Uh oh, looks like mold!

[Huntzman90]

Ok im a bit of a noob at this. So i need some advice from the experts.

I just rehoused my B. Albopilosum for the first time since getting it (unsexed) as a tiny sling. The reptile store owner suggested using a fairly large container with a fairly large hide. He said the T would grow into it.

Also I just noticed some white furry stuff growing from the bark hide. I didnt notice it at first and initially thought it to be webbing but upon further inspection suspect it to be some type of mold. Also found some darker looking mold near the edge of the bark. I removed the hide immediately. My t seems fine.

So a few questions for ya's!

Is this harmful mold and should i be conserned about my tarantula?
What causes this mold and whats the best way to prevent it?
Is my enclosure too big?
Is my hide to large?

Any information you guys can give me would be very much appreciated.

I attached some photos of the mold (hard to catch on my crappy phone) my enclosure/hide and my T for size comparison. Fyi that spot on its abdomen is just some substrate it fell off when it moved lol.

 

[Rs50matt]

First bit of advice is don’t listen to pet shops
They’re right in saying it’ll grow into it but with any species that would take a long long time. With a brachypelma albopilosum? Your looking at about 8 years or so until it’ll grow into it
It’s on the large side tbh. I would scale it down quite a lot. Ts like small dark spaces and without anywhere to feel safe it could start to stress your T out .

Comparing your T to the bottle top dish? It’s hard to size but I would recommend maybe getting an exo Terra breeding box small.
Over here there about £10 so I think that’s around $15? Not 100% sure but they are nice enclosures.

For the hide it’s hard to say with the pictures but in general mold isnt great. For a hide you’d be better off using a small plastic plant pot and cut it in half. I’ll post a picture of my enclosure if I can get a decent picture.

Hope this has helped

 

[Rs50matt]

I used an iPhone 6 so you have some idea of the size of it and I could easily get away with a smaller enclosure for this T (grammostola pulchra ) but I don’t need the space and I like the look of it. All a T really needs is somewhere to hide , sub to burrow if it chooses to ( can see in back corner that it’s bulldosed the substrate) and a water dish that for once isn’t full of substrate.

 

[Huntzman90]

Thank you! Yes this helps a lot

I was thinking it was a little too large, and by your pictures my enclosure seems a few inches to long. I will look for something more suitable asap. The plant plot does look nice.. And great enclosure set up by the way

The pet shop owner is actually a tarantula keeper himself and this is a fairly small shop that only deals with reptiles and arachnids. I was still very skeptical of this advice as a few of his recommendations didnt seem to make much sense. Think I'll be sticking to the forums for advice.

I wont use the same hide and will probably try the plant pot idea. Will definitely get more places for it to hide (i removed everything when i saw the mold) and get a better enclosure. My T is about 1.5 inches by the way. Seems to be doing very well. Eats very well and has molted successfully twice now.

Do you have any additional advice to the size of enclosure i should rehouse my Caribena (avicularia) laeta in?

It molted a week after my b. Albo. Its also about 1.5 inches and will need a rehouse as soon as it hardens (i will wait a couple weeks). I know they need to be housed in a taller enclosure as they climb and web. But do you have any advice for height and width dimensions for the enclosure? This one is pretty fast so id prefer to only rehouse it once lol

Seriously, thanks very much for the advice.

 

[Rs50matt]

I used these for a Caribena versicolor.
It’s an exo Terra nano tall (20x20x30). It’ll be a little large for a smaller T but as avicularias and caribenas web a decent amount you won’t lose your T in the enclosure so will be able to keep an eye on it and feed as normal. It’ll also be able to stay in this enclosure till adulthood so won’t need to worry about rehousing. Hide is a cork bark tube. Cork holds very little moisture so shouldn’t mold at all.

I’ve never owned a C laeta just so your aware so I’m not sure if they can outgrow these enclosures or not but even if it does it won’t be for a long time.

 

[Rs50matt]

Thought I’d add as you can’t see from the picture but these open from the front and also the screen on the top can be removed easily for access

 

[Huntzman90]

Sweet!

I actually when into the pet shop to look at one of the terrestrial versions of these and the guy talked me into the other one. theyre pretty cool though. Do you reckon its worth getting both versions of the terra nanos.. one for each of my T's? I dont mind spending the money for a good enclosure even if the tarantula does outgrow it, can always buy more tarantulas lol

They look well ventilated and i do like that you can open them from the front. I will definitely buy one for my caribena.

What do you recommend for substrate? Pet shop guy said plain coco fibre will do but i have heard of mixing with potting soil? Is this recommended?

Sorry for all the questions, i really am a noob though I do really appreciate your advice.

 

[Rs50matt]

I had one of the 20x20x20s but I’ll be honest I prefer the breeding box. Size isn’t much different but breeding box is stackable.
Currently have an E Campestratus in one of the larger 30x30x30s but I did replace the mesh on the lid with acrylic as I had a N Chromatus climb and get her claws caught a few times.

Yeah plain coco fibre is fine. It’s what I use in most enclosures. Some people do use potting soil or a mixture of both with abit of vermiculite but I’d honestly just stick to coco fibre for now.

Not just me but most people on here welcome questions. We all started from nowhere and it’s better to ask a question than to get something wrong which could result in the death of your T.

 

[Huntzman90]

Ok cool. I had always wondered about Ts getting theyre claws caught on the mesh top lids. Good to know that its something to look out for.

Well thanks for responding so quickly. Hopefully things will go smoothly from here on out. I may steal some of your enclosure layout ideas lol

 

[Rs50matt]

Ts are generally fine with it and most keepers will never have an issue with the mesh but I had 1 T climb and hang from a leg a few times and I got paranoid so changed all mesh lids on terrestrial Ts. Arboreal are generally more agile so I didn’t replace the mesh

Yeah treat yourself. There’s a section on the forum for enclosures. I sometimes look through to see what other people are doing

I will say that even though I’ve elevated the water dish it was just my preference. It isn’t necessary. Arboreal Ts will go to ground level to drink.

 

[Huntzman90]

Ok i was more worried about my C. Laeta with the mesh. Didnt know it was the other way around. Then again ive rarely seen my Albo leave the substrate so I should hopefully be ok.

Yeah i was gonna say something about your water dish.. I think it actually looks good like that. Was a little concerned the T would web it up though. I will have to experiment a little. And yes gonna have a look at some other enclosures on this forum.. Ive seen a few that look amazing!

 

[Tortoise Tom]

I don't mind using larger enclosures. I've never had a tarantula get "stressed out" because it had a large space to walk around in, and none of mine have ever had any trouble running down and catching roaches in them. I rather like watching them run across an open enclosure and grab their prey. I offer hiding spots, and it works fine for me. I have a 2.5" A. geniculata in a 5 gallon cube right now and he/she is doing great. Been in there for several months now. I drop roaches as far away from him as possible and he sprints over and takes them down with no problem.

You should be able to stop the mold or fungus by cleaning it off and letting things dry out a bit. I just started experimenting with isopods in some enclosures, and it seems to be working really well so far.

I prefer straight coco coir for substrate. That is what I use in all my enclosures for all species.

I've never had trouble with screen tops for any arboreal species: C. versicolor, A. purpurata, 3 species of Psalmopoeus, and 2 species of Poecilotheria. I have had trouble with both of my T. stirmi. They simply will not stay off the screen tops. I had to re-house both of them into enclosures with no screen. I also have had trouble with it in the past with Grammostola pulchra and Grammostola pulchripes.

 

[Huntzman90]

Thats good to know. I will probably downsize a little but mainly because i like the look of the exo terra enclosures. But i figured as long as there are plenty of places for it to hide it should be fine.

What are the best feeders to use in your opinion?

I am using crickets and I have always been a little concerned about them hurting my T. Are meal worms a good feeder? Im not to fond of roaches lol... But i will bite the bullet if i have to.
I guess I'm more interested in the nutritional value of feeder insects and whats more beneficial for the T.

My B. Albopilosum doesnt seem to ever drink and I assume it still being a sling gets most of its fluids from the crickets it eats. So never been to conserned.

My Caribena Laeta on the other hand has only fed once in the month ive had it, but was likely in pre molt when I first got it and I didnt notice. Its molted now and will be ready for a new enclosure as soon as its hardened.

Tbh. Im a little nervous rehousing my Caribena. I rehoused my B. Albo with no dramas but my C. Laeta is much quicker. Whats the best way to rehouse an arborial species?
Also whats the best way to get the spider out of its original enclosure? Its a small enclosure and the webbing on top is super thick.. Whats the safest way to remove the webbing? Or is it best to try to push the T out?

Thank you for the advice. It really helps and is appreciated

 

[Huntzman90]

I don't mind using larger enclosures. I've never had a tarantula get "stressed out" because it had a large space to walk around in, and none of mine have ever had any trouble running down and catching roaches in them. I rather like watching them run across an open enclosure and grab their prey. I offer hiding spots, and it works fine for me. I have a 2.5" A. geniculata in a 5 gallon cube right now and he/she is doing great. Been in there for several months now. I drop roaches as far away from him as possible and he sprints over and takes them down with no problem.

You should be able to stop the mold or fungus by cleaning it off and letting things dry out a bit. I just started experimenting with isopods in some enclosures, and it seems to be working really well so far.

I prefer straight coco coir for substrate. That is what I use in all my enclosures for all species.

I've never had trouble with screen tops for any arboreal species: C. versicolor, A. purpurata, 3 species of Psalmopoeus, and 2 species of Poecilotheria. I have had trouble with both of my T. stirmi. They simply will not stay off the screen tops. I had to re-house both of them into enclosures with no screen. I also have had trouble with it in the past with Grammostola pulchra and Grammostola pulchripes.

That last post was directed at you, forgot to hit reply

 

[Tortoise Tom]

Thats good to know. I will probably downsize a little but mainly because i like the look of the exo terra enclosures. But i figured as long as there are plenty of places for it to hide it should be fine.

What are the best feeders to use in your opinion?

I am using crickets and I have always been a little concerned about them hurting my T. Are meal worms a good feeder? Im not to fond of roaches lol... But i will bite the bullet if i have to.
I guess I'm more interested in the nutritional value of feeder insects and whats more beneficial for the T.

My B. Albopilosum doesnt seem to ever drink and I assume it still being a sling gets most of its fluids from the crickets it eats. So never been to conserned.

My Caribena Laeta on the other hand has only fed once in the month ive had it, but was likely in pre molt when I first got it and I didnt notice. Its molted now and will be ready for a new enclosure as soon as its hardened.

Tbh. Im a little nervous rehousing my Caribena. I rehoused my B. Albo with no dramas but my C. Laeta is much quicker. Whats the best way to rehouse an arborial species?
Also whats the best way to get the spider out of its original enclosure? Its a small enclosure and the webbing on top is super thick.. Whats the safest way to remove the webbing? Or is it best to try to push the T out?

Thank you for the advice. It really helps and is appreciated

One thing I've learned after decades of caring for all sorts of animals is that lots of different strategies will work. Despite this, some people seem to have pretty strong opinions about one way or another. Sometimes this is based on something they've read, and sometimes its based on first hand experience. This can make it difficult for a new keeper to sort through and discern the "correct" info. One nice thing about most tarantula species is that there is a wide margin of error. 10 people can tell you how to do it 10 different ways, and all 10 can be correct and lead you to success. I've been keeping tarantulas since the early 90s, but only a few individuals from a few common species for most of that time. Only in the last year or so, did I branch out and try dozens of new species. Man, there was a lot to learn, and so much more still to go. We did so many things "wrong" back then, yet I still never had any problems and none of mine ever died prematurely. We had sponges in the water, the wrong substrates, substrate that was too wet or too dry, not enough ventilation, over feeding, underfeeding, wrong temperature info and products to help correct this misperceived "problem", etc... The point is, with these Internet forums, current books, and so many helpful people, this is the golden age of tarantula keeping from where I'm sitting. It really can't get any easier or simpler. We know so much more now both as individuals and collectively.

Food: I prefer roaches as feeders. They have a higher meat to shell ratio, and are very nutritious. They won't harm the tarantula even during the molting process, they are easy to handle, easy to house, and easy to propagate. I don't like mealworms as a food source and don't feed them to anything. They are mostly chitin and have a terrible calcium to phosphorous ratio. Crickets are better than mealworms, but I hate crickets. They stink, they are noisy, they are difficult to breed in quantity, they escape and infest your house, or they all die off for no apparent reason. No thank you. Roaches are easy, safe, and good food.

About the drinking: First, they don't need to drink a whole lot. Second, most tarantulas (possibly all of them...) are most active at night. I sleep at night. I don't have any idea what my tarantulas are doing while I sleep. I do know that when I go into the reptile room at night with a light, they are all out and about doing tarantula stuff. My best guess would be that they do their drinking at night. Kind of like most humans.


About moving the Caribena: The nice thing is that they are not usually aggressive, nor exceedingly toxic if a bite did somehow inexplicably occur. Here is a tip: Arboreals tend to go UP when you mess with them or try to move them. Hold your catch cup accordingly. There are a million ways to move a tarantula. I found value in watching Youtube videos of people re-homing the species I was interested in. I learned not only how each species moves and behaves, but also saw many useful techniques and bits of kit that were helpful. I also saw what not to do. A few minutes searching and watching a few videos will probably put your mind much more at ease.

Keep asking all your questions. We are all here to talk about spiders, and your questions will fuel the conversation. Chances are good that other people have the same questions, and that other people reading will also learn from the answers given by some of our more experienced members. I have learned a ton from some of the members here.

 

[Rs50matt]

What Tom said about rehousing is massively usefull watch different you tubers and how they rehouse.
The most important part of rehousing is the preparation, you hope it goes smoothly but you need to make sure your prepared if it doesn’t

 

[Huntzman90]

One thing I've learned after decades of caring for all sorts of animals is that lots of different strategies will work. Despite this, some people seem to have pretty strong opinions about one way or another. Sometimes this is based on something they've read, and sometimes its based on first hand experience. This can make it difficult for a new keeper to sort through and discern the "correct" info. One nice thing about most tarantula species is that there is a wide margin of error. 10 people can tell you how to do it 10 different ways, and all 10 can be correct and lead you to success. I've been keeping tarantulas since the early 90s, but only a few individuals from a few common species for most of that time. Only in the last year or so, did I branch out and try dozens of new species. Man, there was a lot to learn, and so much more still to go. We did so many things "wrong" back then, yet I still never had any problems and none of mine ever died prematurely. We had sponges in the water, the wrong substrates, substrate that was too wet or too dry, not enough ventilation, over feeding, underfeeding, wrong temperature info and products to help correct this misperceived "problem", etc... The point is, with these Internet forums, current books, and so many helpful people, this is the golden age of tarantula keeping from where I'm sitting. It really can't get any easier or simpler. We know so much more now both as individuals and collectively.

Food: I prefer roaches as feeders. They have a higher meat to shell ratio, and are very nutritious. They won't harm the tarantula even during the molting process, they are easy to handle, easy to house, and easy to propagate. I don't like mealworms as a food source and don't feed them to anything. They are mostly chitin and have a terrible calcium to phosphorous ratio. Crickets are better than mealworms, but I hate crickets. They stink, they are noisy, they are difficult to breed in quantity, they escape and infest your house, or they all die off for no apparent reason. No thank you. Roaches are easy, safe, and good food.

About the drinking: First, they don't need to drink a whole lot. Second, most tarantulas (possibly all of them...) are most active at night. I sleep at night. I don't have any idea what my tarantulas are doing while I sleep. I do know that when I go into the reptile room at night with a light, they are all out and about doing tarantula stuff. My best guess would be that they do their drinking at night. Kind of like most humans.


About moving the Caribena: The nice thing is that they are not usually aggressive, nor exceedingly toxic if a bite did somehow inexplicably occur. Here is a tip: Arboreals tend to go UP when you mess with them or try to move them. Hold your catch cup accordingly. There are a million ways to move a tarantula. I found value in watching Youtube videos of people re-homing the species I was interested in. I learned not only how each species moves and behaves, but also saw many useful techniques and bits of kit that were helpful. I also saw what not to do. A few minutes searching and watching a few videos will probably put your mind much more at ease.

Keep asking all your questions. We are all here to talk about spiders, and your questions will fuel the conversation. Chances are good that other people have the same questions, and that other people reading will also learn from the answers given by some of our more experienced members. I have learned a ton from some of the members here.

Thats very insightful, thank you!

I went back to the reptile store today, unfortunately they didnt have the arboreal exo terra nano enclosure i wanted. However, I did buy one of the terrestrial enclosures for my Brachy. Hopefully I do not have any trouble with the mesh top. It is most definitely a better size and looks much nicer. The cross ventilation should be a huge bonus as well. Will rehouse in a couple of weeks when the enclosure is ready to go.

The lady working there seemed a tad concerned about my mold problem considering i bought the hide from them. I wasnt there to complain though as i understand that mold may not have been present when i purchased the hide. I have ordered a 3" plant pot online as the store only had 4" pots which were a bit big for the enclosure.

Is it best to cut the pot in half or can I burry the pot and fill it half way with substrate?

They do sell dubia roaches.. she said that she had smaller ones that wouldnt be too big for my T so thats good news.. However she did mention that some Ts can be picky when theyre food changes..

Is this something you have experienced?
I have only used crickets up to this point.
Also have you had any issues with dubias burrowing, playing dead, or hiding from the tarantula?
I prefer not to tong feed as i have heard this can be dangerous to the T's fangs (my current tongs are not wax dipped etc)

I also have some questions about stuff such as fake/live plants and crushed up leaf for my enclosures.

Is it ok to source this stuff naturally or is best to buy stuff that is guaranteed free from any pesticides?
Do you recommend live plants or are fake plants safer?

As for my T's drinking, that is something that didnt cross my mind even though i am aware they are generally most active at night. I have seen my Brachy out and about in the early evenings but im sure its still most active when im asleep. Ive seen a few videos online of T's drinking and its pretty cool to watch, may some day ill get lucky and witness this.

I couldnt agree more with you about this being the golden age of Tarantula and im sure even reptile keeping. With things like youtube and blogs suddenly all of this information is at our fingertips. I only became interested in tarantulas recently due to my excessive internet use lol although I have always been interested in arachnids and entomology as a whole.

I will watch more rehousing videos online to get an idea of what precautions i should take for rehousing my C. Laeta. I will have a couple weeks as I had to order one online.

Thanks again for everyones replys, I am so glad I came to this forum. I have already learned so much!

Cheers

 

[Rs50matt]

I'd recommend cutting the pot in half. If your T decides to burrow , which it mostly likely will at some point it won't be stopped by the buried part of the pot.

Some Ts can be picky but the main problem sometimes with Dubais is they can play dead so you T won't feel it's movement. Red runner roaches (B lateralis (I hope that's right)) would be ideal if you can get hold of them but I wouldn't personally use anything wild caught as a feeder. It's a strange one because obviously wild Ts eat wild caught feeders but it's not something I would risk if it's easily avoidable as there is a chance of some kind of pesticide.

I wouldn't have gotten into this hobby if it wasn't for YouTube and I know that for a fact. the only real downside to that is as Ts can live for so long (30+ years for some species) the "cool factor" of owning tarantulas can attract some people who get Ts for them reasons and don't do the proper research and lack the commitment. But yeah. For the enthusiasts it's probably never been easier to buy and sell species or learn about a new species

 

[Rs50matt]

Here's a cute picture of a caribena versicolor having a drink for you

 

[Huntzman90]

View attachment 38356

Here's a cute picture of a caribena versicolor having a drink for you

Haha Nice!

I think they had one other species of roach but i cant remember the name. Ill go back soon and check. If I can get the red runners I will try those first.

I was referring more to sourcing terrarium plants and leaf litter naturally. Kinda want to make the enclosure as natural as possible. But just not sure about gathering leaves and sticks from my yard incase they have some kind of pesticide contamination or parasite? Is this not recommended?

Also any recommendations as to what type of pot to use or how to cut it in half?

I ordered a 3" terracota pot. Just not sure how i would go about cutting it in half. Im not much of a handy man but ive got plenty of tools.

Yea I was a liitle nervous getting a Tarantula. For such a small pet its still a fairly large commitment. I started researching tarantulas long before I even considered keeping a tarantula so I was pretty well prepared. Then again many sources of information can be deceiving and its hard to know where to start. Thats why forums are great. It is very tempting seeing all these beautiful spiders though, it makes me want to get more. I know im not ready and I lack the time and space but hey doesnt hurt to dream a little right haha