Question about cleaning - PT tarantula

[jordanily]

Hello everyone,

I've had my tarantula for about a month now. I have a question for all of you. Maybe a few questions;

Q1. What do you all use to wash the tank? I.e. cleaning products or not, etc.

Q2. I have a top opening tank (I learned, mistake. Next tank I'll upgrade to a forward opening), I had to remove the interior decor to get to the water bowl for a refill; When I do this, am I to try my best to not disturb the web he built on the decorations? I did my best not to but that leads me to Q3...

Q3. When you do a full tank cleaning, assuming the decor gets washed as well (logically, that makes sense to me but I'm new so idk), the web would get removed. If you're *not* supposed to really wash the decor, is it okay to remove the webs he made?

Thank you so much in advance for all of your help!

 

[m0lsx]

If I buy a secondhand enclosure I normally wash it out thoroughly using a small amount of sterilising fluid. I rinse equally thoroughly & several times, with clean water & then I do not use it for at least a few weeks. I do not use anything with any chemicals in it, anywhere near my T's beyond that.

I also do clean things like water dishes etc every so often. And if I am changing a T from enclosure to enclosure. I normally give the bark a good scrub in clean water, before I allow any other T near it. The same with artificial plants etc. And the only time I clean an enclosure is when moving a T to a larger enclosure, or if the enclosure is new to me. With new enclosures, I normally simply give them a rinse in clean water, the same with new plants, bark etc.

Most of my enclosures are top opening & the only T I have had any issues with, is my GBB. That I had to cover half the top with paper, to stop me damaging their webbing everytime I took the lid off. That has worked great, the webbing is not damaged now & my GBB loves to spend time in the small area between the paper & the lid.

 

[Oursapoil]

Hi Jordanily,

Everything m0lsk said but I wanted to add that it is always good to use latex or plastic gloves when cleaning the tank and any of the decor. A lot of Ts have urticating hairs (setae), no visible but that will be everywhere in the enclosure (I learnt this the hard way) and as I do not know the species you have it is always good practice to cover your hands.
Cheers and happy cleaning.

 

[PanzoN88]

1. If you’re referring to cleaning an enclosure before housing anything, the above information is good, now if you’re talking about while the tarantula is in the enclosure, refer to my answer to your third question.

2. not really anything to add to this as I mainly only use top opening enclosures.

3. when you say “full tank cleaning” do you mean during a rehouse or what reptile owners do every few weeks with changing out bedding and replacing the inhabitant back in the enclosure? If during a rehouse, refer to the above posts as I stated in number 1. Now if it is the latter, then there is no need for a full blown tank cleaning. Spot cleaning here and there is all that is necessary.

 

[Arachnoclown]

I wash everything with Dawn dish soap...same stuff they wash the oil covered wildlife with.
Just make sure to rinse everything well. Ive used it for as long as I can remember without a hitch.

 

[octanejunkie]

I shower once a week whether I need to or not.

 

[octanejunkie]

I use plastic condiment cups for water dishes in 99% of my enclosures. Simply pull an empty or dirty one out with long tongs, put a new one in and fill. Wash the dirty one, let dry and reuse or discard.

I use a toothbrush and plain water to wash poop off glass. Or a razor blade and then a toothbrush with water.

I pick up boluses with tongs if on the ground. Boluses in water dishes, very common, get the water dish swapped out per above.

Nasty substrate (poo or mold) I pull out with tongs and either replace or not.

I don't clean much else in the enclosure, it's not worth stressing the animal over, IMO.

If I use soap, I only use Dawn, bc Dawn gets the Grease out

 

[Aracnoenthusiast]

I clean prior to housing with dish soap and rinse thoroughly. Once the t is in the enclosure my cleaning consists of removing bolus and keeping water dish clean. Other than that tank cleaning on a large scale isnt really needed unless an issue develops

 

[Coradams]

I have nothing to add to the cage cleaning advice here - its all good!! But I will say something about enclosures.

I like top opening enclosures for terrestrial tarantulas. When terrestrials bolt, they tend to run along the ground and can run out an open side door.

I like side opening enclosures for arboreal tarantulas. When they bolt, they tend to go up and can escape out of an open top.

Either way, long tweezers (for maintenance) are your friend.

Hope this helps. What kind of t do you have by the way?