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Hey guys and gals!
So I just got my very first tarantula on Wednesday (Sept 25th 2013)! I have been in love with spiders all my life, and for the past year and a half I have been looking into getting one. I work at a local pet store, so I have had about two months of looking after those ones, before I brought my own home.
Being me, I did not go for the typical beginner spider... I purchased a young (Aprox. three inches and maybe female) E. Murinus.
Right now I have her in a 20 gallon long tank, with four inches of plantation soil coco-husk mix (2:1) in the deepest spot (lowest at about two inches), with a hide, and a shallow water dish... That is all for right now, as I couldn't find much about what else they may like (plus they burrow so I didn't think anything else would really matter to them).
Right now the humidity is at 85% (needs to go down, I haven't been misting or anything) and the ambient temperature is at 70 degrees (needs to go up?). She is currently hidden on the floor of my closet (landlady said NO CRITTERS), so in order to keep the soil from getting rigid cold, I have a small tropical heat mat that only takes up less than a 1/4 of the bottom of the tank, and is under the deepest soil. It is not hot enough to burn her, and if ever get her up off the basement floor, I will turn it off. I have no lights or anything. A small amount of daylight comes in from a window in the closet (why is there a window in my closet??) during the day, and I have a desk lamp beside her I turn on when I want to see her.
Since I have got her home, she has taken absolutely no interest in her hide or anything else. She moves every now and then and just sits still on top of the soil. At least ones a day she will climb all the way up the 10" of the glass walls and just chill at the top under the screen. Today she has spent most of her time up there... Is this odd behavior for a terrestrial spider? Yesterday (Sunday) is when she was usually fed at the store. I offered her a superworm, but she took no interest, so I put a cricket (back legs removed) into the tank to see if she would eat it within the next 24 hours. She hasn't touched it. At the store, she was usually a really good eater, but I do know she isn't likely to eat this soon after the stress of being moved.
So anyways, this is her and her set up... What I would love to know is what I am doing good, what I'm totally off the wall with and need to change, and any other tips I should know! Just keep in mind I'm poor and the cheapest solutions will work best for me. If no cheap solutions are available I just wont eat for a few days (seriously I will make sacrifices to make sure this baby is taken care of 100%) to make it happen.
Right now my plans for payday are to:
-Get a custom piece of plexiglass to reduce her area in the tank (about 1/4-1/3 of the area she has now)
-have the substrate at 4-6" deep
-Put Styrofoam under the soil, and remove the under tank heater (was told it was bad)
-Get an infrared bulb to raise the ambient temperature of the tank
Thank you all so much!
~Tonrar
So I just got my very first tarantula on Wednesday (Sept 25th 2013)! I have been in love with spiders all my life, and for the past year and a half I have been looking into getting one. I work at a local pet store, so I have had about two months of looking after those ones, before I brought my own home.
Being me, I did not go for the typical beginner spider... I purchased a young (Aprox. three inches and maybe female) E. Murinus.
Right now I have her in a 20 gallon long tank, with four inches of plantation soil coco-husk mix (2:1) in the deepest spot (lowest at about two inches), with a hide, and a shallow water dish... That is all for right now, as I couldn't find much about what else they may like (plus they burrow so I didn't think anything else would really matter to them).
Right now the humidity is at 85% (needs to go down, I haven't been misting or anything) and the ambient temperature is at 70 degrees (needs to go up?). She is currently hidden on the floor of my closet (landlady said NO CRITTERS), so in order to keep the soil from getting rigid cold, I have a small tropical heat mat that only takes up less than a 1/4 of the bottom of the tank, and is under the deepest soil. It is not hot enough to burn her, and if ever get her up off the basement floor, I will turn it off. I have no lights or anything. A small amount of daylight comes in from a window in the closet (why is there a window in my closet??) during the day, and I have a desk lamp beside her I turn on when I want to see her.
Since I have got her home, she has taken absolutely no interest in her hide or anything else. She moves every now and then and just sits still on top of the soil. At least ones a day she will climb all the way up the 10" of the glass walls and just chill at the top under the screen. Today she has spent most of her time up there... Is this odd behavior for a terrestrial spider? Yesterday (Sunday) is when she was usually fed at the store. I offered her a superworm, but she took no interest, so I put a cricket (back legs removed) into the tank to see if she would eat it within the next 24 hours. She hasn't touched it. At the store, she was usually a really good eater, but I do know she isn't likely to eat this soon after the stress of being moved.
So anyways, this is her and her set up... What I would love to know is what I am doing good, what I'm totally off the wall with and need to change, and any other tips I should know! Just keep in mind I'm poor and the cheapest solutions will work best for me. If no cheap solutions are available I just wont eat for a few days (seriously I will make sacrifices to make sure this baby is taken care of 100%) to make it happen.
Right now my plans for payday are to:
-Get a custom piece of plexiglass to reduce her area in the tank (about 1/4-1/3 of the area she has now)
-have the substrate at 4-6" deep
-Put Styrofoam under the soil, and remove the under tank heater (was told it was bad)
-Get an infrared bulb to raise the ambient temperature of the tank
Thank you all so much!
~Tonrar
