First Tarantula Questions

[Luke Chambers]

Hi there!

New to Tarantulas and to the forum so nice to meet you all. I've been wanting a Tarantula since I was a small child and recently got myself in a position to expand my collection of pets (my housemate and I currently own Snakes) so have spent the last several months reading up on them. I have also ordered the very recommended book by Schultz and Schultz which apparently is being shipped from Mars as Amazon.co.uk are yet to deliver it.

Anyway, I settled on Haplopelma Lividum as my first Tarantula, despite every website advising me against it. This is because it is the species that most caught my eye and fascination. The reason I ignored the warnings of 'not for beginners' is because these claims seemed to be based on the fact they require more humid and warm environments than most 'beginner' species and also are fast and 'aggressive' and so cannot be handled. None of this bothers me since the humidity and heat can be sorted with a small amount of care, and the defensiveness is not an issue as I do not plan to handle any Tarantulas I own. I also have experience working with large predators and so I think many of the rules of carefulness will translate to owning a more venomous Tarantula. I bought the faunarium a week beforehand to give myself time to get the temperature and humidity to a comfortable level, and just picked up my Tarantula today. He/She is still in their travel tub and not yet in their faunarium as I am waiting for my housemate to come home before we transfer her. That way there's double the chance of foiling any escape attempts.

This being said, as a typical beginner I do have several questions which I have not managed to have answered by reading material online. I'll list them here. Even if you only know the answer to one, it would be helpful!

1. The humidity level a couple days ago was 60%. Then 65%. Then 75% and then 85%. I thought 'Great, that's why my H. Lividum will like' but now it reads 90%. Will extra humidity cause my Tarantula any excess discomfort or damage? If so, how do I bring the humidity down?

2. The temperature reads 60 farenheit which is room temperature so I bought a heat mat. With the substrate being so thick, should I place it on the side of the faunarium instead of the bottom? Or does it not matter? Will my T. be more comfortable at a higher temperature?

3. Having worked with dangerous animals before, I am used to have an exact plan for when things go wrong. If I own this Tarantula for many years, chances are one day I might make an error of judgement and get bitten. It happens. When I do, what would you advise? With my first Tarantula bite I'll go to hospital anyway, just incase my body reacts badly. But with any subsequent bites, should I attend A&E? What can I do while en route to the hospital to relieve the symptoms? I have read that the H. Lividum venom basically just causes extreme pain and muscle tension, is that right?

4. Why is every single book on H. Lividum in German? And are there any good ones in English? Every H Lividum book on Amazon.co.uk/.com is in German and like hundreds of pounds.

5. My Tarantula came 'unsexed'. I'll attempt to sex it myself after first shed with a how-to guide, but is there anywhere I can take the shed to have it sexed accurately? My local exotic pet store are great, but they have limited Tarantula knowledge.

6. Does anyone who owns H. Lividum, or any Tarantula really, have any tips? Like anything you wish you'd have known as a 'newbie'?


Thanks in advance, sorry for the questions! I'm looking forward to having my Tarantula and being part of the forum. Not so much looking forward to transferring her. She's baring her fangs in the travel tub and following me around the room like an angry, bitey Mona Lisa. I put her tub in a shoe-box in a quiet room until my housemate gets back from work in 20 minutes to help with the transfer. Hopefully that will calm the T. down a bit.

[Adam Beynon - Jones]

Well, it's been half an hour since you posted this, so I'm guessing you are chasing an unpredictable satanic bullet around the floor right about now hehe

Hang on and I'll try and answer some questions - Firstly, I'd say it's easier to do transfers alone with difficult spiders, certainly until you are more confident...

Hope it's going/gone well

[Adam Beynon - Jones]

[QUOTE=Luke Chambers;61785]Hi there!

New to Tarantulas and to the forum so nice to meet you all. I've been wanting a Tarantula since I was a small child and recently got myself in a position to expand my collection of pets (my housemate and I currently own Snakes) so have spent the last several months reading up on them. I have also ordered the very recommended book by Schultz and Schultz which apparently is being shipped from Mars as Amazon.co.uk are yet to deliver it.

Anyway, I settled on Haplopelma Lividum as my first Tarantula, despite every website advising me against it. This is because it is the species that most caught my eye and fascination. The reason I ignored the warnings of 'not for beginners' is because these claims seemed to be based on the fact they require more humid and warm environments than most 'beginner' species and also are fast and 'aggressive' and so cannot be handled. None of this bothers me since the humidity and heat can be sorted with a small amount of care, and the defensiveness is not an issue as I do not plan to handle any Tarantulas I own. I also have experience working with large predators and so I think many of the rules of carefulness will translate to owning a more venomous Tarantula. I bought the faunarium a week beforehand to give myself time to get the temperature and humidity to a comfortable level, and just picked up my Tarantula today. He/She is still in their travel tub and not yet in their faunarium as I am waiting for my housemate to come home before we transfer her. That way there's double the chance of foiling any escape attempts.

This being said, as a typical beginner I do have several questions which I have not managed to have answered by reading material online. I'll list them here. Even if you only know the answer to one, it would be helpful!

1. The humidity level a couple days ago was 60%. Then 65%. Then 75% and then 85%. I thought 'Great, that's why my H. Lividum will like' but now it reads 90%. Will extra humidity cause my Tarantula any excess discomfort or damage? If so, how do I bring the humidity down?

The more time that passes, the more water that will evaporate and linger in the air, depending on how much ventilation you have - also the warmer it is, the faster the water will evaporate - more humid. I'd say 90% is a bit much for lividum, but I'd say it won't hurt it for short periods, particularly if there is good ventilation. Just let the tank dry out a little. I don't actually measure humidity, I see it as dry, dampish, and damp - H. lividum would fall into the damp category

2. The temperature reads 60 farenheit which is room temperature so I bought a heat mat. With the substrate being so thick, should I place it on the side of the faunarium instead of the bottom? Or does it not matter? Will my T. be more comfortable at a higher temperature?

Definitely on the side - risks injuring the T if underneath as they burrow, plus it may well overheat underneath. Use foam pad stuck to the back of the heat mat to insulate it so as to direct the heat into the tank - they are pretty useless otherwise - even then I don't personally like heat mats as they create a hot spot, plus this hot spot will be from the side which is unnatural - it's best to place the tank in a warm area of the house or in a heated room as ambient heat is preferable

3. Having worked with dangerous animals before, I am used to have an exact plan for when things go wrong. If I own this Tarantula for many years, chances are one day I might make an error of judgement and get bitten. It happens. When I do, what would you advise? With my first Tarantula bite I'll go to hospital anyway, just incase my body reacts badly. But with any subsequent bites, should I attend A&E? What can I do while en route to the hospital to relieve the symptoms? I have read that the H. Lividum venom basically just causes extreme pain and muscle tension, is that right?

If you are careful and never fail to take precautions you won't get bitten! There's tricks you can do to eliminate that chance entirely... I can't offer any advice other than what the books say - clean bite area, disinfect, get to hospital, but not by driving yourself, inform them of species and other bite reports from this species etc... "Basically just causes extreme pain and muscle tension" - Not that this wouldn't be bad enough but I'd do a bit more digging for bite reports from this genus and species if I were you

4. Why is every single book on H. Lividum in German? And are there any good ones in English? Every H Lividum book on Amazon.co.uk/.com is in German and like hundreds of pounds.

Not sure - lots of German people really like H. lividum lol and the hobby is very big in Germany, and arguably more productive printed text-wise? But there's probably papers/reports you can find through this site

5. My Tarantula came 'unsexed'. I'll attempt to sex it myself after first shed with a how-to guide, but is there anywhere I can take the shed to have it sexed accurately? My local exotic pet store are great, but they have limited Tarantula knowledge.

Check this out: http://thebts.co.uk/forums/showthrea...ing+tarantulas - If you can't confirm it yourself, just take an equally good picture and post it on here...

6. Does anyone who owns H. Lividum, or any Tarantula really, have any tips? Like anything you wish you'd have known as a 'newbie'?

Erm, you won't like this but this is my honest reply - I wish I had known they are not really that blue in colour unless under the correct light - which they hate. I wish I had known I REALLY would have been staring at a tub of earth with a hole in it. Saying that, some people like pet-holes and they do construct interesting turreted burrows which are very cool.

Tips wise - Give it a good depth of substrate - the more the better - as in 8-10 inches minimum if it's adult size - perhaps start a burrow for it by creating a narrow hole the spider will fit snugly into, but don't give it a bark type hiding place - it will create it's own burrow which is more interesting - Also you can leave leaf litter and moss on the substrate floor which it will incorporate into it's burrow turret - Don't worry if it seems to take ages to adapt - It will eventually if you leave it alone and don't faff with it - Leave it be for a good week before trying feeding

DON'T let it escape

DON'T get bit

Have fun and enjoy

[Luke Chambers]

Thanks for the replies The transfer actually went well, if a bit tense. We loosened the lid of the travel tub, put it in the enclosure and then put the lid on the enclosure. Then we used tongs through the roof hatch to remove the lid and gently tip the travel tub until the T was ready to be coaxed out into its faunarium. Then after that we swiftly removed the lid of the faunarium and took out the travel tub. The only issue we encountered is that when we were nudging it gently with the brush to get him/her to move, instead of moving the T. just decided to stand and fight the brush. Apart from that it made no attempt to escape which was nice. It appears that the T. decided it didn't have to run as it could easily handle 2 fully grown men!

As for burrows, I've provided it with a pre-made one for it to use so that I can block it in if I need to maintain the tank, but if it makes its own then it won't be a disaster. I got a beautiful pic during the transfer through the roof hatch before we removed the travel tub:




It's a sub-adult. Hoping for a female so it keeps that coloring. You are right about it not looking like that all the time, mostly it just looks brown. Still a nice surprise when you see it though.

Right now the T. is just standing near the water bowl where it was deposited from the travel tub. Doesn't seem to be in a hurry to explore. I guess that'll happen once the lights go out and I go to bed.

The heat mat will hopefully raise the temperature, as the house where I live is pretty cold most of the time. The substrate is really deep so it shouldn't be an issue yet. Are there any better ways of heating? Maybe putting the faunarium in front of a radiator?

[John-Henry Dickinson]

I've got a H.Albostriatum and find its not such a 'pet hole' if you keep it out of too much light and keep it in low light during the day. I used to have its tank too bright and once I didn't see it for 5 months. Changed the place the tank was in so it was a bit darker and now I see it all the time. But it can take them a while to settle into a new tank.

[Peter Roach]

1. The humidity level a couple days ago was 60%. Then 65%. Then 75% and then 85%. I thought 'Great, that's why my H. Lividum will like' but now it reads 90%. Will extra humidity cause my Tarantula any excess discomfort or damage? If so, how do I bring the humidity down?

Anything you have read about humidity . . . . . Forget it. It is of no use to you whatsoever.
Your humidity measurement gauge (if it is a dial type throw it in the bin) is measuring the ambient humidity which is a waste of time because the HL will be deep in its burrow 99.99% of the time. As long as the lower layers of substrate are slightly damp that is all that is needed.

2. The temperature reads 60 farenheit which is room temperature so I bought a heat mat. With the substrate being so thick, should I place it on the side of the faunarium instead of the bottom? Or does it not matter? Will my T. be more comfortable at a higher temperature?

Always put the heatmat on the side of the tub/tank. As heatmats radiate heat from both sides it is better if the side away from the tub is covered with something like polystyrene to keep the heat in.

3. Having worked with dangerous animals before, I am used to have an exact plan for when things go wrong. If I own this Tarantula for many years, chances are one day I might make an error of judgement and get bitten. It happens. When I do, what would you advise? With my first Tarantula bite I'll go to hospital anyway, just incase my body reacts badly. But with any subsequent bites, should I attend A&E? What can I do while en route to the hospital to relieve the symptoms? I have read that the H. Lividum venom basically just causes extreme pain and muscle tension, is that right?

There is ONE simple rule that will stop you getting bitten . . . . .NEVER EVER put your hand or fingers into the tank for any reason.
Buy a decent pair of 10 inch tweezers or forceps and use these for retrieving or moving things about in the tank.

5. My Tarantula came 'unsexed'. I'll attempt to sex it myself after first shed with a how-to guide, but is there anywhere I can take the shed to have it sexed accurately? My local exotic pet store are great, but they have limited Tarantula knowledge.

When it moults and if you still want it sexed, send it to me and do it for you. (I've just finished sexing 20 various moults for a friend)

6. Does anyone who owns H. Lividum, or any Tarantula really, have any tips? Like anything you wish you'd have known as a 'newbie'?

I had HL's before and have a few tarantulas now. Ask away

[Luke Chambers]

Thanks for that info. I'll send you a picture when it moults!

The only issue I'm having now is that the temp, even with heat mat on the side overnight, is 60 farenheit. It needs to be 70-80. The dial, however, is near the top of the tank. I'm guessing the substrate will be warmer as there is a heatmat on it, which won't be heating the air. So as long as the dial doesn't go <50 then the T. should be okay, right?

[Peter Roach]

No. If it is dial ..... Throw the useless piece of junk in the nearest bin. Totally inaccurate and a waste of plastic.

[Luke Chambers]

No. If it is dial ..... Throw the useless piece of junk in the nearest bin. Totally inaccurate and a waste of plastic.

Haha, will do!

I came home from work today at 00:05 to find him/her climbing on the glass near the top of the enclosure. Was initially worried that the substrate might be wrong, etc, until I realised it was the middle of the night and it was probably looking for food. I think I'll try a cricket tomorrow night.

[Richard Harper]

Thanks for that info. I'll send you a picture when it moults!

The only issue I'm having now is that the temp, even with heat mat on the side overnight, is 60 farenheit. It needs to be 70-80. The dial, however, is near the top of the tank. I'm guessing the substrate will be warmer as there is a heatmat on it, which won't be heating the air. So as long as the dial doesn't go <50 then the T. should be okay, right?

If you're that worried about the temperature, you can always get a thermometer and stick in in the substrate and leave it to get accurate readings. (Chance to get webbed up though :P)

Haha, will do!

I came home from work today at 00:05 to find him/her climbing on the glass near the top of the enclosure. Was initially worried that the substrate might be wrong, etc, until I realised it was the middle of the night and it was probably looking for food. I think I'll try a cricket tomorrow night.

It's possible it was looking for food, but I doubt it. As you have just moved it into it's new home, it is probably just exploring and getting accustomed to the environment. Nothing to worry about. It will burrow when it is good and ready. When I first got mine she stayed above ground for a month, angry at the world, before disappearing into the hide i made for her. Now I have a wonderful pet hole! that grows legs at night .


This was what mine was like for a month. Even angry at me when i gave her food. So ungrateful.

[Luke Chambers]

If you're that worried about the temperature, you can always get a thermometer and stick in in the substrate and leave it to get accurate readings. (Chance to get webbed up though :P)



It's possible it was looking for food, but I doubt it. As you have just moved it into it's new home, it is probably just exploring and getting accustomed to the environment. Nothing to worry about. It will burrow when it is good and ready. When I first got mine she stayed above ground for a month, angry at the world, before disappearing into the hide i made for her. Now I have a wonderful pet hole! that grows legs at night .

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Looks like you were right. I put 5 black beetles I got from the shop today in there and was disappointed she didn't come out to eat them. Then one walked past her burrow. Mother of god. It was like something from a nightmare. A pair of legs came flying out of the blackness and pulled it into the dark of the tunnel before my brain even knew quite what was going on. Thank god H. Lividum only gets a couple of inches. Imagine if these things got any bigger.....

[Peter Roach]

Now you have to get used to the idea that it doesnt need feeding every day.
I feed my pet holes once or twice a month, it just depends on if i remember or not.

ps. Five insects/beetles in one go is a little excessive. One or two crickets, once or twice a month will do fine.
I have a few species that only get one cockroach every 2-3 months and they are still fat !

[Luke Chambers]

Good point! Ill wait for at least a few weeks then. At least now I know when she last ate so won't worry. I will definitely have to watch myself for over feeding!

[Richard Harper]

Hmm I'm not sure if she will overfeed. Mine just takes one then webs the burrow shut and leave the rest running around on the surface and ignores them for weeks at a time.

[Luke Chambers]

Yeah, mine has webbed her burrow shut too now so I removed 1 hidden survivor. The store sells boxes of like 30 crickets, so going to take the rest back tomorrow and let them have them back for free.

Although today I learned a very important lesson - assuming your Lividum is in her burrow is very, very different than knowing she is in her burrow. Thankfully, it turns out the old adage that even the most defensive T. will choose flight rather than fight is true. She just ran to the other side of the viv and I got away with nothing more than a stained pair of shorts hahaha.