# tarantula housing and prices



## fantapants (Jan 4, 2008)

my hubby has always wanted a tranatula and i was thinking of getting him one for his birthday. i would like a relatively easy species and What will i need to house it?? and what heating will it need? there is alot of conflicting info on the net so thought i would be better off getting advice from people with experience.


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## Lucifus (Aug 30, 2007)

What tarantula. :Na_Na_Na_Na:

If your a begginer your better off with a chilie rose, mexican red knee or a curly hair.

They do fine in a small faunarium and cost about a tenner for the faunarium if their adults.

Heating isnt an issue with many beginner spiders especially the chilie rose, as long as its between 60-80 its fine.


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## joe0709 (Sep 22, 2007)

ok firslty you need to pick one. like lucifus says chili rose mexican red knee (extremely slow growers) or curly hair are all very good begginer species.

most people use the large flat faunariums for the three specise above but the red knees grow to a larger size than the other two and the faunariums can be a little small.

as long as your room is kept at about 75.f-80.f there is no need for a heat mat or if your room is cold you could use a heatmat or place it on top of a warm repile viv.

ok so now maintanace. seeing as chilis are the ultimate begginer species ill tell you about them all they need is a large flat faunarium as adults or film pot as small slings or other pots and tubs. they will need 1 or 2 hiding places to be able to retreat to they will also need a water bowl and you could use eco earth as substrate. you could add decoration if you wish but the spider well............doesnt care lol there will be no need to mist as long as you have a waterbowl in there and they can be fed 1=2 times a week on crickets.

hope this helps


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## pumpkinette (Jan 14, 2008)

My first T was a Mexican Red Knee sling, followed 15mins later by a Chile Rose sub adult :blush:

I paid £18 for her and £7.99 for her faunarium. We use Eco-earth substrate which is £4 for 2 blocks, and thye last for AGES! You slice some off then soak it and it expands. You may find the T climbing the walls or on top of it's hide fot the first few days, as most beginner species of T's prefer dry ground. We use flowerpots for our hides, with a third cut off so they are still touching the substrate allowing them to feel vibrations from rickets etc. We had her in November and haven't had to clean her out yet, and she is still clean in there. We use a plastic bottle top as a water dish. I have bought stones for decoration but haven't put them in yet. You could put false leaves in as a fake plant for decoration, but these aren't necessary. Ours are kept at room temp.

They are VERY low maintenence. We feed ours 2-3 times a week and take any crickets out that haven't been eaten after 24 hours. They are fab to watch and not a real worry if your on a weeks hols etc. 

Let us know if you get one 

Oh, and by the way, it won't stay one for long, T's are VERY VERY VERY addictive, aren't they guys?


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## joe0709 (Sep 22, 2007)

pumpkinette said:


> Oh, and by the way, it won't stay one for long, T's are VERY VERY VERY addictive, aren't they guys?


they sure are :whistling2: i started off with my chili and had 10 more t's 2 and half week later lol


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## GRB (Jan 24, 2008)

My first suggestion would be to buy this:
Amazon.co.uk: Tarantulas and Other Arachnids (A Complete Pet Owner's Manual): Samuel D. Marshall: Books

Before you buy any tarantula, it will answer 99% of any questions you could ever hope to ask.

You can grab one for 48p+, it's well worth it. It will help you decide easier as well, as there are descriptions of common species + care guidelines.


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