Arachnids
Unlike insects, all arachnids have not 6, but 8 legs. They have most of their nerve cells in their legs, so you could say they think with their legs! Spiders and scorpions are ideal for smaller terrariums. For some of them extreme caution is required because of their toxicity. Please also remember that terrariums with poisonous animals must be secured with a lock ( JBL TerraSafe ). Spiders and scorpions do not require UV-A and B proportions in their lighting. They need light to generate heat but no UV radiation, ( JBL ReptilJungle Daylight 24W , JBL SOLAR REPTIL JUNGLE T8 , JBL ReptilDay Halogen , JBL LED SOLAR NATUR , JBL Reptil LED Daylight 12W ).
Tarantulas
The most popular spider group has to be tarantulas. They’re considered peaceful pets by the indigenous people of South America who keep them and let their children play with them. (The spiders probably don’t like this much, but they tolerate it).
There are around 900 species who not only populate tropical rainforests, but also dry desert areas or even cooler mountain forests. All tarantulas are predators that feed on insects, birds and small mammals. Their poison is not fatal to humans, but can have differing effects, comparable to a wasp sting. Tarantulas are solitary and often nocturnal animals. The animals moult and can live to become 30 years old. Depending on the size of the tarantula species, the terrarium needs a floor area of at least 30 x 30 cm. The height depends on whether the animals like to climb. The bottom substrate needs a layer thickness of 8-10 cm. The type of substrate you choose depends on the species. The popular metallic pinktoe tarantula (Avicularia metallica), for example, needs moisture-retaining material such as JBL TerraBasis or JBL TerraCoco Humus . However a mixture of soil and sand is better for Chilobrachys huahini or Grammostola actaceon. All spiders need a small, flat drinking bowl ( JBL ReptilBar GREY ). The JBL drinking bowls have the advantage of a small rescue ladder to help the feeder animals to get out of the water. Small spiders and juveniles of larger species can drown in deep water! If you keep these use water gel ( JBL TerraGel ) instead of water. Lighting with UV light is not necessary. The lighting is more for plant growth. In this case a lot of lamp types are suitable: JBL ReptilJungle Daylight 24W , JBL SOLAR REPTIL JUNGLE T8 , JBL ReptilDay Halogen , JBL LED SOLAR NATUR , JBL Reptil LED Daylight 12W If the lighting does not produce heat, supplement it with a heating mat during the day ( JBL TerraTemp heatmat ). Please note: use heating mats only for species which do not burrow in the ground. The animals also need water but need to be protected from drowning. Therefore, a water gel ( JBL TerraGel ) in a small bowl of water ( JBL ReptilBar SAND ) is the most suitable option.
Scorpions
Scorpions are very interesting terrarium inhabitants and not difficult to keep.
They’re happy in smaller terrariums of 30 x 30 x 20 cm. Only Arizona Desert hairy scorpions (H. arizonensis), Tanzanian red clawed scorpion (P. cavimanus) and emperor scorpions (P. imperator) need slightly longer terrariums of about 60 x 30 x 30 cm. With scorpions we roughly distinguish between two habitat types: the steppes and deserts (dry terrarium) and the rainforest, forest or bush landscape types (semi-moist terrarium). Accordingly, the terrarium soils need to be covered with sand/sand-clay mixture in the dry terrariums or with a soil-sand mixture in semi-moist terrariums. For the sand part JBL TerraSand natural yellow is very suitable. The soil proportion can be generated with JBL TerraBasis . Hiding places made of stones or wood are important. Please always glue decoration materials well ( JBL PROHARU UNIVERSAL ), so they do not collapse and hurt the animals. Plants are not required in either type of terrarium, but may be used for aesthetic reasons. In dry or semi-moist terrariums, temperatures between 30-35 ° C should be reached during the day and decreased to around 20 ° C at night. Euscorpius carpathicus likes it a bit cooler (25 ° C and 18-20 ° C at night). The humidity should be 30-50% in dry terrariums and 60-80% in semi-moist terrariums. Ask your dealer if your chosen scorpion species prefers individual, pair or group keeping. All scorpions only eat live food, mostly house crickets, grasshoppers and crickets. Their brood care is especially interesting! They do not require UV illumination and can be ideally kept with the following lamps: JBL ReptilJungle Daylight 24W , JBL SOLAR REPTIL JUNGLE T8 , JBL ReptilDay Halogen , JBL LED SOLAR NATUR , JBL Reptil LED Daylight 12W . The animals need water but also need to be protected from drowning. Therefore, a water gel ( JBL TerraGel ) in a small bowl of water ( JBL ReptilBar SAND ) is the most suitable option.