GBB Enclosure question

[Matthew]

So I am new to the hobby. In my "Hello" intro thread I asked for advice on a first T and got lots of great suggestions which helped me to do more research. Fast forward to earlier this week and my family (who initially didn't like the idea of me getting a pet spider) surprised me for my birthday with a Tarantula.... sort of. My wife and kids were not at all sure of what to buy or where so they gave me the money and thier blessing to pick one out and buy it for my birthday.

I am very excited and have decided I really want a GBB. I plan to get a sling with the starter kit from FearNot so the first month or two its habitat is all set. I am pretty comfortable on what I need once it out grows the starter house and needs an intermediate enclosure before getting it full grown adult digs. Where I struggle is what would be best for a full grown adult. I understand the general guidance but my question is about which one of two specific enclosures would be most appropriate. I have read that GBBs are terrestial but also that some describe them as semi aboreal. I really like the Exo Terra enclosures so I want to know which of these two other GBB owners think would be most approriate or should I be looking at something else entirely. The Exo Terra enclosures I am looking at are the 24Lx18Wx12H and the 24Lx18Wx18H.

Given that the ET enclosure gives what looks to be about 3" of room for substrate; Would the one that is 18" high be too high for this spider? Are they decent climbers or would an enclosure that tall present a fall risk for it? Thanks in advance. This place has been an awesome resource for this noob. (and sorry for the long winded post)

 

[Metalman2004]

Even though they can sometimes be “semi- arboreal” I’d still go with the lower one. I’ve kept a decent amount of gbbs the last couple of years and just had my first one go arboreal. For some reason he completely ignored the other side of the cage that has hiding spots and webbing points to hang out in the top corners. For reference this guy is probably 4” dls and the enclosure is 11” tall with maybe 3” of sub.

 

[LuboMoravcik]

I would start with a juvenile, rather than a sling, for your first tarantula. Slings are tiny and new keepers usually underestimate how small they are. Look for something at least 4 or 5cm DLS.

 

[Kymura]

totally in agreement on the short one, the shorter one should/would/will give him/her opportunity enough to get up a bit if it wants to, while allowing plenty of room to cover everything in tons of web. Keep in mind it does have a mesh top, tiny tarsal claws can and sometimes will get stuck possibly resulting in loss of limbs or fall damage, so some modification is recommended for the top ^.~

 

[PanzoN88]

Something like this would be perfect, but add plants for webbing. Sterilite containers may not be the most appealing, but they are cheap, safe, I think they are appealing when stacked up on some nice shelves, they are space saving which means you will be able to get a lot more adds, whereas with big tank with those awful screen lids, you may only be able to get a few additions.

 

[Matthew]

Thanks. I plan to replace the screen on top with plexi glass. I've seen some videos on how to do it and I want a nice display terrarium for it when it becomes an adult. Sounds like the concensus is to go with the shorter version so I believe that is what I'll do. I know I'm getting a bit ahead of things but I'm a planner by nature. I like to think ahead and have things ready ahead of time. I will consider the Juvenile vs. sling suggestion. I like to idea of raising one up from a baby but I hear what you are saying about how small they are. I'll have to think on it a bit.

Thanks again everyone.

 

[Whitelightning777]

For ExoTerra, the nano 8" cube would probably be good enough, maybe the 8x8x12. You can slope the terrain for slightly less height or use lots of frog moss or other types of moss to cushion against possible falls.