o Tank
o Substrate
o Water Dish
o Burrow/Hide
o Leaf litter/foliageTarantula’s require housing that is 5x the length of their legspan, horizontally for ground species, and vertically for arboreal species.
Multiple substrates are suitable for tarantulas, like jungle mix, Reptisoil or terra Aranea. The amount of soil will depend on the type of tarantula you are keeping.
Tarantulas do not require any extra heating and lighting. They should be kept out of windows and in a quiet place.
A small shallow water dish should be provided to all tarantulas and overflowed when filled to provide moist substrate in one area/the lower levels of the tank. Misting can be used to add water to plants or drier species.
Tarantulas feed on live insects. Adult tarantulas can be fed one or two appropriately sized food items, or a few smaller prey, once a week to once every 14 days. Remove all uneaten food from the tarantulas enclosure
Tarantulas should be given plenty of hiding places. Fake plants can add cover. Cork bark flats and tubes are good choices for burrows or hiding spots. Avoid décor with sharp edges as it could puncture a tarantula’s abdomen.
• Be sure to spot clean your tarantulas removing any waste, or uneaten food
• Provide a bowl of fresh water daily.
Molting:
As invertebrates, all tarantulas molt their exoskeleton. This occurs more often in younger tarantulas, while adults may only molt once or twice a year. Do not touch or handle your tarantula during this molting process. Signs your tarantula may soon molt include, refusing of food (for a couple weeks or even a month), reduced activity, a bald spot on the abdomen, and dull coloration. Remove all uneaten food from the tarantula’s enclosure, as tarantulas are vulnerable after molt and uneaten insects may injure them. This is a good time to slightly increase the humidity in the enclosure. When a tarantula molts it will lay on its back, arboreal species may be on their sides usually in their vertical nests. The old exoskeleton will separate at the carapace and abdomen and the legs will be pulled out, leaving behind an exoskeleton that looks much like a hollowed out tarantula. Your tarantula will be pale and soft after molting and should be left alone and unfed for a week or two to allow its new exoskeleton to harden.
Slings:
Spiderlings, commonly known as slings, is the name given to young tarantulas. Caring for young tarantulas can be more difficult than caring for adults, and is usually not recommended when first starting with tarantulas. Small escape proof containers are best to keep these small tarantulas in, slowly increasing the enclosure size as it grows it’s the easiest way to keep your spider. Plastic containers will small ventilation holes, such as deli cups, make great enclosures. The enclosure needs to be small enough for your spider to find its prey and also for you to check on it if need be. Slings get all their water needs from their prey and are too small to be provided a water dish. Slings can be fed a prey item as long as its body twice a week.While some tarantula species are docile handling tarantulas is a risk to the spider and the handler. Even small falls can easily injure your tarantula. All tarantulas have venom and their bites have unpleasant side effects to humans, severity depends on the species. When threatened tarantulas can also kick urticating hairs off of their abdomen which can cause itching and irritation.
DFW Reptarium does not recommend the handling of any tarantula
Tarantula
Tarantula Types
• There are two main types of tarantulas. New World and Old World
• New World: Western hemisphere tarantulas; tend to have less potent venom but do have urticating hairs. Preferred for beginners.
• Old World: Eastern hemisphere tarantulas; tend to have more potent venom without urticating hairs making them more likely to bite. Recommended for intermediate to advanced keepers.
There are 5 care types that DFW Reptarium uses for ADULT* tarantulas that correspond to how their enclosures should be set up:
• Arboreal: Tree dwelling species, need taller (12 inch+) caging with more décor, and less substrate
• Semi-Arboreal: Ample floor space, a few inches of substrate but also some height. Caging should not exceed 12 inches.
• Terrestrial: Surface dwelling species, flat tanks preferred, 3-4 inches of substrate with premade burrow hide.
• Semi-Fossorial: Species that may hang out on the surface but like to dig and have a full borrow for safety. 4-6 inches of substrate with a premade burrow.
• Fossorial: Digging species, deep tanks with 6-9 inches of substrate and a starter burrow preferred.
**non-arboreal slings tend to prefer to burrow until they become juveniles. All substrate depths should be applied to adult tarantulas only. Too much substrate can be dangerous to a sling as they will not resurface from their burrow to feed**
Beginner Species:
As Subadults/Adults:
• Brazilian White Knee
• Aphonopelma genus
• Brachypelma genus
• Tliltocatl genus
• Grammostola genus
• Avicularia genus
As Slings:
• Brazilian White Knee
• Salmon Pink Birdeater
• Pumpkin Patch
• Avicularia genus