76 he has at least one maybe 2 adult female irminia. There up on his YouTube site, but dimensions aren't mentioned.

I'm going to put my 6" AF A. geroldi into a Exoterra Nano Tall, and probably the same with my 4-5" male P rufi.

I personally prefer the ability of having front opening and top opening access to arboreal species, because regardless of speed all of them are extremely nimble. Even Avics will move in a blur faster than the eye when they chose too. I saw one of mine spin around the Y-axis about 3 times before it stopped and nailed a cricket.
 
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