Today, when deciding to settle an exotic creature in their home, homeowners are increasingly paying attention to spiders. After all, they are unpretentious in maintenance, cleanliness and they do not need a lot of space.
Terrarium arrangement and care
Small spiders can be kept in glass jars or small boxes, while larger ones can be kept in glass and plastic terrariums. The bottom of the container must be covered with peat, moss and wood dust. You can place driftwood, flower pots or unpretentious plants in the terrarium as shelters for pets.
Do not place cacti, sharp-edged objects or ribbed stones in the terrarium.
The container for keeping the spider should be tightly closed with a lid in which air holes are provided. The temperature inside should be kept within 25-27 degrees. You can control it in the terrarium with a thermostat. Lowering the temperature is especially dangerous for well-fed spiders - putrefactive processes can occur in the stomach.
To maintain the required humidity level, a saucer of water, a container with moistened moss or bedding must be placed in the container, which must be sprayed every day from a spray bottle. Lack of moisture can lead to shedding problems, and spiders from the tropics can die altogether. However, overmoistening of the air should not be allowed - the appearance of mold fungi and bacteria can cause disease of the integument of the body and respiratory organs of the animal.
Spiders do not need additional lighting in the terrarium. For heating, a fluorescent lamp or biolamp is suitable.
Most spiders in nature are nocturnal, so you should not put the terrarium in direct sunlight.
Feeding
Spider food can be purchased at bird markets or pet stores. Young, often molting individuals are fed twice a week with juvenile crickets and mealworms. The diet of adult spiders consists of flies, cockroaches, crickets, frogs, mice and locusts. The prey insect or animal should not be more than a third of the size of the spider itself. Large spiders can be given a small mouse or several large cockroaches and crickets once every 10 days.
Uneaten insects (even living ones) must be removed from the terrarium immediately so that they do not damage the integument of the spider's body.
Before molting, spiders can refuse food for a period of three weeks to two months. In this case, it is important to provide pets with access to fresh water. The drinking bowl, which is a simple lid from the jar, must be filled with boiled or settled water every day. To prevent the animal from overturning the drinker, you can put a smooth pebble in it.
