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First time Tarantula owner!

KhoanScart

KhoanScart

Member
Messages
35
Location
Arizona USA
Greetings everyone!

I just got my first Tarantula just about 30 minutes ago. She's an Aphonopelma Seemanni named Bianca. I've done a lot of reading and I'm fairly certain I understand what care she'll need. I did have a few questions.

At the moment I'm using Coco Fiber substrate but the guy at the pet store said that he's had nothing but mold issues with it. He recommended peat substrate and said I could get it at Lowe's. Has anyone else had issues with this substrate and should I switch to peat? How should I keep the humidity? Is an overfilled water dish enough?

Any other tips for a brand new tarantula keeper?
 
Arachnoclown

Arachnoclown

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3 Year Member
Tarantula Club Member
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6,382
Location
The Oregon rain forest
Ive got 4 mature female Alphonopelma seemanni. I give them a wet side and a dry side in the enclosure. They love flipping their water bowls so make sure you use a heavy one. On the dry side I place their hide. They dont need any decor...they will tear it up. Pretty easy to care for.
 
Dave Jay

Dave Jay

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Location
Mt Barker South Australia
Welcome to the forum and to tarantula keeping!
Coco/Coir peat/fibre (depends where you live) is probably the most commonly used substrate in keeping inverts. "Eco Earth" is just an expensive brand of the exact same product you can buy for gardening use at a much lower price (What I buy here in Australia is $1.71 USD a brick and is exactly the same quality).
Mined peat is a controversial product due to the effects on the environment, in some countries it is unavailable or just very expensive, in most industries Coco peat has replaced it.
As Arachnoclown says, mould problems are due to insufficient ventilation, I've been using it for years and even with low ventilation and high moisture it doesn't go mouldy.
What does go mouldy is the fine particles from live food containers if you're not careful when feeding, dead insects and sometimes leftovers from food insects.
Your exo-terra enclosure will have enough ventilation, cross ventilation is preferred but plenty of people use those or similar enclosures without problems. However, one problem is the mesh lid, mesh is well known for catching the claws of tarantulas, leaving them dangling from the lid, in most cases they will drop the caught limb. This isn't really a problem for them, it will grow back, but it's better to avoid the scenario. There are methods of bonding the mesh or replacing it, I won't go into it now. Often people put a border of shiny tape around the mesh to deter the spider as a short term fix.
Try not to overthink things too much, keep it simple as per Arachnoclowns advice and you'll be fine!
 
lasiodora-parahybana1980

lasiodora-parahybana1980

Active Member
3 Year Member
Messages
51
Location
Arizona
KhoanScart said:
Greetings everyone!

I just got my first Tarantula just about 30 minutes ago. She's an Aphonopelma Seemanni named Bianca. I've done a lot of reading and I'm fairly certain I understand what care she'll need. I did have a few questions.

At the moment I'm using Coco Fiber substrate but the guy at the pet store said that he's had nothing but mold issues with it. He recommended peat substrate and said I could get it at Lowe's. Has anyone else had issues with this substrate and should I switch to peat? How should I keep the humidity? Is an overfilled water dish enough?

Any other tips for a brand new tarantula keeper?
Click to expand...
Congrats on your new T! I am still a beginner keeper myself.
 
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