Tarantula owners put A LOT of effort in their enclosures. Some will even custom build their tarantula tanks or create intricate bioactive enclosures, spending tons of time carefully designing and choosing decor. Tarantula owners take their pets’ homes to an entirely different level than other pet owners, so it can be REALLY annoying when something goes wrong and you have to undo all your hard work! In this post, I’ll tell you what you need to look for.

Mold or fungus

It’s important to get the humidity and moisture level for your tarantula right, and you want to be very careful about ventillation and air flow. If you get this wrong, your tarantula may not only be uncomfortable, but you could be creating an environment in which mold or funguses can start growing and thrive. While some mold/fungus may not be harmful, you don’t want to take this chance and if the issue is not taken care of quickly, it will spread throughout your enclosure. In many cases, tarantula owners advocate for a complete tank change. I can’t tell you how devastated I’ve been when I would occasionally see some mold growing in Spidey’s tank after I let the water dish overflow a little or didn’t let the substrate dry out well enough. No one wants to see weird mushrooms growing or green spots on their tarantulas’ hides or webs. So be on the lookout for this. Of course, it’s always best to take protective measures and not get mold/fungus in the first place, but if you catch it early enough maybe you can get away with only cleaning one part of the tank instead of the whole thing.

Loose prey

You don’t want loose uneatten prey roaming around in your tarantula’s tank. First, because if your tarantula molts they will be vulnerable to these creatures and could be attacked. But many prey critters can mess up your tank, making it gross and possibly laying eggs/reproducing which will cause a big issue (this happened to me once and it was terrible). It’s best to keep these buggers in check and not causing havoc in your tarantula’s home

Mites

Mites are something that can happen along with mold and fungus – they arrive when there is a warm and humid environment. Now, many times mites are harmless and will not be a big risk to your tarantula however some mites can pose a threat to your tarantulas’ wellbeing and can be an issue if their numbers get out of control.

Stressful or dangerous decor

While it’s important to take care of the cleanliness in our tarantula’s invironment, it’s also very important to look after what we put in the tank as well. Tarantulas can become hurt if you introduce decor that is sharp or pointy. They may also become stressed out by a certain decor item and not like it. Paying attention to your tarantulas’ body language and how they interact with their tank and decor. If they start doing something dangerous with an item or seem bothered by something, you may need to take it out or change some things.

I hope this is helpful to you! To learn more about tarantula care, check out my full tarantula guide!