AF C. ritae enclosure

MrsHaas · Dec 1, 2015

Would this be appropriate to house an AF C. ritae permanently? I know they are supposed to be opportunistic burrowed, but I'm concerned there may not be enough leg room and that she may need a better piece of cork board. Honest opinions and suggestions required and appreciated! Thanks guys and dolls!

r

--J.Haas

Thistles · Dec 2, 2015

They hit 2" so I'd give her some more room. As adults the floor space is more important than substrate depth. They're opportunistic burrowers, as you said, not obligate. That depth of substrate in a wider enclosure with some decor for privacy would be great.

Exoskeleton Invertebrates · Dec 2, 2015

MrsHaas said:
Would this be appropriate to house an AF C. ritae permanently? I know they are supposed to be opportunistic burrowed, but I'm concerned there may not be enough leg room and that she may need a better piece of cork board. Honest opinions and suggestions required and appreciated! Thanks guys and dolls!

r

--J.Haas

It's perfect! Don't forget a water dish.

MrsHaas · Dec 14, 2015

So instead of the deli cup I got an exo terra mini. But when the ritae arrived she was MUCH smaller than I thought. She was sold to me as an adult female, but she was only .75", maybe an inch. I put her in the enclosure and basically she made s teeny web up in the top corner of the enclosure and hasn't come down. I tried to feed her but I'm worried that she won't find the crickets BC she seems way too tiny. Would it be best to rehouse her into the deli cup til she gets a bit bigger? I was under the impression an adult female would be about 2"

soundsmith · Dec 14, 2015

The Exo Terra's look really nice, I have one, but they are not good for terrestrial tarantulas, especially dwarf species. For arboreals you still should at least replace the mesh with plexiglass so they can't chew through. For terrestrials, you can't put enough substrate in to make up for the abundance of height. There is a post somewhere that someone showed how they turned one on it's side and replaced the mesh screen up top with plexiglass to hold in substrate, that's the only good way to use one for terrestrials really. I had my Euathlus sp. red in the short Nano initially and eventually put her in an appropriate Sterilite once I saw her fall from the top, it's a long way down for small species like ours. I found a use for my Exo by putting a WC praying mantis in it

cold blood · Dec 14, 2015

MrsHaas said:
So instead of the deli cup I got an exo terra mini. But when the ritae arrived she was MUCH smaller than I thought. She was sold to me as an adult female, but she was only .75", maybe an inch.

Booooooo, Booooooo....that's

oop: Did you contact the seller, that's gotta be one tough spider to sex, if its possible. Good luck on it being a her, they're a cool species.

I'd definitely put it into the deli cup....you have it looking so nice.

Thistles · Dec 14, 2015

Yeah, what CB said. The deli is great for one of that size and you are correct that they get around 2". Your specimen isn't an adult, so if that's what was advertised you got ripped off.

MrsHaas · Dec 14, 2015

Well I just looked at the email and - my mistake - he never said "adult" but according to the person I got it from (a major breeder/dealer) said he sexed the molt and confirmed it female and said she was a 1 1/4"+ and I got her for $70... She was def not as large as he claimed her to be but do you still think I got ripped off? And that perhaps that I should doubt it is a she? I will transfer her into the smaller deli cup this weekend. Also, Are these Ts fast growers? Will I get yo retransfer her into the exo any time soon?

--J.Haas

Thistles · Dec 15, 2015

It is possible to sex them that small. The price seems fair to me for a female. I had one a few years ago and she was a moderately fast grower. At that size I'd call her a juvenile so she's through the fastest growth stage.

MrsHaas · Dec 15, 2015

Thistles said:
It is possible to sex them that small. The price seems fair to me for a female. I had one a few years ago and she was a moderately fast grower. At that size I'd call her a juvenile so she's through the fastest growth stage.

That's good news! Actually she rebuilt a web on the floor of the exoterra now and I even saw her eating a cricket I had fed her the day before. Maybe for her comforts sake I'll just leave here there and let her grow into it. As long as she is webbing and can find food and water it seems pointless to disturb her.

--J.Haas

edgeofthefreak · Dec 16, 2015

soundsmith said:
...there is a post somewhere that someone showed how they turned one on it's side and replaced the mesh screen up top with plexiglass to hold in substrate...

You mean this thread?

At 8" tall, you'd still need a good amount of substrate for dwarf spiders. With the Plexiglas lid as a side wall, you could fill the thing right to the top, to give maximum burrow space.

For the most part, the shorter Exo-terra mini that Mrs.Haas has (haaas) is likely a good size, and especially if the lil one is already starting to making it a home. If you're feeling adventurous, you could still modify the top, ridding yourself of the less good screens they come with.

MrsHaas · Dec 16, 2015

edgeofthefreak said:
Mrs.Haas has (haaas)

Hahahaha!!!

Love the conversion EOTF, very creative!

---------- Post added 12-16-2015 at 07:40 PM ----------

So she is really small for the enclosure but I don't want to stress her out by moving her unless someone says it is really a terrible idea to keep her in here:

She has been all over the enclosure tho... I constantly see her exploring

--J.Haas

cold blood · Dec 16, 2015

Geez, give your genic its hide back...lmao. I would use a hide with an entrance the size of a nickel.

Seems like its dealing with the extra room just fine.

MrsHaas · Dec 16, 2015

cold blood said:
Geez, give your genic its hide back...lmao. I would use a hide with an entrance the size of a nickel.

Seems like its dealing with the extra room just fine.

Haha!! It would have been perfect - slightly roomy - if she was fully grown... The angle make it look super huge haha

viper69 · Dec 16, 2015

MrsHaas said:
Would it be best to rehouse her into the deli cup til she gets a bit bigger?

YES you bet

---------- Post added 12-16-2015 at 05:47 PM ----------

MrsHaas said:
Hahahaha!!!

Love the conversion EOTF, very creative!

---------- Post added 12-16-2015 at 07:40 PM ----------

So she is really small for the enclosure but I don't want to stress her out by moving her unless someone says it is really a terrible idea to keep her in here:

She has been all over the enclosure tho... I constantly see her exploring

--J.Haas

It's a terrible idea! Technically, you'd have to provide it enough food to ensure the following: It finds the food, the prey items don't die before the T finds them, the prey items don't hide.

It isn't that they can't hunt, but Ts are not hunters like a jumping spider, they are really ambush predators. I've watched small Ts hunt sure, but they were also in smaller containers where any movement set off the Ts "trip wires". In setups I have with AF Brachy's with equivalent floor space, once the cricket leaves the immediate area, none of the Ts could be bothered hunting a cricket down.

MrsHaas · Dec 16, 2015

viper69 said:
YES you bet

---------- Post added 12-16-2015 at 05:47 PM ----------

It's a terrible idea! Technically, you'd have to provide it enough food to ensure the following: It finds the food, the prey items don't die before the T finds them, the prey items don't hide.

It isn't that they can't hunt, but Ts are not hunters like a jumping spider, they are really ambush predators. I've watched small Ts hunt sure, but they were also in smaller containers where any movement set off the Ts "trip wires". In setups I have with AF Brachy's with equivalent floor space, once the cricket leaves the immediate area, none of the Ts could be bothered hunting a cricket down.

I'm getting mixed messages... [emoji53] CB says let her stay, viper says move her... Hmmm what to do?

--J.Haas

cold blood · Dec 16, 2015

Even though I don't think that what its in is drastically terrible, although vipers concerns are 100% valid, its more if an inconvenience for you (one I would personally rather not deal with), I still prefer the deli cup (as I stated prior in post #6).

Disquiet · Dec 17, 2015

If you're willing to put in the extra work to ensure the spider eats, I can say for sure that full-size enclosures are not a problem for slings or juveniles. They will explore the entire space, even if they won't necessarily utilize all of it. I think it might lead to more natural behaviors as well if you give them more room. The Exo looks really nice and the spider has settled in, I would leave her in there--no reason to disturb her further if you're willing to be diligent with feeding.

MrsHaas · Dec 17, 2015

Disquiet said:
If you're willing to put in the extra work to ensure the spider eats, I can say for sure that full-size enclosures are not a problem for slings or juveniles. They will explore the entire space, even if they won't necessarily utilize all of it. I think it might lead to more natural behaviors as well if you give them more room. The Exo looks really nice and the spider has settled in, I would leave her in there--no reason to disturb her further if you're willing to be diligent with feeding.

I think I'll try this, maybe putting the crickets in near her and watching to see if she gets them... And if she's not eating ill move her. She's a runner too, which is why I don't want yo move her too much. She gave me a bit of a hassle unpacking lol

MrsHaas · Dec 27, 2015

So, just to update, my ritae has been an EXCELLENT eater these past two weeks so I have decided not to move her. She actually comes flying out of her web to tackle crickets the same size as her as soon as I drop them in. Given, I have been leaving the crickets within a inch or less from her when I feed, but don't mind taking the extra 30 seconds to do so and I'm very pleased w her feeding response! Thanks to everyone who gave input and helped me figure this all out!

AF C. ritae enclosure

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