How far is "too" far...

[Sabeth]

...For a tarantula to fall? I've read that "a fall of more than a few inches" can kill a T. In my juvenile smithi's tank the height from substrate to lid is probably about 8 inches give or take (she is about 3 in.). Last night I was watching her climb around on the walls (she does this every night) and she lost her footing and landed on the coco fiber with a tiny thud. It was probably only about a 5-in. drop and she is perfectly fine but it got me wondering exactly how far a T has to fall for it to be dangerous.

I know the risk is greater with bigger Ts because of their increased weight and bulk. So in proportion to size, what is the tallest tank height that should ever be used in your opinion? I'm mainly talking terrestrials; what about arboreals? They live up high, so I guess falling is not a concern with them?

 

[Kurt Nelson]

It really depends. Most arboreals can fall from higher distances and be alright however it really depends on how fat they are. Terrestrials are way more prone to busting when they fall, due to their size. The most I'd give a terrestrial is 2 times it's leg span. That's the most. Rule of thumb is it's leg span plus half. It wouldn't hurt to throw in more substrate.

Arboreals are not supposed to fall. I watched mine fall 3 times in a row so I immediately took it out of the enclosure and put it in a smaller enclosure so that it wouldn't hurt itself. Falls do happen on occasion but not like that! I actually got it on video and I'll get that for you in a sec!

 

[Kurt Nelson]

Fast forward to 3 minutes if you want, or watch the whole thing.

 

[Bast]

That's bizarre! As for the falling question, I agree with no more than 2x the leg span of the T.

 

[Sabeth]

Yikes, that's a long fall! Thanks for all the input.

 

[Kurt Nelson]

Yikes, that's a long fall! Thanks for all the input.

I don't expect an arboreal to ever fall, it's usually not a good sign! I might consider putting in more substrate myself just to decrease the fall distance.

 

[Sabeth]

Yeah, I might follow suit there...the substrate, I mean. I actually just moved my T to smaller quarters. I previously had her in a 10-gal. tank and while it looked very attractive (I dressed it up quite nicely!), I had to use a ridiculous amount of substrate to fix the height problem. Downsizing has made things a whole lot better in more ways than one...for one thing, I'm able to fit 2 or more habitats on my desk now, so I can expand my collection! Yay!

 

[Kurt Nelson]

Yay! I got some GBB's they are amazing! I just went to fill ones water bowl today because it was empty. So I opened the container which scared him into the empty bowl, he then sat there for a while so I decided I was going to fill it up anyways, he'd move. He started to attack the water I was pouring in! Was hilarious. He went all kungfu on it. I need to take more videos when I do stuff like that.

I actually had one of them while feeding do a backflip off the side of the enclosure, barrel roll then proceeded to nab the cricket I threw in there. So freakn cute! And they are gorgeous no matter what size you get them.

 

[Sabeth]

That is so hilarious! At some point I will have to get an arboreal. I'm still quite new to the T hobby so I'm sticking with terrestrials for now, but not long ago I considered a P. irminia. They are so pretty...maybe sometime down the road.

 

[Kurt Nelson]

Versicolors are awesome! They are gorgeous! I've had no problem keeping them as slings either.

 

[Bast]

We have an A.avic and two A.versicolor slings, and they really aren't hard to keep and super interesting (and gorgeous) T's. They are skittish but not crazy lightning fast like pokies etc. so I would definitely recommend them for new keepers

 

[Cobalt]

keep in mind that even if your tarantula seems fine a day after big fall with no visible
injuries, doesnt.necessarily mean that its going to be alright

 

[Sabeth]

Warning appreciated...I will keep an eye on her. However, it wasn't a big fall at all. Actually it's not the first time she's done it. I also make sure that nothing in the tank has any sharp points or edges.

 

[Sabeth]

Just added some more substrate today. Made a big difference!

 

[Bast]

Glad to hear it helped