Substrate in water dish?

TalonAWD · Oct 25, 2009

I have a couple T's that seem to have a fetish with putting mounds of dirt in the water dish. Is there a reason?
I clean it out than again they find it clean and put more substrate in.

Ariel · Oct 25, 2009

I think there must be a reason, but I don't know what it is. I used to think it accidently got kicked in or something but my arboreals pick up substrate take it up to their waterdish which is high off the ground and dump it in. Seems like an awful lot of work for nothing.

Mattyb · Oct 25, 2009

This has been asked many times. I've had many Ts do this. I'm not sure if anyone knows exactly why.

micheldied · Oct 25, 2009

maybe they just like having the dirt every where and not have one spot with water in it?
my rosea buries hers within hours of me filling it up again...

ghordy · Oct 25, 2009

Try moving the water dish to a different location within the enclosure. If they continue to do it, just file it under the 'Spiders do the darndest things' category.

curiousme · Oct 25, 2009

The only Ts we have that do this are dry loving species, so here is my are my thoughts/ observations.

We used to try and clean out the water dish as soon as we saw dirt in it, but once we did, they would fill it right back up again. i used to get worried about our B. smithi that would do this and would drive myself nuts being on water dish checking/ duty and finally after 2 weeks of cleaning it every day, we sat back and thought about it and decided it was her way of trying to tell us something. So, we stopped cleaning it out immediately, left it for a week or so and then cleaned it out and usually it will stay clean for awhile.

The water dish will make it more humid in the enclosure and i 'think' that they do this when it is feeling too humid for them. Once that humidity has had a chance to clear out, they are fine with the water dish being full and clean again. However, once they start feeling too humid, *POOF* dirt in the dish.

As long as it is not a teeny tiny sling, that water dish being empty of clean water for a week, should have no adverse effects and we have never seen any. Our P. murinus would bury its water dish completely, but then periodically dig it out so it was above ground again. That is when we refilled its water dish and it could be weeks in between. It seems to be fine with the moisture it gets from its food alone and when it doesn't feel it is, it tells us.(in its own way)

kman · Oct 25, 2009

A theory I have heard which makes sense to me anyways is that they do this to dissuade predators (which would drink and look for water) to hang out to close to their burrow/place of residence. I also have a few Ts, but my LP in particular, that put urticating bristles in their water dish. And not just a few either. Again to me this says "stay away" to other critters looking for a drink.

I could be completely wrong tho and not like I can sit down with one of my Ts and have a heart to heart about this lol.

Exo · Oct 25, 2009

My LP puts clumps of peat in it's water dish.....maybe it adds flavor? :?

Ts are #1 · Oct 25, 2009

My Smithi does this i just leave it be, but it could be them trying to make there environment look natural or the end of the world. Only time will tell

TalonAWD · Oct 25, 2009

ghordy said:
Try moving the water dish to a different location within the enclosure. If they continue to do it, just file it under the 'Spiders do the darndest things' category.

Exo said:
My LP puts clumps of peat in it's water dish.....maybe it adds flavor? :?

LOL. . .

Ictinike · Oct 25, 2009

kman said:
A theory I have heard which makes sense to me anyways is that they do this to dissuade predators (which would drink and look for water) to hang out to close to their burrow/place of residence. I also have a few Ts, but my LP in particular, that put urticating bristles in their water dish. And not just a few either. Again to me this says "stay away" to other critters looking for a drink.

I could be completely wrong tho and not like I can sit down with one of my Ts and have a heart to heart about this lol.

Agreed here.. Why would they want something so close to their den that could potentially draw unwanted predators?

I think this would be the most reasonable explanation, no?

Steve Calceatum · Oct 25, 2009

Doesn't matter where in the enclosure I put the waterdish, my B. smithi will bury it. Some of my other T's will add a little bit of substrate to the water (not enough dietary fiber, perhaps?), but my B. smithi is the one who will consistantly bury her dish.

curiousme · Oct 25, 2009

Ictinike said:
Agreed here.. Why would they want something so close to their den that could potentially draw unwanted predators?

This kind of makes sense, but (see below)

I think this would be the most reasonable explanation, no?

i don't think so, because no matter where we move the dish, it gets filled up with dirt..........

codykrr · Oct 25, 2009

all good theories. maybe arboreals do this to acually relocate there water...i know ive seen my A. versicolor take a clump of moss from the water dish and take it into her tube web and suck on it. the next day it was rolled up like a bolet.

as for the theory bout them controling there own humidity. thats a good one. but could it be that they want more humidity. by filling up the water dish with substrate this would create a wick therefore letting more sub get wet whic would boost humidity aot more han just a waterdish. also maybe why you said after you waited a while to refill it it would stay clean longer. maybe they have enough moisture wicked into the soil to keep a good humidity for a while and when it drops again the re wick it?

as for predators i say its possible but maybe not as much seeing as how most tarantulas in the wild live in tube webs, or very deep burrows. but i wouldnt rule the theory out.

Ictinike · Oct 25, 2009

curiousme said:
This kind of makes sense, but (see below)

I think this would be the most reasonable explanation, no?

i don't think so, because no matter where we move the dish, it get filled up with dirt..........[/QUOTE]

Well.. Not exactly...

I guess one would have to know the "area of effect" for a T's burrow to really test the theory out. Is it inches, feet or several feel to yards away from the burrow that they would do this?

I guess what I'm thinking is unless you have a massive enclosure to test it the one's we use really don't matter as to the T the entire thing is their area. Of course, with communal s however, that would be moot.

I guess we just don't know without enough data...

curiousme · Oct 25, 2009

Ictinike said:
I guess what I'm thinking is unless you have a massive enclosure to test it the one's we use really don't matter as to the T the entire thing is their area. Of course, with communal s however, that would be moot.

I guess we just don't know without enough data...

Well, considering the amount of area a female usually ventures away from their burrow, i would think a 10 gallon would be a large enough area, if it were on the opposite side. This is how our G. rosea was set up and she routinely put dirt in her dish, but she has stopped that for now. She has decided she is a bulldozer, but that's another subject.

You are correct though, these are all just theories, because we aren't tarantulas!

i apologize that i keep forgetting tags, it is driving me nuts as well.(proofreading is very hard vision-wise for me presently)

scottyk · Oct 26, 2009

B. albopilosum, which is reported as appreciating extra moisture is famous for this.

Also, how many wild tarantulas would have a tiny permanant water source right in front of thier dens, and would get a benefit with regards to natural selection from filling it in?

My guess is that it's just an aberration, due mainly to being in an artificial captive environment.

Moltar · Oct 26, 2009

I suspect that their instincts tell them that anything thrown in a fresh water source will go away as though the water were running and that's why they do it. Also maybe they're trying to mask their scent somewhat by ditching stuff that they've eaten or dirt from their burrow. Just a couple of guesses...

night4now · Oct 26, 2009

Hmmm

Moltar said:
I suspect that their instincts tell them that anything thrown in a fresh water source will go away as though the water were running and that's why they do it. Also maybe they're trying to mask their scent somewhat by ditching stuff that they've eaten or dirt from their burrow. Just a couple of guesses...

This is a very interesting theory that Ive not thought of. This would also explain why my T's are infatuated with putting their bolus' in the water dish.
I guess is some odd way it does work tho, we see the debris and remove it, so its almost as if its washed away.

micheldied · Oct 27, 2009

has anyone noticed this as well?

in some of my enclosures,ESPECIALLY the dry loving ones,the water would disappear out of the water dish and next to it would be really moist substrate.
this happens just hours after i fill the dish.
and no,there was no way of it spilling out.
how do Ts move that water out of the dish? :?

Substrate in water dish?

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