New to hobbie, and would like advice.....

[Danny Roe]

Hi all,


I am brand new to this wonderful hobbie, I have two Tarantulas that i sort of inherited and would like to give them the best possible care i can so I have a few questions if you guys wouldn't mind answering them.

Firstly i will describe my set-up ( possibly add pics later on)

T1
Is a Mexican red knee sling ( two moults so far) and is female, she is in a smallish rounded plastic tub.

The second is a blue bottle green juvenile no idea what moult she is on however, she is housed in a 30x30x30 cm glass enclosure.

The room they are both in is not the warmest room in the world and could at times drop to about 20c without the heating on.


My questions are regarding heating, i have a small round 1w heat disk and a 5w heat mat at my disposal what would be the best options here ? At the moment i have the heat disk on the outside of the glass enclosure (substrate is piled up against it so the Tarantula cant get to the glass side its attached too).


The 5w i have placed under a longish seed tray and then placed the red knees tub onto this I must add the tub is also raised using rubber feet so the tub is not in direct contact with the seed tray bottom, i also use the heat that the seed tray is storing to keep the tub of crickets warm.


Im not sure if my descriptions really describe my set-up so well so I will add some pics to help show you.

TLR Need advice on heating basically, I live in the UK and the room is not fully heated in its own right.

 

[spidey noob]

hi, any welcome to the hobby
basicalu u want the heat mat behinde the enclosure NOT under it, not shure what a heat disc is so cant help there.but u u will need a thermostat also
to regulate the temp inside the encloshure or u risk cooking your Ts. (here is how i had mine before i got some vivs)

 

[Danny Roe]

HI, thanks for reply..... I say heat disk its basically a heat mat thats round about the size of a coffee cup. The mats i have are very low wattage but i see how putting it behind can work. Is the reason not to go underneath due to people using too high wattage mats OR the the Ts dont like it ?

 

[spidey noob]

there is a couple of reasons for not haveing them underneath, firstly it Ts get to hot they will burrow to escape the heat if the heat source in under the enclosure the are going nearer to it & they cant thermoregulate so they will cook there self, secondly if there underneath your will dry out the substrate to quick & not be able to keep the wright hummidity for them.
befroe i upgraded my set up i was useing some 7wat heat mat & i personaly found they wernt really strong enought to get the temps where they needed to be, so if u can i would get a one larger heatmat so u can place both enclosures along it but u must attach a thermostat its vittal

 

[Ghost]

Hi,
Firstly welcome to the forum and the hobby.
Now regarding your T's both the B.smithi and the GBB are pretty hardy species and easy to care for,I've kept both of them at room temp and they've been fine and I also live in the UK if the 20c is your night time temp and the lowest it goes then you should be fine.but if your worried that it might go lower then do what's already been suggested and put a heat mat along the back of the enclosures but not touching them and that should give your temps a boost,although I'm not sure that a 5 watt heat mat would do much good,you might have to get a higher wattage....

 

[Chubbs]

I think you got the name backwards, it's "Green Bottle Blue" or just GBB. This is why I hate common names. However for this species, I can make an exception. I honestly cannot even spell the species name I usually just look it up and then copy and paste it.

 

[Danny Roe]

I think you got the name backwards, it's "Green Bottle Blue" or just GBB. This is why I hate common names. However for this species, I can make an exception. I honestly cannot even spell the species name I usually just look it up and then copy and paste it.

hahaha so i did, i was thinking of blue bottle flys probobly

 

[Down with OBT]

I honestly cannot even spell the species name I usually just look it up and then copy and paste it.

Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens

 

[Chubbs]

Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens

Very impressive.

 

[Down with OBT]

just did it so you don't have to search it anymore lol

 

[Danny Roe]

Ok so heat is under control now and i have a nice temp, What i have noticed however is the GBB aviods the coc husk substrate like its hot lava, Ive observed some crickets walking across it and I must say it looks like walking through deep snow. The top layer seems quite unstable almost dust like and i think that's whats putting the GBB from walking across it ?

I realize making it damp again would help solidify it but then the humidity may be too high, whats my best option ?

Also she is SUPER aggressive i definitely do not want to handle her anytime soon

 

[Down with OBT]

You probably dont want
to handle it anytime. The last one I had ate her male and two weeks after the feast ate another. She'll probably try to eat you!!!!

 

[spidey noob]

the correct hummidty for ggb is 60/65 so lightly misting the substrate should be ok !!! as long as u have good ventolation. what are u useing for enclosures ???

 

[Danny Roe]

I am using a large plastic container atm with holes drilled into the top , I hopefully have a proper terrarium coming (second hand with all the decor etc etc) i think its called an Exo Terra Reptile Vivarium led to believe the dimensions are 90 x 45 x 60 cm with doors that open at the front so possibly too big for her I will have to wait and see.

I have a water dish that is slightly misting the side of the container its at so im thinking that's enough humidity but yeah i think i need to mist the surface to help hold the substrate together.

 

[Chubbs]

I am using a large plastic container atm with holes drilled into the top , I hopefully have a proper terrarium coming (second hand with all the decor etc etc) i think its called an Exo Terra Reptile Vivarium led to believe the dimensions are 90 x 45 x 60 cm with doors that open at the front so possibly too big for her I will have to wait and see.

I have a water dish that is slightly misting the side of the container its at so im thinking that's enough humidity but yeah i think i need to mist the surface to help hold the substrate together.

This species doesn't like moisture. Keep it dry. They come from an arid region.

 

[Lady_A]

What I've found to be a great sub-packing tool is this grout float. My G.Rosea doesn't like fluffy substrate either, but she HATES moist stuff too. This helps me keep it under control for her. My baby isn't the least bit aggressive, but for your touchy GBB, you may want to use some forceps along with this..

 

[Danny Roe]

Great idea, i will probs use that on the next clean out..... Saying that she seems to be settling a bit better and has had a wonder around and begun webbing various things.