Bird eater

[heathers*bps]

I have been wanting a T for so long now, but Chad has always been against it. He hates spiders and always always argued with me when I was on the verge of a purchase. Anywho, a friend of ours brought over one of his, said I can have it. I am SO stoked, I can hardly sit still. It is a goliath bird eater, and I know they aren't for beginners, but I would like some feedback on proper care, caging, temps, humidity, etc, etc. He has told me what he does for it, but I want as MUCH info as possible. Any thoughts, suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Oh, I will get pics up shortly Thanks!!

[Alexandra V]

First off, congrats and welcome to the dark side!

Here we go:
Temps - they're okay at room temp
but do better in warmer temps if possible (about 78-80 ish) especially if its young (legspan under 3-4") because it will help them grow.

Humidity - fairly humid, think in the 60%-75% range. Because of that humidity need, its important to be dilligent about removing bits of uneaten prey and provide adequate ventilation to prevent mold and bacteria growth which could kill the spider. With a good substrate (I like the Exo Terra Plantation Soil) you should be able to maintain humidity by providing a shallow water dish and misting the substrate every few days.

Caging - anything with floor dimensions on 3n x 2nd and a height from substrate to lid of no more than 1.5n (n being your tarantula's legspan)

Feeding - give 1 or 2 appropriately sized insects per week (appropriate size being no bigger than the tarantula's abdomen).

Misc - I don't suggest handling them because they aren't the most docile of tarantulas and their urticating bristles are the worst in the hobby. I also recommend washing your hands immediately after doing any cage maintenance so that if you got any hairs on your hands, they'll be washed off before you can touch your face/eyes and get hairs in there.

Other than that, just enjoy the impressive spider you're going to have in your care, truly a gem of the hobby

[heathers*bps]

Thank you so much for your helpful post! I do have a couple questions. Is coconut husk ok to use for substrate? I have read that thick substrate was needed since they like to burrow, but also read they will use hides. Which do you think is best, if either? Does it need to be a humid hide or just somehing to hide in? Is a 10 gallon ok for an enclosure? Also what about feeding pinks?

Here are some craptacular pics I took when he first brought it. I'm still setting up its enclosure, since it was a huge surprise that it was being brought to me. I will take more once its settled in Thanks again Alexandra!!

[Alexandra V]

Anytime! And that's a good size too, you got yourself a good deal! They tend to run pretty expensive (at least up here they do), especially at respectable sizes.

Coconut husk is fine, as long as it's the shredded powder-like kind and not the chunks. Tamp it down good and put enough in so that you can get about one to one and a half legspans straight down if you want to allow it to burrow, or you can offer a hide, or do both. Both ways are equally good, it will depend on the individual T which hiding method it will prefer.

At that size, a 10gal would be perfect, though it may eventually outgrow it (but not for a while). IMO feeding vertebrate prey is a bit of a waste, because it's not necessary for them to eat the pinks. There has been some speculation that consuming anything with bones (high in calcium!) can result in molting issues as well, though I don't believe it's been fully documented and researched. Personally I wouldn't make it a regular thing, but if you want to give them one just to see how it is, that's your prerogative. Some T's won't even take pinkies to begin with.