Bought a New Vivarium for my T: Some Questions

Hello everyone!

I recently bought a vivarium to put my G. pulchra in. It's made of wood that can be put inside or outside (I'm keeping it inside, obviously) and has glass siding and a cute little roof. I plan on putting a live plant or two in there along with other plants that imitate its natural environment. I do have a few questions regarding some housekeeping with it though.

* I am going to keep the coconut substrate that I have used for her since I've gotten her, but I was wondering if near the plants I can use/mix some naturally beneficial dirt for the plants.

*I would water the plants from underneath (their roots have been growing and their water source wouldnt disturb the T's substrate) but I was worried whether or not using light that doesnt give off heat (and turned off at night) would be okay for the plants and the tarantula at the same time? She'll still have her heating pad on one side of the cage.

*She isnt an adult yet, and this is a large enclosure where she will be able to live away from the plants if what I'm planning works out, so my last questions is; is there anything I should be looking our for when housing a tarantula in a vivarium? My little girl means so much to me and I want to give her the best, but I also don't want to stress her out.

*Any ways to make this the best habitat it can be?

Thanks!

walshs2 said:

Hello everyone!

I recently bought a vivarium to put my G. pulchra in. It's made of wood that can be put inside or outside (I'm keeping it inside, obviously) and has glass siding and a cute little roof. I plan on putting a live plant or two in there along with other plants that imitate its natural environment. I do have a few questions regarding some housekeeping with it though.

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This sound really cool. What size is it? Do you have a pic so we can see it?

* I am going to keep the coconut substrate that I have used for her since I've gotten her, but I was wondering if near the plants I can use/mix some naturally beneficial dirt for the plants.

Click to expand...

I would be very careful using anything in the way of fertilizer.

*I would water the plants from underneath (their roots have been growing and their water source wouldnt disturb the T's substrate) but I was worried whether or not using light that doesnt give off heat (and turned off at night) would be okay for the plants and the tarantula at the same time? She'll still have her heating pad on one side of the cage.

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No no no please take the heat pad away. Tarantulas don't need any artificial heat. Most T's are perfectly comfortable at room temperature. The rule of thumb is if your comfortable, so are your T's. If you do happen to have a species that needs elevated temperatures, the best way to accomplish this safely for you spider is using a space heater to raise ambient temperatures in the room your spider is kept. Heat pads and heat lamps will dessicate your spider too easily. Ditto if you have a hygrometer in its enclosure. Useless as boobs on a bull.

*She isnt an adult yet, and this is a large enclosure where she will be able to live away from the plants if what I'm planning works out, so my last questions is; is there anything I should be looking our for when housing a tarantula in a vivarium? My little girl means so much to me and I want to give her the best, but I also don't want to stress her out.

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Make sure there are no ventilation holes or door openings that are ANY bigger than your tarantulas carapace. How big is you spider, you say she's not an adult, so what's her leg span? Pic of her would be welcome, we all love to see pictures of people's spiders.

*Any ways to make this the best habitat it can be?

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With any spider it's pretty simple really. Appropriate depth of substrate, this will depend on species. For G. pulchra this is generally between three and four inches of substrate or whatever depth will bring the level of sub up to 1 and 1/2 times the length of the spiders leg span. For instance, if your pulchra is 3inches from the tip of the back leg on one side to the tip of the front leg on the opposite side then the distance from the top of the enclosure to the level of the sub should be NO MORE than 4 and 1/2 inches. Provide a source of clean water. Use a water dish, no gels or sponges. Spiders can't use the gel and sponges are breeding grounds for bacteria. Finally a hide and possible some plants to use as anchor points for webbing.

Thanks!

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Happy to help and welcome to the boards.
Now how about some pics...

The holes will be plugged up with the light for the plant.

Not fertilizer, I have this dirt that says it's safe for any animal, like if you were using it inside and have cats that ate dirt. (Which mine does)


"Useless as boobs on a bull." Literally one of my favorite phrases.

Okay, thank you. It's just very cold in my house, and I am personally cold so I figured that it would help. And it's the size of her enclosure, which is about 5 gallons. If she doesnt need it, all the better.




Heres my baby! That's a Gatorade cap which I stupidly dropped before moving it over to take the picture.

And she has everything else you mentioned : )
She tends to take her substrate and put it around the coconut she has as a hide, and I replace as necessary.


Thank you so much!

walshs2 said:

View attachment 135305
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The holes will be plugged up with the light for the plant.

Not fertilizer, I have this dirt that says it's safe for any animal, like if you were using it inside and have cats that ate dirt. (Which mine does)


"Useless as boobs on a bull." Literally one of my favorite phrases.

Okay, thank you. It's just very cold in my house, and I am personally cold so I figured that it would help. And it's the size of her enclosure, which is about 5 gallons. If she doesnt need it, all the better.


View attachment 135306

Heres my baby! That's a Gatorade cap which I stupidly dropped before moving it over to take the picture.

And she has everything else you mentioned : )
She tends to take her substrate and put it around the coconut she has as a hide, and I replace as necessary.


Thank you so much!

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Ok, that is an AWESOME looking enclosure. My only thing would be the door... Do you have a way to keep the substrate from spilling out when you open the door? You could put a piece of plexi or plastic or something across to act as a dam.

I look forward to seeing it all finished.

Nice pulchra too.

Yeah theres something on the bottom of the enclosure that is going to hold in all the substrate and such.

I'll definitely post pictures when I'm done. It might be a while.

Thanks! She's a beauty

What is the height of the walls on that thing & how high is the center peak above the height of the walls? I'm thinking the peaked roof may make it a difficult enclosure to get the substrate depth correct. Since your T is terrestrial, the distance from substrate to ceiling shouldn't be much more than a legspan/legspan & a half. That peaked roof means that if you do the sub to the correct level along the sides, the center will have a massive drop. if you do the correct sub level under the center peak, then the edges may be filled almost to the where the celing meets the walls.

I just don't see how you will be able to properly ventilate that enclosure.

Heat pads are dangerous and should be avoided...if your place is too cool, utilize a space heater to heat the room until it warms back up, which shouldn't be too long.

Seems a bit high for a terrestrial tarantula. A potentially deadly fall is a serious concern with that enclosure.

For ventilation I would remove one glass on the sides glue a metal mesh. That way it may be a tad too much, but at least it wont be stuffy. That enclosure seems pretty high so you will need a lot of substrate to avoid potential unjuries. Be careful with the decor too. Good luck.

Thanks everyone. And I know it's high for a terrestrial, but I only have terrestrial species right now and since im still with my parents I can't get an arboreal. I found a BEAUTIFUL A. avic but sadly I cannot give it a home. I can modify it any way I need so that's a plus.

Any plants I should avoid?

Not all arboreal spiders are highly venomous. An Avic would be fitting, but they dont move much so all that space will go to waste. Avoid poisonous plants or plants which secrete liquids when harmed. A golden pothos is a plant I very much like.

Angel Minkov said:

Not all arboreal spiders are highly venomous.

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I know. I just can't get any more spiders in general, not matter what species.

I know the feeling... I used to be bound by my mother's rules, but now she doesnt live with me so Im free to buy as many Ts as I want.

Angel Minkov said:

For ventilation I would remove one glass on the sides glue a metal mesh. That way it may be a tad too much, but at least it wont be stuffy. That enclosure seems pretty high so you will need a lot of substrate to avoid potential unjuries. Be careful with the decor too. Good luck.

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I've not seen it, but Poec54 claims Ts can chew through mesh, metal or otherwise.

They can if it's not strong enough. I'm sure the OP can find something with the right diameter.

Oh yeah I have an idea of what I'm going to use for the siding in order to create ventilation.

And I'm SO close to having my own place, I'm graduating in May, and I'm hoping to move out before the Expo that happens every year so I can come back with as many tarantulas as I want, and can care for.