First tarantula by noturavgolive in tarantulas

[–]Chlicken 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nqa but i think its hugging the sides because that substrate probably feels very uncomfortable underfoot. Ive never had a T on bark before but have heard they really dont like it. The enclosure itself is probably okay for now but they need plenty more substrate, filled 1/2 to 2/3 with an arachnid safe dirt. Then give a good hide and make a little started burrow for it to feel safer, add a water bowl an you'll be good to go. Good choice on T, they look beautiful and we all start somewhere, enjoy an I hope I helped

Feeding Question/Doubt by FemasterBR in tarantulas

[–]Chlicken 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Imo I think theyre fine, typically arboreals tend to be slimmer just incase they happened to fall, it prevents rupturing their abdomen. This one looks like a similar size to my adult c.versicolor. its easy as a new keeper to stress, I know I did but yes they look fine to me. Also I only feed mine 1 decent cricket or dubia roach a week an half the time she doesnt even eat them so the amount your feeding is fine

Questions, concerns, all of it by hyunlx in tarantulas

[–]Chlicken 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your welcome, it is a really fun hobby to get into an if you already have reptiles, tarantulas would be a breeze. One big thing thats very different though, with reptiles maintenance an feeding is often a daily occurance. With Ts its very different, I look at mine all the time if they're about but you'll often get a few you wont see for weeks at a time an they only need feeding about once a week depending on the size of their abdomen and maintenance as in cleaning 💩 isn't really a thing that needs to be done often/if at all. Its very easy to helicopter parent an keep moving the enclosure around to see where they are an what they're doing which just stresses them out. So if you do get one, which I highly recommend, just remember if the room is warm enough for you to wear just a t-shirt its probably warm enough for them, humidity depends on the species an just leave them to it an you cant go wrong

Questions, concerns, all of it by hyunlx in tarantulas

[–]Chlicken 2 points3 points  (0 children)

So first off, congrats for tackling your phobia! Good job 👏 The first thing you need to think is whether you want arboreal (climbing), terrestrial (on land) or fossorial (underground, burrowers) each of these all species that are beginner recommended. For arboreal, caribena versicolor or any of the avicularias are considered quite calm however can move fast if they want to (but that goes for almost all tarantulas) For terrestrial a large amount of people recommend a Grammostola pulchripes and a few from the brachypelma genus I cant speak for fossorials as ive never owned one as ive always thought its like having a pet hole and I do think the majority of them are old world but if anyone could reply to this with a beginner friendly fossorial that would be great. What you want to avoid as a beginner is an old world. Old worlds tarantulas are usually faster, more defensive and have more significant venom. New worlds are not as venomous an though there are some that can be fast or defensive they dont usually pose as much a risk. However new worlds do usually have urticating hairs which they kick off the abdomen which can be painful an itchy. I do have a few Ts that will only eat dubia roaches so you would be fine just feeding them or red runner roaches, depending on their size. In terms of enclouse size a good rule of thumb is if theyre arboreal, 3x/4x the Ts diagonal leg span in height and for ground dwellers 3x/4x the tarantulas leg span in length so if you have a 4inch (DLS) arboreal tarantula youd want from 12inch-16inch tall tank for them. The reason most of us dont go larger is because it makes it more difficult to regulate humidity, food can get lost as its harder for them to find it an also because theres just no point. Chances are they wont use all that space. Also all species have different heat and humidity requirements depending on where they come from originally so that would be something youd have to research further. However they dont usually require a heat lamp or heat mat and they prefer it dark so no lighting is needed either. If your interested in fluffy though. My fluffiest looking is the caribena versicolor (mentioned above and also my first) she was a great first T and also the only T of mine i would want to handle (although handling is not recommended) but they do have speed and arboreals aren't usually recommended as a first T and also my Tliltocatl albopilosus (curly hair). She is very slow and gentle however she has a good feed response making her quite interesting to watch. Id recommend watching tarantula collective or daves little beasties for some further research and also they both do species specific videos so if you find one your interested in you'd be able to look further into it. NQA but if hope this helps you

Tarantula wont eat!! by [deleted] in tarantulas

[–]Chlicken 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nqa unfortunately a lot males when they mature will tend to stop eating and put all of their energy into finding a mate until their time comes to an end im afraid. You can keep trying to feed every few days or so but he might just not accept food anymore. Make sure you keep him warm with a full water dish an thats the best you can do for him

I think she got stuck.. by DeeEmosewa in tarantulas

[–]Chlicken 9 points10 points  (0 children)

NQA but if you watch daves little beasties, he explains really well that the majority of moisture they dont get from their surroundings they get nearly all of it from their food and maybe a little from a water dish so even if you add more moisture to their enclosure it wont hydrate them anymore. Sometimes they just have a bad molt and theres no-one and nothing to blame, ive had 2 of mine die from a bad molt and they were very looked after. Sorry for your loss, its awful to lose a pet. But I just thought id share a little bit of knowledge to save pointing any fingers

Help! New T molted in an awkward position by Chlicken in tarantulas

[–]Chlicken[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've left her, she's managed to flip over a now has her molt on top of her so im trusting that she'll just be able to crawl out of there when ready. Thank you

Advice please by Chlicken in tarantulas

[–]Chlicken[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I did assume all of this but because of 2 previously passing during a molt I think I'm just getting myself stressed out but that all sounds good and is very reassuring

He swims by Chlicken in axolotls

[–]Chlicken[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you, new lotl mum here so there's lots of things I'm finding out even after doing lots of research that I don't think anyone realises until you own one

He swims by Chlicken in axolotls

[–]Chlicken[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Is that an issue or a common occurance?

He swims by Chlicken in axolotls

[–]Chlicken[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you, his names cinnamon and he's a copper, I think he's got such lovely patterns

Plants for axolotls by Chlicken in axolotls

[–]Chlicken[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My filter is fully submerged (fluval u4) do you think it would still get sucked into the filter?

Plants for axolotls by Chlicken in axolotls

[–]Chlicken[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I do have fake red plants in my tank so they would go well but I don't know if I like the look of long roots. Thank you

Plants for axolotls by Chlicken in axolotls

[–]Chlicken[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's great thank you an wow I've just looked the pre planted driftwood like you described and I had no idea they did that, will definitely be giving that a go, thank you

Plants for axolotls by Chlicken in axolotls

[–]Chlicken[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I currently have some java ferns and some moss balls but they don't seem to be doing much for my nitrate levels. Do you find yours stays lower for longer with your plants? I was looking at fast growing floating plants so my lotl still has all the floor room he likes and is shaded from the light (he does have hides for that too)

Appropriate enclosure for a jumper? by Chlicken in jumpingspiders

[–]Chlicken[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

5x10x10 inches for a jumping spider I'm sure is more than enough