My first tarantula !

[ilke17]

I am super exited to get my first ever spider. Tarantulas are not very popular in Serbia so it was a tedious job for me to gather all of the information I need for a begginer. The species I chose is acanthoscurria geniculata, witch is from my understanding a begginer friendly spider to look after ( also I adore it's white stripes ). I thoroughly read about this particular spider because I really want to get this right! I went for a 30x30x30 glass terrarium. Can't wait to decorate it and put the bad boy in there when he arrives ! P.S. If anyone has any tips I might find helpful, feel free to share !

 

[fcat]

If you got your information from this website you should be good, if you didn't, you might want to summarize so it can be fact checked. There is a lot of misinformation out there.

Make sure the enclosure is not too big for the tarantula.

Welcome to the hobby!!!!

All hail! (Everytime you see someone post a picture of A geniculata, someone is going to say "All hail" and you must too )

 

[ilke17]

If you got your information from this website you should be good, if you didn't, you might want to summarize so it can be fact checked. There is a lot of misinformation out there.

Make sure the enclosure is not too big for the tarantula.

Welcome to the hobby!!!!

All hail! (Everytime you see someone post a picture of A geniculata, someone is going to say "All hail" and you must too )

Well to summarize, geniculata likes it humid (about 70%) and the enclosure should not have a high celling because if they fall down they can get seriously injured. Also the water lid is a must, they should be fed once a week with worms or cockroaches.They can sometimes refuse food for long periods of time when they are about to shed. Oh and I'm interested as to how that last part came about on this forum? All hail !

 

[MrsHaas]

Glad to have you on arachnoboards!! We’re all mad here! But only our fuzzy 8 legged friends bite (well, I guess we can bite too because anything with a mouth can bite lol). Either way, welcome, welcome welcome!

 

[cold blood]

What size is your incoming tarantula?

Well to summarize, geniculata likes it humid (about 70%)

Well, not exactly...you should never...like never ever, be shooting for a number specific humidity. This train of thought will only serve to get you into trouble in time. The reality is far far simpler....you can keep your t predominantly dry, only dampening part of the sub on occasion, and only when the sub has fully dried....too damp is far more dangerous in the long run than too dry will be.

and the enclosure should not have a high celling because if they fall down they can get seriously injured

correct!

. Also the water lid is a must, they should be fed once a week with worms or cockroaches.

Water dishes arent really a must, but they certainly a good idea and one I would recommend.

Now to the feeding schedule...you dont need a feeding schedule at all. This is evident if you understand how ts grow. When they molt, they will always be at their thinnest and therefore be their hungriest....but as they plump, their need for food will diminish and when fat, their food needs are very low....zero for a really fat one...most will refuse food at some point...a genic however, may not. So you can feed more after a molt, and less as it plumps.

Now to another factor...the size of your prey.....if you are feeding small prey items, you can feed the t more often, however if you are feeding very large, or many smaller or medium sized prey items, you will want to feed a whole lot less often. See, you could feed a small mealworm just about every day, or you could feed a very large roach twice a month, and you would be giving a heavier feeding schedule with the latter feeding option.....so there is that to consider. But absolutely do not get hung up on strict feeding schedules.

Now to the prey....a t will take darn near anything they can overpower, and therefore your feeder options can include a myriad of things...meal worms, wax worms, super worms, earthworms, roaches, locusts, crickets...heck, I have fed small fish or chunks of chicken in a pinch.....the reality is that you should feed whatever prey option is most readily available to you.

They can sometimes refuse food for long periods of time when they are about to shed. Oh and I'm interested as to how that last part came about on this forum?

Again this comes down to understanding how a t grows.....during a cycle (the period of time from molt to molt) a t only needs a certain amount of food (its nutritional needs), once its reached its limit (when its nice and plump) the t now only needs to wait for its body to be ready to molt...all ts will need a specific time to create the new exoskeleton beneath the old one, and only temp will shorten or lengthen this (this would be essentially its physical needs).....so if a t has reached its nutritional needs before its physical needs have been met, it will simply fast until those physical needs are met....so in essence, the heavier a feeding pace is, the longer a t will fast before molting....and this is very easy to do (which is why long fasts are common in captivity).....but if you feed at a slower pace, you can drastically shorten or even eliminate the fasting period.

But if you feed at a really slow pace, you can have the t physically ready to molt before its nutritional needs are met, and while not at all harmful, this is one thing that can cause the molt cycle to become longer.

be aware, you get a lot of differing opinions on feeding "schedules"...some feed a lot, others sparingly, this leads to a wide range of opinions, and its important to note that while this may seem confusing or even conflicting, its really not, as all the advice can and generally will, lead to the same healthy tarantula in the long run....so its more of a keepers choice as long as you dont feed at such a ridiculously slow pace as to starve the t, but feeding is half the fun (most of it actually), so such things are not the norm and only occur with some pretty significant neglect.

 

[ilke17]

That is all very intertesting information witch I didn't know. Especially the feeding part . Thank you !


So I should water only one part of the enclosure and that should be enough? Also how often do I need to (if at all) clean the enclosure?

 

[corydalis]

So I should water only one part of the enclosure and that should be enough?

Yep, provide water dish, and dampen half of the substrate.

Also how often do I need to (if at all) clean the enclosure?

Its a non issue basically, spot cleaning is enough if you feel it necessary to remove moldy remains, boluses etc. Some Ts are notorious for filling their water dishes with substrate, poop, or food remains, if that will be the case you should clean it a bit more often, but that’s all.

 

[freedomisle]

That is all very intertesting information witch I didn't know. Especially the feeding part . Thank you !


So I should water only one part of the enclosure and that should be enough? Also how often do I need to (if at all) clean the enclosure?

Cold Bloods advice is spot on. Apply what he says.

I keep all my Tarantulas this way, overflow the water dish once a week / when substrate is dry, never had any issues even with higher humidity species.

I spot clean every couple of months, clean any poop (it will be white btw) and remove any food remains (they will be small balls) sitting on the substrate. I do a full clean / rehousing when I think it's necessary, I tend to do it every 1-2 years, but I know some keepers never do and this will also be depend on the species.

 

[HOITrance]

Welcome to the rabbit hole! Great choice for first T!

 

[LilithArachne]

When you get your tarantula, please send us some pics!