info on size needed

[vincent winyard]

hi everyone i have a question. is it possible for a tank size to determin the size of a tarantula. the reason i ask is a couple of weeks ago i got a salmon pink bird eater and i was told she was 2 years old aprox although im not to sure if the seller knew the exact age he said he got her from lee at the spider shop. she was in a tank that was 8 by 11 inches so i moved her in to a bigger tank 12 by 15. she has what looks like a 5 inch leg span maybe a little bigger it's hard to tell. so i just wondered if she was in a tank 8 by 11 for such a time weather it,s effected her growth after all these t's are said to be quite a size at this age or am i wrong. by the way this guy said she was a juvi when he got her.

[James Heeley]

A good question Does a spider know that it is in an enclosure? No one knows I suppose so my guess is, as long as the enclosure isnt ridiculously small and the spider can move about, size shouldnt be a big problem. Ive also been told before that spiders seem to thrive in smaller enclosures? And of course every spider is different right? At this point i would like to add im a complete noob and probably am talking a load of rubbish

[Colin D Wilson]

Spiders have a sort of "genetic outcome" (almost clone-like) that dictates the eventual size, shape, colour and patterning per species (with the odd against the grain exception due to the afore said genetics of course i.e. colour forms, but even these are a decided factor)
If you give a tarantuls an enclosure thats big enough for it to complete its final "maturing" moult then there's no reason that it will be any different in size etc.
I'm not sure if a smaller tank restricting it's growth woult halt the process of if the spider would try to gain maturity anyway, this is one of those "experiments" that shouldn't really have to take place in my opinion.

[JensFalk]

Many in the wild lives in narrow but deep petholes often with a chamber not bigger than a normal terrarium so i dont think it would have any with the size to do.

[Nick Ashley]

Not sure of that myself either, though I doubt it personally. Food and temperature are more likely to contribute as well as whether the spider is a "runt". In other instances in nature, how healthy and well nourished the mother is can also apply, though I couldn't say whether this is the case with spiders.

As for James's question as to whether spiders are aware that they are in an enclosed space..that raises an interesting topic which I would imagine could create a heated debate. I am starting to think, in certain instances and based on certain indivduals behaviour, they may well do yes. That would be my opinion based on observation, but in no way would I argue that as fact. I am thinking of a certain change in bahaviour over time where spiders no longer bother with retreats and choose to stay out in full view during the day...but already in thinking about this I have thought alternative reasons to explain this, such as a lack of attacks by possible predators.. Ok..perhaps this is subject for a new thread...

[vincent winyard]

thanks so much everyone for your help. there are some interesting answers there. i suppose what you've all said is perfectly normal apart from the debate as to weather or not a tarantula knows it's in a enclosure we wont go there. i dont think she's a runt as she is lively and eating well i can only presume she's still young and has some growing to do. and james your not talking rubbish thats a perfectly logical answer welcome to the forum. sorry nick and jens thanks for your help and welcome to the forum.

[Stanley A. Schultz]

... is it possible for a tank size to determin the size of a tarantula. ...

I have heard from at least two people who have bred tarantulas and kept large numbers of the babies for themselves that those raised in larger cages tended to be larger. It is not clear whether they meant that they grew faster to the same size as their siblings in smaller cages, or if their growth rates were ultimately about the same but they grew to a larger final size, or if they grew faster and got larger. (You may have to read that several times to sort it out!)

Bottom line: There are a few reports, but no one has ever done a comparative study of several distantly related species to test it. However, if I were inclined to breed tarantulas again, I'd make every effort to move them into larger cages as soon as it appeared they might benefit from it.

Enjoy your faster/slower growing, larger/smaller adult, 8-legged little buddies.

[Patricio Cavallo]

As captive breeder of about 10 species over the past years, I've also noticed what you said Stan. Spiders raised in smaller enclosures, grew smaller AND slower. Feels like the spider ''knows'' there's not much room to keep growing. At cages with at least twice the LS of the spider, the growth seems normal to me. So, in my opinion, the size of the enclosure matters in growth rate/final size if we are talking about ridiculous small enclosures. Feeding frequency (and quality) is a VERY important variable about both growth rate and final size. Big species can mature at ridiculous small sizes if fed poorly. I'll never forget a MM T. blondi I've seen from a keeper, that was smaller than a MM G. pulchra, due to very poor feeding and low temps (lousy keeping in general). Also, it happened to me when I had tons of slings from breedings and couldn't fed all of them frequently.

Cheers,
Pato

[vincent winyard]

cheers stan. since i put the original post on here i have seen her spread out so to speak and she does look a lot bigger than in a normal relaxed position if that makes sence. to be honest i personaly think she's still quite young. anyway thanks so much for your reply and help stan.