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Enclosure sizes

Calico

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166
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California
Looking at all the pictures of T's and enclosures on here, it seems a lot of them are in small enclosures. Since I am new to this I really don't know what is acceptable and what should be avoided. My a.chalcodes, which is about 1 1/2" body, is in a 5 gal tank with 3" Eco Earth, a log hide and water dish. He has decided to make his burrow under the water dish and seems to stay there most of the time. He is, however, very active at night.

I am looking at possibly getting another T (not soon, but in the future) but don't have the room to have 5 gal tanks all over! But don't want to get something too small.

I must confess, in doing research on this, I came upon a board that was discussing this same question. It must be the board that people are talking about as being rude to people's questions, as this poor guy got reamed! I'm glad you guys are here and don't think any question, no matter how trivial, is stupid. Glad I found you first :)
 

WolfSpider

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Calico,

Agree with Ennie. (You can pretty much publish her posts...all of them are pearls). I would think If your T is confident (explores at night, takes prey easy, and does eco-earth excavation) your tank is fine for him. Hiding under water dishes seems to be an A. Calcodes thing.....mine does it too. Good luck with your next acquisition!!!!
 

Enn49

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Hi! I know nothing about gal (the size, not the slang "girl"!) being from Switzerland. Sorry!

But if you can give some inches/cm mesures, I could maybe help.

That being said, I agree with @Enn49 and @WolfSpider.

I'll be honest I never understood how gallon sizes worked as there are so may variables in different shapes and sizes that can hold the same amount of liquid. Inches or cm make far more sense.
 

Enn49

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Sorry.... My 5 gallon tank is 15" x 10" x 8" (width x height x depth)

Now I can picture that :), thanks. That size should be fine for it for quite a while. I use 11”L x 6.5”W x 4”H Cadbury boxes for a lot of my ground dwellers at the size your T is.
 

Nicolas C

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3 Year Member
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686
Location
Corcelles-près-Payerne, Switzerland
Thank you! Well, maybe the enclosure is a too big for your little A chalcodes. Of course, in the nature they don't have enclosures. But in captivity, a big enclosure brings the following problems:
- difficulties to monitor humidity for a small T
- difficulties to know if the prey has been eaten or not
- difficulties for the T to catch the prey
- difficulties to know where the T is
- too much height means the risk of a dangerous fall

That being said, you can of course keep your T in such an enclosure. You just have to be very careful about what I listed above. But it will work (I kept my first T several years ago in the same enclosure's size as yours when he was still young and everything went well, except for a broken leg due to a fall).

If you choose to change the enclosure, you can keep your T in a deli cup of a good size (= around 1.5x to 2x the leg span of your T) with small holes for air flow. And give it the big enclosure when it's an adult.

Most important is: if you want some new small Ts, you can house them in smaller enclosures and get more (... just be careful: when they are larger, you will need larger enclosures too!).
 

Calico

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3 Year Member
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166
Location
California
Thank you! Well, maybe the enclosure is a too big for your little A chalcodes. Of course, in the nature they don't have enclosures. But in captivity, a big enclosure brings the following problems:
- difficulties to monitor humidity for a small T
- difficulties to know if the prey has been eaten or not
- difficulties for the T to catch the prey
- difficulties to know where the T is
- too much height means the risk of a dangerous fall
.

So far he has had no problems with catching and eating prey. I seem to have gotten a batch of crickets that walk right up to him and he pounces! Or they go into his burrow and he sits over it and waits. I usually drop them close to him. I've watched every time he's been fed and he's gotten them all. He's a pretty good eater!

There are no other items beside his hide and water dish and I can see him in his burrow, so I've never lost sight of him.

And his substrate is 3-4" deep. He hasn't fallen yet (fingers crossed)
 

kormath

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from my experience i agree with @Enn49 and @Nicolas C

My rule of thumb is to keep the terrestrials in enclosures with a width (front to back) at least 2.5 to 3 times their leg span. That gives them plenty of room to grow before rehousing again and it's small enough they can find their food easily.

But, I have 2 species that don't like this size, they'd rather be in enclosure that is cramped for their size. My A. seemanni if placed in an enclosure it thinks is too large will sit in the corner in a stress pose and kick hairs at any movement or disturbance. If he's in a smaller one he's perfectly happy. My G. pulchra does this also, but rather than sitting in the corner he'll burrow away and never come out. If he's in a smaller one he's always sitting out to be seen.
 

Noodlelove

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228
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California

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Noodlelove

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Messages
228
Location
California
Ts often seem happier in smaller enclosures and it's easier for them to catch their food too.
I posted a picture of Mr pufflepants in his enclosure. He seems incredibly happy and he has about 2 in of dirt and he tunnels all over the place and he spends lots of time wandering around. He seems happy still. What do you think?
 

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tarantulas118

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107
Location
MO usa
I posted a picture of Mr pufflepants in his enclosure. He seems incredibly happy and he has about 2 in of dirt and he tunnels all over the place and he spends lots of time wandering around. He seems happy still. What do you think?
You need to put in some sort of hide such as a cork bark it’s the best hide for tarantulas. The enclosure looks good besides the hide thing. And also if it wanders around all the time then maybe it’s stressed (I could be wrong though)
 

Noodlelove

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Messages
228
Location
California
You need to put in some sort of hide such as a cork bark it’s the best hide for tarantulas. The enclosure looks good besides the hide thing. And also if it wanders around all the time then maybe it’s stressed (I could be wrong though)
I am so happy that you expressed your concern. He has tons of hides. He's tunnelled that big leaf there is the coolest thing you've ever seen because it's the door to his hide. That thing has multi-levels that he's made. He doesn't come out all the time that's for sure he's mostly hiding and he loves hiding LOL
 

Noodlelove

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Messages
228
Location
California
Hi there
The enclosure is good size for the spider.
I will suggest to put a piece of cork or plastic pot with bottom removed and cut in half to provide a hide so it has somewhere to retreat.
Regards Konstantin
It makes me so happy to be on this board with so many knowledgeable people who love these beautiful creatures. I really appreciate your expressing concerns for the baby's needs. He is such a happy little camper and has tons of hides and spends most of his time in his mucho mucho tunnels and under the leaves I throw in there he's pretty amazing. I love terrestrial tarantulas to see their brilliance at creating with what's in there enclosures. Thank you again for your wonderful comment and concern.
 
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