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New T, New Member!

P

Potatatas

New Member
Messages
4
Location
UK
Hi all,

I'm just over week into being a tarantula owner now. Got a juvenile B. Albopilosum from The Spider Shop online. I'll be lurking around here and arachnoboards making sure I'm not doing anything too dumb. Haven't done anything too stupid yet! So here are a few pics of my new additions home:

20180903_171204.jpg 20180903_171308.jpg

I got a starter kit which had everything needed (obviously) including the dreaded heat mat and hygrometer. Tossed the heat mat but kept hygrometer as it has a temperature reading which I like as a reference because my house is pretty cold usually. Substrate is 100% coco fibre which I didn't dry out enough before putting my T in (mistake #1) but he has been fine with it. Will be switching to a mix of top soil and peat moss in the future as I hear these are better for burrowing. He's made a pretty big burrow under his hide. Dug down to the right hand corner and then gone straight across the bottom of the tank! I have some 4K footage of him dumping a lump of dirt and smushing it down which is pretty cool to watch. Not sure the rule son posting youtube links so I won't post.

20180903_234400.jpg 20180904_204029.jpg

Also his hide is actually buried really deep. The hide I got with the kit was huge. I should have cut it to size but only thought of that after he made it his home! So there it is, my first T and he's pretty badass. Really good eater too. Let me know if I'm doing anything dumb!
 
Enn49

Enn49

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Malton, UK
Hi, welcome to the hobby. You've picked a great T to begin with, B. Albopilosum are adorable and great diggers as youngsters although they will spend more time on the surface as they get older.
 
Tortoise Tom

Tortoise Tom

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Southern CA
Hello and welcome.

Looks like the coir is working just fine for your spider. I prefer coir. I don't like to use any kind of bought in a bag soil because you can't know what what composted stuff it is composed of.
 
P

Potatatas

New Member
Messages
4
Location
UK
Enn49 said:
Hi, welcome to the hobby. You've picked a great T to begin with, B. Albopilosum are adorable and great diggers as youngsters although they will spend more time on the surface as they get older.
Click to expand...

Hope he will start staying in the open more in the future. He's been a pet hole for the last few days. Sometimes catch him on the surface but he's pretty skittish so shoots back in when I get too close!

Tortoise Tom said:
Looks like the coir is working just fine for your spider. I prefer coir. I don't like to use any kind of bought in a bag soil because you can't know what what composted stuff it is composed of.
Click to expand...

Hm haven't heard about this anywhere else so will definitely do some more research into it.
 
MassExodus

MassExodus

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5,547
Location
Outside San Antonio, TX
Coco fiber is the one universal, excellent substrate. I'm tired of it though, and use anything but. I like the smell of fresh turned earth. Coco fiber smells like..nothing. Just my own preference. There are several substrates that do fine. I like jungle mix, for instance. Another experienced keeper once told me he hated it, because it has wood(fir), and you can actually get splinters running your hands through it. Thats true, you can. None of my tarantulas get splinters though, and it smells and looks much better than coco fiber. It looks exactly like forest floor, which is exactly what it is. Sticks and dirt. There are many options. But what you have works just fine, if not better than the others. Just my dos pesos on the topic. You can mix substrates as well, which can be fun. A little more interesting, anyway..;)
 
Phil

Phil

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Potatatas said:
Hope he will start staying in the open more in the future. He's been a pet hole for the last few days. Sometimes catch him on the surface but he's pretty skittish so shoots back in when I get too close!



Hm haven't heard about this anywhere else so will definitely do some more research into it.
Click to expand...
Hi @Potatatas and welcome to the forum. FYI, Coir is basically coconut husk (it is the stuff reptile shops well in bricks to rehydrate). You can actually buy Coir in much larger and cheaper quantities from gardening suppliers I have over 200 tarantulas so rebousing is a constant feature so I buy sacks from a company called fertilefibre. I have used it for years and it comes loose, prewashed and free of any composts/chemicals and all my spiders are happy with it. I do not use anything else. Hope that helps. The B albo is a great choice to start getting into the hobby. And this forum, is by far the go to place for FREINDLY NON JUDGEMENTAL advice which other forums can sometimes be criticised for giving.
 
Rs50matt

Rs50matt

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Welcome. And I agree with Phil 100%. This forum is my go to place for info or just to browse through curiosity. People have different opinions on subjects but unlike most places no one has an ego.

Enjoy and look forward to seeing your second T
 
T

T_spidey

Member
3 Year Member
Messages
38
Location
USA
Potatatas said:
Hi all,

I'm just over week into being a tarantula owner now. Got a juvenile B. Albopilosum from The Spider Shop online. I'll be lurking around here and arachnoboards making sure I'm not doing anything too dumb. Haven't done anything too stupid yet! So here are a few pics of my new additions home:

View attachment 32086 View attachment 32087

I got a starter kit which had everything needed (obviously) including the dreaded heat mat and hygrometer. Tossed the heat mat but kept hygrometer as it has a temperature reading which I like as a reference because my house is pretty cold usually. Substrate is 100% coco fibre which I didn't dry out enough before putting my T in (mistake #1) but he has been fine with it. Will be switching to a mix of top soil and peat moss in the future as I hear these are better for burrowing. He's made a pretty big burrow under his hide. Dug down to the right hand corner and then gone straight across the bottom of the tank! I have some 4K footage of him dumping a lump of dirt and smushing it down which is pretty cool to watch. Not sure the rule son posting youtube links so I won't post.

View attachment 32088 View attachment 32089

Also his hide is actually buried really deep. The hide I got with the kit was huge. I should have cut it to size but only thought of that after he made it his home! So there it is, my first T and he's pretty badass. Really good eater too. Let me know if I'm doing anything dumb!
Click to expand...
Welcome to the group. I am a pretty new T parent as well and I have 5 Ts in less than a month now. Hahaha yes it is extremely addictive.

Mine does not burrow any more just sits outside and as I have posted in my thread is more like a dog and lets me pet her.

Welcome to the group!
 
Whitelightning777

Whitelightning777

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3 Year Member
Messages
2,566
Location
Baltimore MD
I feel that the mold that emerged in Coco fiber might've killed off one of my tarantulas, not it's a suspicion. I currently just use peat and it seems to work as well.

Of course, you can't have any additives in it, gotta be totally organic.
 

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