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Brachypelma albopilosum

Active Member
Messages
40
Location
Netherlands
So I'm planning on buying a gbb, and I'm already making a enclosure. So I'm looking for some information about the gbb and especially the enclosure. I want to know exactly everything it needs, think of depth of substrate, does it need a burrow. I've read it needs bone dry substrate, but still 60 percent humanity. How can I achieve that. Tell me all you know so I dont **** it up. Thanks lol
 

Arachnoclown

Well-Known Member
1,000+ Post Club
3 Year Member
Tarantula Club Member
Messages
6,381
Location
The Oregon rain forest
They dont need deep substrate...they dont burrow. I keep mine on 2-3 inches of coco fiber. It should be fairly dry except around the water dish. It should have lots of ventilation...this will help keep the humidity down. Even as slings...no humidity. Gbbs dont do well with wet humid enclosures. I have read they are found in the wild as high as a man or at the ground level. So that being said you can keep them pretty much in anything you want as long as you have lots of stuff to web to. I have kept them both as terrestrial and semi arboreal. It doesnt matter. Lots of people in other forums/fakebook will push that they are only terrestrial. They are just regurgitating what they have heard. Ive done it both ways successfully multiple times. As for falling...they are way more agile then any other terrestrial tarantula. I wouldn't put them in a enclosure more then 12" tall though as adults. Ive yet to see one fall when climbing but you never know.
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Brachypelma albopilosum

Active Member
Messages
40
Location
Netherlands
They dont need deep substrate...they dont burrow. I keep mine on 2-3 inches of coco fiber. It should be fairly dry except around the water dish. It should have lots of ventilation...this will help keep the humidity down. Even as slings...no humidity. Gbbs dont do well with wet humid enclosures. I have read they are found in the wild as high as a man or at the ground level. So that being said you can keep them pretty much in anything you want as long as you have lots of stuff to web to. I have kept them both as terrestrial and semi arboreal. It doesnt matter. Lots of people in other forums/fakebook will push that they are only terrestrial. They are just regurgitating what they have heard. Ive done it both ways successfully multiple times. As for falling...they are way more agile then any other terrestrial tarantula. I wouldn't put them in a enclosure more then 12" tall though as adults. Ive yet to see one fall when climbing but you never know.
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Thank you! This will help a lot.
 

Colorado Ts

Member
Messages
41
Location
Johnstown Colorado
So I'm planning on buying a gbb, and I'm already making a enclosure. So I'm looking for some information about the gbb and especially the enclosure. I want to know exactly everything it needs, think of depth of substrate, does it need a burrow. I've read it needs bone dry substrate, but still 60 percent humanity. How can I achieve that. Tell me all you know so I dont **** it up. Thanks lol
I have 5 GBB slings. When they arrived, they were between 3/4” and 1”.

I housed them in 4x4x4 clear plastic AMAC boxes, air holes drilled on opposite SIDES for cross ventilation.

GBBs are not known for burrowing, so there is MAYBE an inch of coco fiber substrate, and the substrate is bone dry.

I stripped some bark from the dead limb of a black walnut, wrapped the bark in aluminum foil, and baked it in the oven at 370 for 1.5 hours. Once the bark was sterilized, I cut the bark, on a bandsaw, into small sections to use as hides in the enclosures.

I use water bottle lids as water dishes, this is the only water in the enclosures. I keep them in a cabinet that is held at 79 degrees. I feed them twice a week on small crickets, that I buy at the pet shop, and small red runner roaches, that I raise myself.

Once they get to about 2” to 2.5”, I'll rehouse them into 2.5 gallon enclosures, using the same enclosure formula previously discussed. I'll also add more branches and twigs, for anchor points. The enclosure will be setup so that the spiders will web up 1/2 the enclosure, but NOT all the way to the lid.

They will eventually be housed in their adult enclosures, at which time I'll keep the females (goal is to get 3 females), sell the males. Then I'll buy more GBB slings...raise them, this time keeping the males and selling the females (unless I didn't get my 3 females from the first group of slings).
 
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