My Golden Knee Sling arrive in rough shape and now i need to set up a better enclosures

[moldyM00N]

I'm new to this hobby, and my first tarantula arrived after two days in... terrible condition.
Its container was tiny, barely big enough for the poor spider's legs spam. The substrate and sand were all over the place (the delivery process was terrible), and when I tried to interact with it, it seemed very stressed and panicked.
It climbed onto my hand, not biting or defending itself with its fur, just trying to hide.

The seller told me it came with a container, so I didn't need to buy one. I think I was tricked; if they had been honest, I wouldn't have complained and would have bought a different container myself.
I'm really disappointed and angry about this. I've now moved it to a temporary container and am waiting for the one I ordered online to arrive (this time from a specialized supplier).
I didn't want to feed it because it's really stressed, so I just laid down a substrate (Reptisoil), sprayed it with water, a tiny piece of bark, and a small cup of water. What should I do next to make sure this enclosure will help my spider survive until i can make a more decent home? The Tarantula is about 5cm...

 

[Tarantula Trooper]

I would see if the T eats. Sometimes hunting prey can dispell stress. If he/she won't eat just remove! Most of my Chilobrachys after a re-housed I will drop a cricket or Dubia roach in and instinct kicks in and the rehouse was like it never happened! Might help. Hope everything turns out well for you and your spider!

 

[m0lsx]

One thing that helps tarantulas to de-stress is darkness & cover. Give it something to hide under or in & put it somewhere, where there is no movement & at least low light.

When I brought my adult T stirmi home, she was obviously stressed. So I simply placed a cardboard box in front of her enclosure for a few days. I kept an eye on her, but largely left her to de-stress. Things like artificial plants, or even artificial plant leaves, will give even a sling something to hide under. I even add tiny plastic leaves to my sling vials. Bark & even appropriately sized terracotta plant pots cut in half also make good hides. As do seed pods. Not every tarantula will use cover, but it is always worth providing.