How To Build a Tarantula Bioactive Enclosure - YOU CAN DO IT!

This week I build a Bioactive Enclosure for my Theraphosa apophysis (Pinkfoot Goliath Birdeater Tarantula). I take you step by step through the process of making a bioactive tarantula enclsore. In this video I am using a Tarantula Cribs enclosure with hydroballs as the false bottom. This setup will work for any moisture dependant species like Theraphosa blondi, Theraphosa stirmi, Pamphobetus species and more!
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[@tarantulacollective]

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[@thecreatureverse]

I also keep spiders and have a KZbin channel about them!

[@denofsouls9564]

It was very helpful, thanks. I’m planning on making one today for my 2 m.balfouri slings, since they’re needing a rehouse. Sill probably be hard since they need lower humidity than theraphosa sp. though

[@mortuali]

Hi there, I don't know if you'll even look at this message, but I'd like to make a suggestion. 🙂 I make LOTS of bioactive terrariums, some to keep and some to sell. I would very very highly recommend switching over from your false bottom layer being LECA/Hydroton to rinsed lump wood charcoal. You can buy gigantic bags of it for cheap - it's the same hardwood lump charcoal you'd use for grilling! You can smash it up to any fineness you want. And best and most importantly, it functions to filter the water that reaches the bottom of the terrarium and filters it again as it leaves the bottom as vapor to recondensate the "sky". It's totally non-toxic to insects and arachnids of all types, as far as I've experienced. And because it is technically wood, it'll help your springtail or isopod cultures have additional food! Great video, best wishes, spider friend. 💕 I'm u/mortuali on reddit.

[@tarantulacollective]

@@mortuali thanks so much for this tip. I definitely will start using that and give it a try.

[@paularnold6596]

Am I safe to assume that virtually all of the Asian arboreal species will do well in a bio-active setup? Thanks

[@Fosten12]

The Petko Skull Taunt is becoming a meme in the tarantula keeper scene hahaha

[@thecreatureverse]

Yeah!

[@lowkeylysemith2568]

I thought the exact same thing, lol.

[@mitchelljohnson4633]

What is this Petco taunt you speak of Sir ??

[@eduardojorgedesouzalimanet2474]

@@mitchelljohnson4633 its the host of the dark den (another tarantula themed channel) he aperently hates plastic skulls

[@mitchelljohnson4633]

That's too Goo (X

[@drimachuck]

Memeing on Petko with fake skulls is my favourite thing that unites the tarantula hobby on KZbin lmao

[@Billbeaux]

Can we see an in depth look at your Caribena Versicolor setup? And maybe a closer look at some of your other humid/moisture dependent species setups? It would be super cool!

[@Dana-cb7vk]

Been keeping Ts since 2007, and prefer Arboreals. Ive done none bioactives, but mostly do bioactive. Bioactive is *the absolute best* way to go. And my Ts seem to live longer in a bio than otherwise, too. Reptisoil rocks, but be sure that whatever you utilize: you mix some of your substrate in with the roit clump/s of the live plants you pop in, so that the plant does not get shocked by the variation of soil as it grows. Sounds dumb, but hey. It seems the plants thrive better, that way. Just a small pro tip to toss in here.

[@dancingpuffin8936]

Nobody: TC: "This ones for you Petko" *pats imported skull* -Jan 2021

[@quintengrimm1906]

Great build video!! Bioactive is always fun and great to watch grow with the animal. Amazing filmography, as always!

[@kevintyler9681]

I got haired by my Lp once while rehousing. Hands bends of my arms neck and face.5 Benadryl barely put a dent in the severe itch. I dont blame you Richard for suiting up. I do now.

[@lucnadeau2821]

Woah ! That new enclosure looks fantastic ! No doubt your apophysis will love its new home. And I'm glad you touched on the necessity of gloves and glasses when dealing with kick-happy Ts. Loved those bass licks at the beginning ! Stay safe and thanks for sharing :)

[@adamdee3726]

If your using a fine surface like sand or don't want to wash your soil around. Make a "fill tube" that goes down directly to the hydroball layer. Made a world of difference getting water under my soil.

[@TexasGlassToolsLLC]

Can’t wait to finish watching this later! The bio active stuff is fun!

[@caitgems1]

Finally got a few minutes to watch this. I started using isopods to help clean up but I can't get springtails because of the cold weather. Good timing 👍

[@tiger69big]

The production quality of your videos is insane! COOL T TOO

[@Katiethewizard]

this video could not have come at a better time!! I've been wanting to start a bioactive enclosure for my curly hair but couldn't find many resources for help. Thanks for saving me LOL

[@thenovastargamingchannel]

This is the sorta content I need in my life for my Acanthoscurria Geniculata, Brachypelma Boehmei, Tliltocatl Albopilosus, Tliltocatl Vagans and my two Davus Pentalorus! Thank you brutha!

[@danilounsbury18]

Another awesome video! I love the set up you created, I would love to get into bio active enclosures for my tarantulas once they get bigger. I set my crested gecko up in one and it looks awesome.

[@immortanjohann7833]

Just got a Psalmopoeus irminia sling, and this is exactly what I was looking to do with its cage. Big thanks!

[@WLRJ3]

You crack me up! I always learn something and it is well explained. Thanks

[@teslasintern]

I've stopped using drainage layers/false bottoms. The reason is the water just sits down there, sort of forever... If you have the substrate sitting in the water, it can wick up to the surface and then evaporate. It is important not to overwater though (I use 2 fl oz of water per week, and once in a while use way more if it's drying out). For substrate I'm using bagged topsoil based stuff, with lots of clay.

[@Vannah2414]

Very true, that’s sort of the point of it though. They are supposed to stay wet so that water can collect and then evaporate up through the dirt. It mimics the layer of water we have underneath the earths soil

[@autist1689]

@@Vannah2414 it can actually have a negative effect. You don't have the same depth that the natural environment has. And the drainage layer creates a pool of water under the soil layer that doesn't easily distribute through the soil.

[@knyghtryder3599]

If you want to use a screen divider you can cut a tiny hole in it and put a mint plant through the hole , mint loves water , can be cut back and can handle lower light , house plants could also work. If you don't want plants , then I use an old undergravel aquarium filter plate , and the clear airline tube , I cut that to the top of the substrate and cap it , when it is too moist I uncap the tube and siphon water off the bottom like an aquarium

[@jovymulan2072]

Deym! I love this channel so much! 💕 very informative and it really helps to keep this kind of hobby alive forever

[@justinprewitt245]

Great enclosure! I love the close up shots!

[@Keigancarah]

love the detail shots at the end of this video!

[@janawild4582]

I was excited to see this video because I’ve been planning on doing bioactive in my enclosures if I can. I’ve always had a fascination with tarantulas, and I’ve watched tarantula videos on KZbin off and on for a while now but haven’t actually bought a tarantula yet lol.. Fixing to though. I have kept some off and on over the years that I catch here in Texas. I currently have one. Thanks for the videos. Yours are some of my favorites.

[@tarantulacollective]

Glad you enjoy the videos! I hope they're helpful

[@drdoolittlefishhobbyist6055]

Hey brother, great to see you. Been away offline for a while due to this craziness but back now and of course have to check out your latest vids. This bio active set up is the nuts buddy. Hope you and your gang are all keeping safe and well and btw happy new year. Have to say loving the little skull in honour of petko . Long live the fake skull.

[@jeremiahheckman906]

hay dude i just wanted to thank you for helping me get my first T im getting in to this hobby and i love it thank you

[@tiffff1758]

Hello love the channel been watching since I’ve starting keeping Ts and your so informative and I also noticed that we both live in Wv very cool keep up the work !

[@katiebug_337]

Love the bio dude's substrate. I did a bio active for my T Ablo. Not sure if any of the clean up crew survived since its pretty dry in there but I have no mold and its going on a year.

[@Birdie284]

I love your videos! Thank you so much. What kind of plants and lighting are you using?

[@mattymusky9984]

Great video as always richard !

[@CreatureLove-A189]

Thank you so much for the video. This will help me plan the bioactive set up I am putting together for my pink toe. (:

[@AlternativeInverts]

Ohh yes i love me a good bi-active enclosure for Tarantulas! Awesome content as always dude 🤟🤟

[@kimperdue]

very informative! great rehouse, thank you

[@StandAloneSoul]

thanks! keep up the great work buddy :)

[@varantula7454]

I definitely enjoy this style of video 😊

[@sdnyhamilton]

I’ve done bio actives for my crested geckos, and I have an abundance of pothos plants since they’re so easy to grow, so I’m thinking of creating one for my pinktoe.

[@wildelapina5955]

GLAD IM CATCHING YOUR POST AGAIN YOU ARE MY FAVORITE SPIDER GUY

[@Cliffhanger_MFC]

Awesome video and great beard!!!

[@Multichampion1000]

Your videos is always educational man....awesome vid

[@tarantulacollective]

Thank you...glad you think so!

[@butterfly-dt7py]

My curly hair tarantula is fully grown now so I wanted to make her a bioactive enclosure in my new 10 gallon! I got all of the supplies and I can’t wait to make it :)

[@Irithyllian]

3:12 for a moment I thought some milk was gonna pour in 😂 helpful video man, like always I look to you and dark den and have bought many tarantulas and a jumping spider these past weeks thank you as always :)

[@cattycat6552]

Beautiful enclosure 😊😊👍👍👍

[@ChantalsCritters]

Great rehouse video

[@August377]

Would like to see a video on beard cultivation, care and keeping. Dude, your beard is immaculate. 💯

[@BBRWild]

Cool channel,thank you.I am a beginner in tarantulas, and I will learn a lot from you. Do I have any suggestions and where can I contact you?

[@tarantulacollective]

I have put together an entire playlist with videos for new keepers you might find helpful. kzbin.info/aero/PLjBrtja7Q8uj435GOoijmU_ZRphfcx6tg I have contact info on my website and links to social media in the description of all my videos.

[@BBRWild]

@@tarantulacollective Thanks.I will message you on Insta. My insta is Badri-BBR

[@KittenCece]

I may get one of these tarantula cribs enclosures just to set up a really nice looking spring tail and isopod colony.

[@anjedoll3276]

I’ve been wanting to do bioactive enclosures

[@tarantulacollective]

I hope this helps!

[@Exthias1983]

I have just a couple more T's I want to get before I start thinking about bioactive enclosures, but this is great info as always dude.

[@thecreatureverse]

I have made a bioactive enclosure for sheetweb spiders! I have a video about it on my channel...

[@adamguest5292]

Definitely going to take a crack at a bioactive in the future.

[@freaknifethrower8218]

Richard you are WAYYY too underated!!

[@tarantulacollective]

That's very cool of you to say.

[@jobsmods9694]

Looks Pretty dam good 😃 thinking about Doing my own now 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@AnimaVarium]

I’ve been crazy once, but hey! Could you please make a video on what springtails and isopods and all the microorganisms actually do? And the ratio one needs to mix them for the best possible setup?

[@awesomeanimalswithalishav5874]

Thanks for this! I've been wanting to do a bioactive for one of my Ts, especially because he needs to get rehoused & I love bioactive with all my other animals. Do you worry about your spiders getting eaten by the isopods or do you try to use isopods that need less protein? Also, what do you do with your leftover substrate? I figure it probably has a lot of hairs in it so shouldn't be reused, but do the hairs break down over time to allow it to go in a compost pile?

[@playdead1892]

😍ZOOOOOM ZOOOOM!! Cool close up shots😍😍

[@tarantulacollective]

Glad you liked it!!

[@MOONOVERMIAMI]

hello great video sorry I missed live stream

[@Sabertoothie]

"Substrate" 😂 love your videos ❤

[@stevet73]

Looks great buddy #skullgang 🤘🏻 should added skull in my t stirmi bio enclosure just done lol

[@frostking3566]

That is a chill Theraphosa lol my T. stirmi is NUTS lol

[@executivebexley252]

Awesome!! 👍 It's more like setting up a nice well drained planter that a t happens to.be able to chill in, it'd be nice without the t hahaha

[@michaeljensen2520]

Love the video. I've been considering a bioactive for my L. Parahybana. You make it look fairly straightforward. Still doing research on set ups and spring tails.

[@surfratsociety5310]

How did it go? I think I am going to set up a bioactive enclosure for my tliltocatl albopilosus that just reached full size

[@thatone7793]

I remember when I got my first L. parahybana. I was so used to being able to handle substrate barehanded with my non-spider pets that I dove right into my L.p's cage with both hands. That day will forever be remembered as the day I learned about hair kicking and why gloves are good. Both hands, I tell you. I was very stupid that day.

[@zuddy469]

The face you made in the thumbnail thats why i love watching u

[@elivettemelendez4847]

Amazing

[@ShaunMHolder]

Now that you've had this setup for a while, would you recommend any changes for theraphosa sp? How often do add moisture after initial set up to the enclosure and how?

[@deadxeyesx6777]

the petko call out was dope XD

[@thenightscythe2030]

"This one is for you Petko! " };P

[@EnzoServerofGod]

What's up, bud? Thank you for this video! Super helpful! I have a Blue Cobalt, not planning on putting plants. Do I still need isopods and springtails? Planning on doing everything else in this video but just had that curiosity

[@cpr-crush7088]

You have lots of cool videos man! Got a small concern- I have a juvenile Mexican red knee. Had her for about 3 weeks. ( I am new to Ts) when I feed her live crickets or meal worms, she doesn't come and attack it. When I check her cage in less than an hour she has eaten her food. It would be cool to see my T catch it's food when it's being dropped in the cage. Any tips?

[@eviltango]

Ahh I see a G9 hanging out on the table!

[@rebelbaron7003]

Richard,love your videos,can't wait till Tarantula Tuesday,never think we get bored with T feeding. Love it. The other night I watched your vid on Blue Tarantulas. You put an incredible guitar instrumental song as background that blew me away. I'll have to go back and see which T species you had it attached to for reference but do you know which song and artist it might be?

[@tarantulacollective]

I list most of the songs and artists in the description of my video, usually about half way down the description.

[@Fosten12]

Even though you dont particulary have to, you put on gloves and safety glasses. Thanks for showing a good example

[@Joshlikesbanjos]

Great video, thank you! Are there any other species that you would recommend that would thrive in a bioactive enclosure?

[@richardmosebar8395]

Hey Richard, nice Bio, looks good to me. I just got my first Mexican Red Knee sling from Back Water Reptiles. I know the reviews on them aren't very good, and they weren't very good about answering my questions, but it did arrive safe and sound, so no complaints here. I was hoping it would be a little bigger than what I got, but again, it looks fine, seems very active, and I'll see how it goes. I didn't try feeding yet. I'll give it a day or so to acclimate to it's new surroundings.

[@dankauffman8568]

You got lucky .

[@0611msm]

Thanks for your amazing videos, appreciate your answer if you can tell me What are the humid loving tarantulas that can be kept in humid bio active terrarium ?

[@pawang_game_id]

quality content

[@rockymountainspiderfreaks3722]

Talk about sky rocketing one of your videos over another of yours for a favorite of mine 🤘

[@tarantulacollective]

Awesome, thank you!

[@Adamckracken123]

Love your videos👌🏽💯. Just a quick question. When setting up my Bioactive Enclosure, do I need to use plugs or anything in order to keep it the atmosphere warm. It's my first time buying a spider so I wanna be extra careful. Thanks bro👊🏽

[@arvreezy3563]

Hello, just curious. What type of water do you use for your Ts and also for your isopods/springtails? Thanks! Love your vids!

[@KingTimmy136]

I jus started the hobby but this is what i want a bioactive inclosure but in was an arborial one.

[@valkeitos]

This is my plan for a Cameroon Red Baboon once i get it eventually. Would be great with a small pond/water section

[@bencehorvath6094]

A very well-trimmed beard 👌

[@theblueburrow1801]

We want More bio active enclosure videos!! 🕸🕷

[@varantula7454]

Loving the Adidas flatcap 😂

[@JohanExoticGlobal]

Safety first, smart!!

[@annonone93]

Here for the information, staying for the amazing videography and music. (If it's possible/not too much work would you consider making a playlist of the music in your videos? Like don't do it if it's too much work. You could add music as you go and not port over old stuff even.)

[@tarantulacollective]

"If it's not too muck work would you consider" checking the description of the video for the list of songs I use? LoL...im just teasing you, but seriously, in most of my videos I try and list the song name and artist in the description down towards the bottom. The past few weeks I havent been able to do it just because I have ran out of time and needed to get the videonout asap and just forgot, but the tracks in this particular video are listed in the description. Glad you enjoy the videos and thanks for sticking around and watching more!

[@alextabara9150]

5:25 Triggered Petko incoming😂😂

[@klaskristian1]

Good looking terrarium. I will bet it will shrive in there!

[@tarantulacollective]

Thanks

[@MariaLincoln]

I’ve done it , I’ve just ordered my first Sling T online , bracypelma Hamorii

[@tarantulacollective]

Nice pick! Congrats on your new tarantula!

[@nourhanateout7187]

Are hydro balls the same as lecca? And also is coco fiber not recommended because it can't grow live plants? Your channel is so cool! Just stumbled across it

[@wheeze2429]

It is not true that bioactive is only for moisture dependent species, Bioactive simply refers to a direct simulation of the natural biome that your animal comes from. For example, species that prefer more dry substrate, you can make an arid bioactive, including succulents, arid grass etc.

[@pasiliaopasiliao207]

Cool

[@joegomez750]

what lights do you recommend for those live plants?

[@DOOMED_coffee]

hey man im just getting into tarantulas and im thinking of getting my first. i wanted to know if u think i could do this enclosure or if i should skip out on it for now

[@ajriputra.k3969]

Damn i missed the premiere

[@amandabray8705]

I tried seeing if you listed what plants you transfered over but didn't see what kind they were. Also with the skull you used is it one specifically designed for terrariums or is it just one from the fish decoration section?

[@justinjansen6028]

I have a pink toe tranlcha that I bought from a pet smart tonite an I wanted to know about how small or big the tank that it needs to be for him

[@kenstable1433]

Can you do bio active for a T that needs arid parameters like a GBB

[@davehardesty3231]

Do you have a list of what tarantulas you recommend that live well in a bio active terrarium?

[@lucasbanke1663]

You said don’t use cocoa fiber? For my very first T that’s what I have ??? Do I need to change it??

[@serpentinesecrets6771]

How do you go about feeding a tarantula in a bioactive enclosure are they likely to eat your clean up crew

[@didisaythat4230]

Great video, ty.. "Substrate"

[@kingkato21]

With how short the enclosure is, what plants do you use, and would succulents be okay for a tarantula? I'm looking to get a Eupalaestrus Campestratus or Grammostola Rosea and want to set up a bio active enclosure.