If you’re anything like me, your tarantula’s tank is a source of pride and joy, and you put A LOT of work into it! The nice thing about having tarantulas is that their tanks, once set up, usually don’t have the cleaned too often unless you have some sort of infestation of mites or mold/fungus. Tarantulas usually keep their homes very clean so you will likely only need to do a full tank cleaning every 6 months to a year, however there are a few things that will be helpful in maintaining your tarantula’s tank.

The biggest things to look out for in your tarantula’s enclosure in regards to keeping things safe are food and waste. Tarantulas are actually masters at tidying and will often do their bathroom stuff in certain corners or areas of their tank to keep things clean. They will often usually collect uneaten food or boluses in a certain area of their tanks, too, which makes things very easy for you!

One important consideration is that you want to make sure you don’t disturb your tarantula as you do this – especially if you have a fast moving one. If your tarantula is near the area you need to clean, you may want to either wait until they move or nudge them away from the area.

Of course cleaning requirements will depend on what species of tarantula you have – some tarantulas are VERY messy and shoot their poop all over their plants and enclosure. Some tarantulas may also be hard to clean up after due to complex webbing and tunneling they’ve created. The major things are to definitely remove any food waste, and be careful not to allow live prey to wreak havoc in your tarantulas’ enclosures if your tarantula isn’t interested. This prevents feeders from creating waste, messing with the substrate, and laying eggs (this happened to me once with crickets, it was NOT fun!) For cleaning waste, you can often take a wet paper towel or tissue/wipe and simply clean it off the surfaces. My tarantulas are terrestrials, so they usually poop on their walls and don’t make too much of a mess so it’s easy to clean. However if you have a tarantula that goes to the bathroom on their plants, hides, etc., you might have a harder time.

You may also need to clean your tarantula’s water dish fairly often. If your tarantulas are anything like mine, they do much more than drink from their water dish lol. My tarantulas not only LOVE to throw dirt in their water dishes, but sometimes they even poop in them! So, you may find yourself cleaning the water dish fairly often.

I mentioned that if you have an outbreak of mold and fungus, it’s usually safer to do a complete tank change, however you may be able to spot remove mold or affected areas of the tank if it’s caught early and it’s a small spot.

One thing I should mention about keeping a tarantula enclosure clean are the use of isopods to help keep the substrate clean and in balance. I myself have never used them, but these little critters are extremely useful in warding off mold and keeping things clean.

I hope this is helpful! This is just one of the ways I’ve found it easy to keep my tarantulas’ tanks clean and go for longer between complete tank changes and cleanings. For more info about tarantula care, feel free to check out my tarantula guide!