Hi guys & girls. I am new to the T-scene, although I have always been keeping and raising just about anything I found interesting at different stages of my 52 years. To give you an idea - scorpions, Romans(wind spiders), rain spiders, snakes, various birds and parrots, even ostriches, wild boars, and even a crocodile. Yep it's not a misprint. I now live in town, and only have a dog and to my wife and ageing mother's horror, now have a few T's, with more on the way.

I have read quite a bit about these fascinating creatures and have a few friends who are collectors, who got me interested in the hobby ( Not the right word IMO, because some of my T's are going to outlive me :lol: ). I started out with peat and arranged it according to the expert's recommendations, being to wet it and dry it by squeezing the water out and tamped it down to a firm, but soft substrate.

I joined this forum because serious collectors and breeders always have different opinions and ways of doing things. I am personally of the opinion to always try to emulate nature where possible. My concern is that the inside of the tank remains moist and fogs up when heating the side of the tank with heater pads in the cold months, as presently. The darker T's don't show up well and I've seen setups on this forum where you guys have green moss, rocks, sticks and leaves etc in your terrariums, which I find appealing. I know the T's may not mind it much, but it will make me feel better to have something more natural looking. I've read about using potting soil etc, thought about stuff like building/river sand etc, but I don't want to do things that will inconvenience my T's.

I like the big guys, so have L. Parahybana, L. Klugii, White knee, Red and White, B. red knee, B. red leg. I would dearly appreciate any and all comments and advise you are willing to share.

Come on guys, don't just look, please say what you think. I am housing new arrivals soon and need to decide what can or can't be done before they come. Don't worry that someone will take you on or whatever, just share your thoughts please.

Hi there.

Best I can advise is to read the below post.

Post 6 by Uncle Stan.

www.tarantulas.co.za/index.php?option=co...ew&catid=15&id=67460

Sent from my GT-N7100 a long time ago and far, far away.....

Thanks Leon, but it's the same info, apparently copied directly by just about every read on the subject. Booooring. Do I/we all have to assume that everybody uses peat in all their cages? Does all YOUR T's live on peat?

What about the lovely thread by (was it Fuzzy Bear) on communal living with his tank full of rocks and live hen & chick plants? What I'd like to know, is what does he have underneath? Looks like peat, doesn't mean it is peat .

Still waiting for someone to actually say something, please excuse me if this sounds aggressive in any way - not intended

Regards
Deon

Fuzzy Bear uses peat, most people, all people in the hobby use peat, it is the safest substrate to use.
Even the guys over the small ocean use it.
One member on the forum (Dave) puts stones and live plants and landscapes he's cages, I will try locate he's thread of he's cages.

Thanks Jake, I needed at least one experienced individual to confirm that this is the best substrate. I will probably just put some obstacle, whether it's a hollow stone or a log of sorts for a retreat in the cage, together with the obligatory water dish. I was also wondering if a seashell, like the one used for ashtrays, would be ok to use as a hiding place, specially for the slings in the beginning.