I need help fitting this enclosure !!

[Adamantium]

Hi, im new to the tarantula hobby and i need help, i have a 10" x 6" x 6" enclosure and i would love to put something in it but i'm not sure what. I've heard of the rule where the leg length and width of the enclosure, but i've heard different numbers and different ratios, can someone give me some cheap, uncommon species that would be good for that enclosure? I would prefer something closer to adulthood, but i know that adults are expensive. Thoughts? Thanks in advance!

 

[m0lsx]

What do you want to put in it?

My daughter likes things like Skulls. I brought an enclosure with a action man in it. I have put coloured table tennis balls in many of my enclosures. I use artificial plants, real bark, real moss & occasionally small terracotta flower pots that I have cut in half as some where to provide cover.

Your T needs room to move around, it needs somewhere to take cover & it needs water. It does not want anything poisonous or with sharp edges.

 

[Adamantium]

What do you want to put in it?

My daughter likes things like Skulls. I brought an enclosure with a action man in it. I have put coloured table tennis balls in many of my enclosures. I use artificial plants, real bark, real moss & occasionally small terracotta flower pots that I have cut in half as some where to provide cover.

Your T needs room to move around, it needs somewhere to take cover & it needs water. It does not want anything poisonous or with sharp edges.

decor wise, i'm kinda leaning in a more natural setting with leaf litter, branches and small succulents. i use coco husk, sphagnum moss and potting soil with ficus twiggs, Spider wise, i've been eyeballing dwarfs, particularly Neoholothele and Hapalopus genus, or other basic arid terrestrial T's but im open to suggestions, but mostly anything cheap that can stay into a 10" x 6" x 6" for a while or permanently.

 

[Enn49]

A few suggestions that would be happy in your container and would do fine for life in that size:-
Davus pentaloris
Dolichothele exilis
Orphnaecus sp negros
Heterothele villosella

 

[Adamantium]

A few suggestions that would be happy in your container and would do fine for life in that size:-
Davus pentaloris
Dolichothele exilis
Orphnaecus sp negros
Heterothele villosella

I think that D. Pentaloris or anything in the Davus genus would be good, I like the orange on fasciatus so that would be a good option in my book. You think I should start off with a baboon? I heard their harder than most T's so maybe not my first. Thank you for the suggestion though!!

 

[Adamantium]

For refrance, this is how the enclosure initaly looks

 

[Enn49]

I think that D. Pentaloris or anything in the Davus genus would be good, I like the orange on fasciatus so that would be a good option in my book. You think I should start off with a baboon? I heard their harder than most T's so maybe not my first. Thank you for the suggestion though!!

The only African T I have suggested is the Heterothele villosella which only grows to around 2" and is far more likely to run and hide than show any threat pose.
My first ever T was an OBT so as long as you are aware of their character I'd say just buy the T you really like.

 

[Adamantium]

The only African T I have suggested is the Heterothele villosella which only grows to around 2" and is far more likely to run and hide than show any threat pose.
My first ever T was an OBT so as long as you are aware of their character I'd say just buy the T you really like.

Do you think that there are any juv T's that are readily available that could stay in a 10 x 6 x 6 for at least a while? And if so, what size should they be?

 

[Enn49]

Any Brachypelma,Tliltocatl or Grammostola species make extremely good beginner Ts and a juvi would be fine in your container.

 

[Adamantium]

Any Brachypelma,Tliltocatl or Grammostola species make extremely good beginner Ts and a juvi would be fine in your container.

Ok, thank you for the pointers but I do have 2 more things to ask, what are some uncommon species in the 3 genuses that would would recommend? I'm looking for things on the more unseen spectrum, preferably flashy. Also, I updated the enclosure to have a bigger and more defined burrow, so could I also do fossoiral T's or just terrestrial T's because of how shallow the tank is?

 

[Enn49]

My personal favourites are Brachypelma boehmei and Grammostola pulchra.

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[Adamantium]

My personal favourites are Brachypelma boehmei and Grammostola pulchra.

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Ok so I've been looking all over online for things in the 1-3" zone and here are some of the options from smallest to biggest, I'm trying to keep a really tight budget so all of these are under 30$. The last 2 are 3-6 but they're really cheap so that's why they're here, thoughts?

 

[Adamantium]

Ok so I've been looking all over online for things in the 1-3" zone and here are some of the options from smallest to biggest, I'm trying to keep a really tight budget so all of these are under 30$. The last 2 are 3-6 but they're really cheap so that's why they're here, thoughts?

Biggest to smallest*

 

[Stan Schultz]

Hi, im new to the tarantula hobby and i need help, i have a 10" x 6" x 6" enclosure and i would love to put something in it but i'm not sure what. I've heard of the rule where the leg length and width of the enclosure, but i've heard different numbers and different ratios, can someone give me some cheap, uncommon species that would be good for that enclosure? I would prefer something closer to adulthood, but i know that adults are expensive. Thoughts? Thanks in advance!

You're fretting too much over little or nothing! Because almost all tarantulas now available are cage bred, babies to spiderlings in size (i.e., with DLS - Diagonal Leg Spans - of less than 2" (5 cm), just about anything that you're likely to get will fit in that cage for now. In fact, you should be more concerned about getting a cage that's so large that most of your tarantula's food gets lost and dies before it's eaten!

Second consideration: While these values are subject to wide variation, among the shortest lived tarantulas are the Avicularia. Males often/usually mature in two to four years, and die within six months after that. Female Avics will typically live five to eight years, a few even longer.

Among the longest lived tarantulas are some of the Brachypelma and a few kinds of North American Aphonopelma. We had a B. emilia, for instance, that lived an estimated 35 to 40 years! And, the now late, and once President of the now defunct American Tarantula Society, Dr. Robert Gale Breene III, once captured a gravid female of unidentified species from the Artesia, New Mexico area that subsequently produced an eggsac. (So he knew exactly how old the offspring were.) He managed to hatch the eggs and ended up with a few hundred babies. While he either sold or traded most of them off, he'd kept a small number as personal pets. He told me that he'd had them for five years and they were still only about the size of an American (or Canadian) nickel in DLS. This was in spite of the fact that they'd never been subjected to a seasonal, Winter cold spell that presumably would have retarded their growth, and in spite of the fact that they were fed in captivity far more than they would have gotten in the wild. Based on this admittedly thin evidence he stated that it was conceivable that their kind of tarantula might live as long as 60 years in the wild!

Now, why am I telling you all this? Because keeping tarantulas is a years long, if not long decades long, endeavor. Depending a lot on what kind of tarantula you're keeping, how well you care for it, and pure chance, any tarantula you're likely to acquire is not going to outgrow your cage for literally years! You have plenty of time to rehouse it if and when necessary. By that time you'll have gained a lot of the knowledge and experience in the hobby that you now lack, and you'll smile knowingly as you think back on this conversation. So will your long-legged, fuzzy, little buddy!

Stan

 

[Stan Schultz]

Any Brachypelma,Tliltocatl or Grammostola species make extremely good beginner Ts and a juvi would be fine in your container.

Amen!

 

[Stan Schultz]

Ok, thank you for the pointers but I do have 2 more things to ask, what are some uncommon species in the 3 genuses that would would recommend? I'm looking for things on the more unseen spectrum, preferably flashy. Also, I updated the enclosure to have a bigger and more defined burrow, so could I also do fossoiral T's or just terrestrial T's because of how shallow the tank is?

Stop! Stop! Stop! You admitted in the beginning that you're new to the hobby, right? For the first year, while you're completely inexperienced, go with the tried and true, docile, hardy, easy-to-care-for kinds. Especially, don't get any kinds that have a serious bite.

Take it easy! If this hobby works for you, you're gonna have it for years if not decades. You have lots of time to gradually sample everything. Don't try to eat the whole cake all at once! Slow down, learn, and enjoy what you're doing.

Further, caged tarantulas often do not use a burrow. And very few tarantula kinds even need a burrow in captivity. In fact, if your tarantula does use one, it's hard for you to keep track of what it's doing and how it looks, important considerations for hints of what you need to do as you learn to care for these amazing creatures.

Another important lesson you need to learn: A jungle tarantula does not necessarily need to live in a jungle! In fact, there is ample evidence that a jungle tarantula only lives there by pure chance. It manages to survive there IN SPITE OF the jungle! The same is true of those tarantulas that live in the frosty valleys and mountain sides of the Peruvian Andes, the blast furnace heat of North Africa, and the dry deserts of the American southwest. You're keeping your tarantula in an artificial environment. Accept that fact and pay attention to how-not-to-kill-your-tarantula!

And, almost all that decorative "stuff" (insert any expletive that suits you) that people put in their tarantulas' cages does absolutely nothing for the spider. It's just something else that it has to clamber over to find its food. And, it's just another place for dead crickets to accumulate and make the cage stink. One or two (at most) carefully chosen and placed, small ornaments or decorations will do the job of dressing up the cage without annoying or endangering your newfound little buddy!

Lastly, go to your friendly neighborhood library and check out a copy of The Tarantula Keeper's Guide (TKG3). Don't try reading it all in one sitting. It's 376 pages of tarantula stuff and doing so has been known to cause brain damage! Instead, thumb through it. Look at the pictures. Read the captions. Read a few paragraphs that catch your attention. Set the book aside for a day or two, then go back and read a little more. Repeat as necessary.

TKG3 is now out of print, although I've been told that it's available as eBooks from Amazon and Barnes & Noble. You probably won't find it in bookstores or pet shops anymore, but a few copies appear from time to time on eBay and various Internet used books stores. But, be prepared - they're pricey!

Best of luck to you and your fuzzy, little, long-legged buddy!


Stan

 

[DustyD]

@Adamantium
Take your time and be thorough. Researching and gaining knowledge is part of the fun of keeping tarantulas.

Make sure you research the seller. There are a lot of good ones out there as well as some unscrupulous ones and some in between. Check for reviews here and elsewhere online.

maybe go to a show, such as a reptile show, where often there are tarantula dealers just to get an idea of what is available.

When buying online, unless you or someone else is going to pick up the tarantula, there will be shipping charges and many send tarantulas by FedEx overnight, which can cost $50 or so.