You mean it's a heck of a lot bigger then let's say 30 L (about 8 gallons)? I'd say it's at most that, probably smaller as the frog terrarium seems a standard 60 cm fishtank to me.
Animals in Random Objects/Really tiny vivaria
- Thread starter red river hog
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I know, I live fifteen minutes away from this zoo. I've been there a number of times, and a- "Great exhibit" (?) is not what I would call it AT ALL. Its quite literally a bucket turned on its side, their isn't much to it. Explain why its so great?
Yes, it is.
Tarantulas don't need much space, and it provides the animal with the space and all of its other needs.
Sure, they don't need that much space. But its simply not a good exhibit. Would you like to live in it? I'm just saying, its really not anything extravagant.
Here's a pretty dumb one I found on the zoochat gallery. Such a beautiful San Francisco garter snake put in such a horribble enclosure. Photo credit to @WLV30SAS.
There are multiple reptile exhibits with beads at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. That's probably where this picture was taken. It's kind of gross looking.
It was, failed to mention that earlier.
As said before, whilst they may not move much there is more to animal welfare then that. Ample hiding spaces and gradients in light, temperature and humidity create the option for a spider to choose what suits best for him. To accomplish this, you need a certain size of terrarium. For many species in captivity space is much more important in terms of environmental complexity then it is for movement.
And, When I go there when the Virus clears up I'll make sure to take better photos of all the bad exhibits in the zoo.
I contacted a friend who's a long time arachnid keeper about the topics mentioned here. Paraphrased points:
Bigger exhibits are not better. A 10 gallon is used for big female tarantulas, 20 gallons for Goliath Bird-eaters and larger scorpions. Most tarantulas can kept in around 5 gallon size or even as small as 12"x8". They do not move much, and some spiders will even refuse to cross as much as 8 inches for something they need.
Bigger is also risky for heavy bodied species, a 1 or 2 inch fall can be enough to kill them. Whether climbing walls, furnishings, etc.
Microclimates are unnecessary and essentially unheard of. Trying to be fussy and create microclimate outside of the normal one side is moister and good ventilation will often kill the spider. Even supplemental heat is typically unnecessary.
Bigger exhibits are not better. A 10 gallon is used for big female tarantulas, 20 gallons for Goliath Bird-eaters and larger scorpions. Most tarantulas can kept in around 5 gallon size or even as small as 12"x8". They do not move much, and some spiders will even refuse to cross as much as 8 inches for something they need.
Bigger is also risky for heavy bodied species, a 1 or 2 inch fall can be enough to kill them. Whether climbing walls, furnishings, etc.
Microclimates are unnecessary and essentially unheard of. Trying to be fussy and create microclimate outside of the normal one side is moister and good ventilation will often kill the spider. Even supplemental heat is typically unnecessary.
So the first is the argument, "once it has settled in it doesn't uses much space, so we don't need to give it many space to settle in in the first place".
The last two things seem more like a problem in how you furnish an enclosure and creating microclimates in enclosures too small to create them in. Without additional heating, simply having a light over one side can make that side slightly warmer. Even with the moister and drier side, the larger the distance the more diversity in moistness. That it's never been done means very little, as parrots on sticks and horrible reptile enclosures are also still the norm in the US.
Given most ground-living tarantulas spend almost their entire lives in a burrow, they would be happy in a small exhibit with simply enough dirt to burrow in. You'd never see them except for them popping out to snag their food.
Many arboreal species build a silk nest in a recess and pop out to snag food. High humidity actually kills many tropical arboreal species.
Even light can be somewhat irrelevant to a burrow-dweller.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
I consider Bristol zoo as certainly one of the best in the world for their invert displays and they also do a lot for invert conservation too.
But even with some of the species that they keep and breed for reintroduction back to the wild you have setups like this for the Deserta's island wolf spider:
Not tiny by any means but not aesthetic either as these are just plastic tubs and really when it comes to breeding the animals as part of ex-situ conservation and often behind the scenes does it matter ?
Photo credit to @zoogiraffe.
But even with some of the species that they keep and breed for reintroduction back to the wild you have setups like this for the Deserta's island wolf spider:
Not tiny by any means but not aesthetic either as these are just plastic tubs and really when it comes to breeding the animals as part of ex-situ conservation and often behind the scenes does it matter ?
Photo credit to @zoogiraffe.
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I have doubts on whether large enclosures can be dangerous to tarantulas. Why is this? In the wild, they have virtually unlimited space. Also, many of these exhibits don't have room to even burrow.
In the wild they generally restrict themselves to a single log or burrow, rarely venturing out.
Many of them simply won't use the space in the first place. They aren't wanderers. In the wild most of them would live their life in a burrow or tree crevice. They won't move to get things sometimes.
Burrowing is often discouraged since the animal would basically never be seen by the public, unless a glass side view was used.
Couldn't they do that in a large enclosure?
Yes, but what's the point of giving them a big exhibit if they're never going to use it?
Glass-sided tunnels are definitely how they should be displayed. I don't think it's best to restrict them from burrowing, as it's a natural behavior that they do often in the wild.
Yes, but then:
A. The enclosure would taking up much more space than is necessary.
B. The enclosure would be more difficult to maintain than it needs to be.
C. Visitors would never see the animal.