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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Vermis" data-source="post: 199233" data-attributes="member: 37487">Huh. I can imagine. Their preferred method to help newbies is to scream at them instead of patiently explaining why LPSs aren't a font of knowledge.Octanejunkie is right, though. Tarantulas will feel less secure and will find it harder to locate prey items in a container that's too large. And on that note, you generally don't want crickets or other live prey insects getting lost in a big space and having the run of the place. It could turn out bad if they pop up again when the spider's moulting and defenceless, and decide to have a chew on it.Tarantulas aren't dogs that need taken for walks, or african savanna animals that need large zoo enclosures. The general life of a tarantula involves sitting in the same hole in the ground or in a tree until something tasty wanders past. (Apart from mature males, who wander to find a female, but that's getting ahead of things) They don't often need huge spaces to thrive, which is one of their advantages in keeping. Looking at your fourth photo at the top, you could reduce that space to a third and it would still be pretty roomy.Also agreed with Octanejunkie that you don't have to be limited to what kind of vivariums and containers that pet stores sell. When I think about getting a new invert, the first place I look is at the kitchen storage shelves of supermarkets and pound shops. I haven't kept a spider in a container actually designed for live animals, for long years. I've used everything from little disposable deli pots for spiderlings, to cereal containers and shoeboxes for adults.The Exo-Terra terrarium looks cool, I understand that. My own eyes have paused on it many times before. You want it to look like you've transplanted a section of the rainforest into your home so the spider can be happy, live naturally, and feel at home. The thing is, the look of the thing is more for the benefit of human viewers than for the animal, especially when the smallest version is still too huge for many spiders. I wouldn't say get rid of it, but I think something has to give. My first instinct would be to set up a smaller container for the spider, and place that inside the Exo-Terra.The emphasis on cross ventilation is because it allows for more efficient air exchange. Prevents the air and substrate inside from becoming too stagnant or humid, discourages the proliferation of mould and pests, which can especially be a problem for avics, I understand.I've glanced at exo-terras but I'm not too familiar with them. Is that a UV light at the top? LED? Is that included with the terrarium or something you added? Either way, if you're asking for ways to de-stress your tarantula, I'd say switching that off might be a good start! And again, yeah, add more potential hides.</blockquote>

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