Psalmopoeus Irminia

[Holly]

So...I have my first Psalmopoeus Irminia! The spiderling is approx .75" and is feeding 2 times weekly. I have plans on rehousing in about a month, give or take. My final rehouse after outgrowing the 2nd enclousure will be an exo terra with double doors on the front 18"x12"x12". I found a perfect piece of cork bark for the back corner and also have a vining Pothos plant that has been growing in there for a few months. I thought that this would be great for humidity and naturalization but am questioning potting soil. it is planted in Miracle grow,(plant has been in this containter for about 6 mos inside the enclousure) should this be repotted into something without this type of soil before eventually rehousing due to added fertilizer in soil? And if so, what is recommended. I have been planning this for awhile!
Thanks for feedback!

 

[Arachnoclown]

Kinda a large step from sling enclosure to a enclosure almost too big for an adult.
My adult female doesn't use any space in her 8x8x12. She goes from her burrow behind her corkbark to sitting in plain view. Thats it...she never goes anywhere else. I've currently got 3 females and two males and all of them except the pictured one are always hiding. Shes special because the majority of the people claim they never see theirs. I find that the 12x12x18 exo are best suited for 10" plus arboreals. If you put a juvenile in that enclosure you will need to double or triple the amount of feeders so it will have a chance to eat.

Heres a random photo of a breeding of two 8.5"-9" Poecilotheria ornata. The males enclosure is the 8x8x12 sitting next to the females12x12x18. The male is on the glass in the photo and hes pushing 2.5" larger then a irminia will ever be. The 9" not fully grown female ornata is on the ground here and you can see how that enclosure even dwarfs her. I'm not telling you you cant put a irminia in yours but you have a few years before it will be even feasible.

 

[Holly]

Kinda a large step from sling enclosure to a enclosure almost too big for an adult.
My adult female doesn't use any space in her 8x8x12. She goes from her burrow behind her corkbark to sitting in plain view. Thats it...she never goes anywhere else. I've currently got 3 females and two males and all of them except the pictured one are always hiding. Shes special because the majority of the people claim they never see theirs. I find that the 12x12x18 exo are best suited for 10" plus arboreals. If you put a juvenile in that enclosure you will need to double or triple the amount of feeders so it will have a chance to eat.View attachment 41269View attachment 41270Heres a random photo of a breeding of two 8.5"-9" Poecilotheria ornata. The males enclosure is the 8x8x12 sitting next to the females12x12x18. The male is on the glass in the photo and hes pushing 2.5" larger then a irminia will ever be. The 9" not fully grown female ornata is on the ground here and you can see how that enclosure even dwarfs her. I'm not telling you you cant put a irminia in yours but you have a few years before it will be even feasible.

I had this vision of making a live habitat..., I do have an 8x8x12 enclosure. So I guess smaller would be better! This is why I ask.
I’ve read that they are good hunters, so thought it would be heightening to the senses for exploring and finding prey like in a natural setting.
I have a larger juvenile enclosure that it will go into as size requires. The large enclosure would have been the final adult enclosure...just like to plan ahead. So what do you think about the live plant and soil that I mentioned? Need to do a more organic type mix? I’ve read that chemicals can cause DKS. There is fertilizer in this potting mix but old.

 

[Arachnoclown]

Live habitats are extremely difficult to maintain themselves. Trying to get a perfect situation inside a confined space proves to be quite difficult. Personally I love the idea and would love to do alot of them but it wouldn't be feasible for myself. First off I would never use any type of soil with fertilizer in it...even if it was old. I would use plain topsoil, cocofiber and vermiculite. Your spider is going to burrow so you dont want it burrowed in fertilizer. Plants need some type of food to survive...finding them a food friendly to spiders is going to be needed. Lighting is your next problem. Plants need lights...spiders hate light. You can find plants that dont need much light. Moisture is the next problem. Your plants need moisture to survive...too much moisture can cause problems and can kill alot of spiders. It also causes mold and fungus. To combat this you need to add isopods and springtails. To keep them alive you need moisture...see what's happening here??? Another way to avoid the mold in the confined enclosure is add air like in the wild. A blowing fan can cure this but your spider is going to hate it. Your going to want a screen top to allow the max airflow...a modified acrylic top is going to hold humidity. Then theres the spider....many are bull dozers and will pull up your plants. I use live plants only in one enclosure of mine and it's a pain in the ass. It's for a 10" Theraphosa stirmi, they are moisture dependent so it works out ok. As for the plants...she destroys them constantly. I also have to replace them alot due to them dying...probably from lack of light and food.

I use coco fiber, topsoil, and vermiculite for substate. I also use 3 types of isopods and lots of springtails. Its alot of work. Might not be so bad if I didnt have 300 other spiders to care for. I'm finding that alot of fake plants are really realistic these days and I've been using them alot. Plus they are easy to wash and replace. Cleaning spider poop off a real plant can damage the leaves. Sorry for rambling on...hope some of this makes sense. I was probably all over the place.
Good luck

 

[Holly]

Live habitats are extremely difficult to maintain themselves. Trying to get a perfect situation inside a confined space proves to be quite difficult. Personally I love the idea and would love to do alot of them but it wouldn't be feasible for myself. First off I would never use any type of soil with fertilizer in it...even if it was old. I would use plain topsoil, cocofiber and vermiculite. Your spider is going to burrow so you dont want it burrowed in fertilizer. Plants need some type of food to survive...finding them a food friendly to spiders is going to be needed. Lighting is your next problem. Plants need lights...spiders hate light. You can find plants that dont need much light. Moisture is the next problem. Your plants need moisture to survive...too much moisture can cause problems and can kill alot of spiders. It also causes mold and fungus. To combat this you need to add isopods and springtails. To keep them alive you need moisture...see what's happening here??? Another way to avoid the mold in the confined enclosure is add air like in the wild. A blowing fan can cure this but your spider is going to hate it. Your going to want a screen top to allow the max airflow...a modified acrylic top is going to hold humidity. Then theres the spider....many are bull dozers and will pull up your plants. I use live plants only in one enclosure of mine and it's a pain in the ass. It's for a 10" Theraphosa stirmi, they are moisture dependent so it works out ok. As for the plants...she destroys them constantly. I also have to replace them alot due to them dying...probably from lack of light and food.View attachment 41279
I use coco fiber, topsoil, and vermiculite for substate. I also use 3 types of isopods and lots of springtails. Its alot of work. Might not be so bad if I didnt have 300 other spiders to care for. I'm finding that alot of fake plants are really realistic these days and I've been using them alot. Plus they are easy to wash and replace. Cleaning spider poop off a real plant can damage the leaves. Sorry for rambling on...hope some of this makes sense. I was probably all over the place.
Good luck

LOL, I love it! Thanks for filling me in with this great info! Ive had the one plant that vines growing in the larger exo terra for some time now without any extra lighting, there is also a screen top and I only water it every couple of weeks. I will have to change out the soil though to topsoil and put it in a clay pot into the 10x10x12 enclousure. This pic of your setup is awsome! I'm going to go for it! (only have 8 to care for) Love the look of it. Can the isopods & springtails go up smooth surfaces?

 

[Holly]

LOL, I love it! Thanks for filling me in with this great info! Ive had the one plant that vines growing in the larger exo terra for some time now without any extra lighting, there is also a screen top and I only water it every couple of weeks. I will have to change out the soil though to topsoil and put it in a clay pot into the 10x10x12 enclousure. This pic of your setup is awsome! I'm going to go for it! (only have 8 to care for) Love the look of it. Can the isopods & springtails go up smooth surfaces?

Did some reading on springtails, pretty interesting little guys! I transplanted the pothos into topsoil after rinsing the roots. They are pretty hardy and has been doing well with the natural lighting in the room from the window sunlight. The move to this smaller enclosure will give plenty of time for it to adapt and be ready for the new inhabitant. Misting the leaves seems to work every couple of weeks with watering.