Husbandry/Care Tips
Terrestrial Tarantulas
Terrestrial meaning these species live on the ground, in the hobby there are many different species classified as terrestrial. Most terrestrial tarantulas are also opportunistic burrowers meaning they will find or create underground burrows at various stages of their life cycle, some will only burrow as slings (spiderlings, baby tarantulas) or juveniles, and can abandon these tendencies as adults. When keeping terrestrial species keepers house them in enclosures that are wider than they are tall and have good ventilation if a tarantula falls from a high distance this can cause the abdomen of the spider to rupture causing significant harm to them, leading to the death of your tarantula. The general rule for enclosure size is 3 to 4 times wider than the spiders DLS and 1 to 2 times tall than the spiders DLS (diagonal leg span) this is the measurement of the front furthest leg to the back opposite furthest leg when the spider is fully spread out. In the US hobby we use this measurement to determine the size of the spider. Some tarantulas live in more arid climates and require a dryer substrate or tropical climates that require more damp substrate, keep in mind that many slings in the hobby require damp substrate even if they are considered arid species, this is because slings don’t have the tougher exoskeleton of the older juveniles and adults so they are more susceptible to drying out which can be detrimental to the survival of the slings until they are older. As sling we suggest giving your tarantula deeper substrate to allow them the option to burrow.
Watering
We suggest that you give your tarantulas access to a water dish at all times checking to clean and refill them once a week. Most tarantulas will fill their water dishes with substrate and drop boluses (remains of the food/prey items). We also suggest if you cannot place a water dish in your spider’s enclosure that you periodical mist the inside of the enclosure to allow them to drink off the walls or webbing, making sure to not over saturate leading to high moister that can be detrimental to your tarantulas health.
Husbandry/Care Tips
Arboreal Tarantulas
Arboreal meaning these species live in the trees, in the hobby there are many different species of tarantulas classified as arboreal, just a few examples of these are in the Genus of Avicularia, Caribena, Poecilotheria, Psalmopoeus. When keeping arboreal species, we suggest housing them in enclosures that have sufficient ventilation to allow good airflow to keep from cultivating stagnate air which can be detrimental to health of your spider and lead to their death, the general rule for arboreal species is to have enclosures that are taller than they are wide. Most hobbyist/keepers prefer an enclosure that is 3 to 4 times taller than the tarantulas DLS and 2 times wider than their DLS (diagonal leg span) this is the measurement of the front furthest leg to the back opposite furthest leg when the spider is fully spread out. In the US hobby we use this measurement to determine the size of the spider.
Watering
We suggest that you give your tarantulas access to a water dish at all times checking to clean and refill them once a week. Most tarantulas will fill their water dishes with substrate and drop boluses (remains of the food/prey items). We also suggest if you cannot place a water dish in your spider’s enclosure that you periodical mist the inside of the enclosure to allow them to drink off the walls or webbing, making sure to not over saturate leading to high moister that can be detrimental to your tarantulas health.
Husbandry/Care Tips
Fossorial Tarantulas
Fossorial meaning these species live in burrows underground, in the hobby there are many different species of tarantulas known to have the characteristics of being fossorial and this could mean obligated or opportunistic burrowers, just a few examples of these tarantulas that can be found to live the majority of their lives underground in burrows can be found in the Genus of Aphonopelma, Ceratogyrus, Hysterocrates. The general rule for keeping these types of tarantulas is to house them in enclosures that allow for deep substrates to give room for them to dig and create their burrows. We suggest that you give your tarantula moist substrate because the obligated burrowers will seek the damp areas which helps them regulate body temperature and the overall health in molting.
Watering
We suggest that you give your tarantulas access to a water dish at all times checking to clean and refill them once a week. Most tarantulas will fill their water dishes with substrate and drop boluses (remains of the food/prey items). For fossorial obligated burrowers you should overflow the water dish to allow moister to seep down in the substrate towards the bottom of the enclosure. We also suggest if you cannot place a water dish in your spider’s enclosure that you periodical mist the inside of the enclosure to allow them to drink off the walls or webbing and for slings that burrow make sure to keep the lower levels of the substrate damp and not soaking, making sure to not over saturate leading to high moister that can be detrimental to your tarantulas health.