Escape-proofing: gaps, seams and the 3 mm rule
A tarantula can pass through any gap its carapace fits through. Here is how to check an enclosure before you trust it with a fast arboreal.
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Journal
Notes on ventilation, humidity and housing arboreal tarantulas well.
Do arboreal tarantulas need heating in a European home?
Heat mats, lamps and the question keepers ask every autumn. Room temperature is usually the answer, and here is why heating the glass is not.
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Moulting in arboreal tarantulas: signs, timing and what not to do
The most vulnerable week in a tarantula's year, and the one where keepers do the most damage by trying to help.
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Feeding an arboreal tarantula: how much, how often, and refusals
Feeding schedules are mostly made up. Here is how to read the abdomen instead, and why weeks of refused meals are usually nothing.
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Substrate for arboreal tarantulas: what to use and how deep
Arboreals barely touch the floor, so why does substrate matter? Because it is your entire humidity system, and a fall-arrest mat.
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Mould in a tarantula enclosure: causes, fixes and prevention
White fuzz on cork, grey patches on the substrate and mould on old prey. What each one means, and the one change that prevents all three.
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Why is my tarantula webbing everything?
Heavy webbing is not a problem to fix. It is the clearest sign you have got the enclosure right, and it tells you where the spider...
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Acrylic, glass or a plastic tub: an honest comparison
Three materials, three sets of trade-offs, and the situations where the cheapest option is genuinely the right one.
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Poecilotheria: keeping the fast old world arboreals safely
Ornamental tarantulas are among the most beautiful spiders kept in captivity, and the ones where a sloppy enclosure has real consequences.
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Avicularia avicularia care: the classic pinktoe, done properly
The common pinktoe is the arboreal most people start with. It is forgiving about almost everything except stale, wet air.
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Psalmopoeus irminia care: fast, spectacular, and easier than its reputation
The Venezuelan suntiger is a heavy webber that hides more than it shows. What it needs, and why rehousing is the only part that takes nerve.
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Caribena versicolor care: the species that punishes bad ventilation
The Antilles pinktoe is one of the most beautiful arboreals in the hobby and one of the least forgiving of a stuffy enclosure. What it actually...
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