Equipment guidance

[Bones Wiggill]

Being an X snake keeper, I have A LOT of equipment used on the snake tanks and was wonderinhg if some of it may be used on spider vivatiums. I am goingh to give a brief breakdown on how my tropical snake tanks work, and then if someone can tell me if it can be used for T's. Obvious this will be in a much smaller tank. Half of the tank gets a heating pad, the other half has the water bowl (shallow) and also used for the cooling area. The heated section has the shelter. The heat pad is connected to a temperature regulator, which is also connected to a extractor fan. When the pad is off, the fan runs and vice versa. Inside the hood (top of the tank) is an ultrasonic humidifier. This is on a weekly timer and mists the tank once a week. The ultrasonic is cold mist and not warm mist. (This is so that the snakes don't get hurt). During mistinh time the extractor fan is not on else all the mist gets sucked out. Next to the mister is a 5000k light which is the closest light I can find that immulates sunlight. This is on a 8 hourly timer. Now my questions. Firstly will this equipment work for the T's?n if so what would my minimum and maximum temperature settings be? Will the mister give enough moisture, or do I need to increase or decrease misting periods? And then lastly what type of plants are safe to use inside the vivarium with the T's? is the specific plants I need to stay away from or specific ones I need to look for. Guidance would be appreciated here.

 

[superpetguy1]

Terantulas HATE moisture except when there drinking. No heating is necessary, if your comfortable they most likely are too.

 

[DalilahBlue]

It actually depends on the T for the humidity and temp requirements. Many new world species, like Brachypelma and Grammostola, like it drier and about room temp. Some, like M. robustum, like it more humid.

So, first off, what specie tarantula are we talking about?

Secondly, you won't need the light. Tarantulas don't particularly need it. They like it dark.

Don't put a heat mat under the tank if you use one. Put it on the side. T's won't more away like herps when they get warm enough.

The humidity will depend on the specie.

 

[Bones Wiggill]

Thanks blue. Well we wil know exactly what it is over the next 3 months. It was supposed to be one hundoran curly hair, but now I refer to them as the unknown twins. There is a huge possibility that one is a mexican golden red rump. But nothing is confirmed yet. I am battling to find habitats and climate information on the unknown twins. Was just contemplating to get the vivariums up and running so long since they need to be setup and functioning before I add the T's

 

[Tongue Flicker]

Ts don't eat, taste or inhale plants so almost everything is fine. Of course, avoid the obviously poisonous ones that you know already. Also, choose sturdy plants as Ts like to climb and may get injured if a twig or leaf breaks

 

[Bones Wiggill]

Good point. I was thinking of cascading the rear of the vivarium so if it falls that it just drops maybe 12mm (half inch) to the next step. I am still trying to find plants small enough for such a small vivarium. Even considering a bonsai or two. Only problem is that it I do add bonsai's my humidity needs to be at minimum else they wil get out of hand. so in short I have about 4 months of research and about 1 month of building and the another month of stabilizing the vivarium. Arachni will see it's new home in about 6 months and should be big enough to enjoy it by then

 

[Tongue Flicker]

Also, plants do transpirate hence increasing moisture around them a little especially inside a glass environment

 

[Martin Oosthuysen]

Hello
This following plant works well in the South African environment, low maintenance and low light is needed. Hen-met-kuikens (Chlorophytum comosum) Would say it should work in most places, its a very hardy plant non toxic and my T'S love it.

 

[Denny Dee]

I am an ex reptile guy too. You will always get a wide variety of answers on the ideal environment for T's especially on the topic of heat and light. The great news is that they are extremely tolerant to most environmental conditions. But, I like to try to create an enclosure that is as close to their natural environment as possible. I use heat lamps on my desert scorpions (these can be very dangerous on the animals so care must be taken to time and measure the temps these lights can generate) and heat pads for the T's as I live in an area with extreme cold and cannot always keep my room temperate warm enough to make them happy. I also use misters on any species (primarily swamp dwellers) that require high humidity (I define that as anything in the 80-90% range). Others I manually mist a couple of times per week depending on the readings of the hygrometers. In addition, I use a layer of Hydroballs (Zoo Med reptile product) beneath the substrate. This helps the water drain to the bottom of the tank and avoids the soil staying too wet along with helping to maintain those high humidity levels. It also keeps the T's from getting too close to the heat pad (I have heard mixed stories on the dangers of heat pads). Works great for me. Lastly, I use timers on my lights but go with the lowest brightness I can find as I agree that the T's don't like light but people do. If you spend time on the enclosures, it is great to be able to see them clearly. Also, the T's need to differentiate between day and night as their entire behavior is based on it. They are nocturnal by nature and will be most active at night (once in awhile I get the rare treat of seeing one out and about during daylight hours). As long as you use caution and monitor temp and humidity, the reptile gear can be a great help in keeping the T's healthy and happy. My two cents...