H.spinifer housing help

[arachnodad93]

Hey Guys! I'm new here and I have recently purchased a baby asian forest scorpion and golden knee sling. I have just upgraded their housing and am trying to get the humidity up. however my humidity meter doesn't want to seem to go up past 60%, I even went as far as to cut the bottoms off a couple water bottles, filled them partially with aquarium gravel and water and buried them in the substrate.

 

[samickgr]

filled them partially with aquarium gravel and water and buried them in the substrate.

i like the idea
as far i know golden knee in their natural environment, they got alterations between dry and rainy seasons, so maybe 60% is not bad, im looking forward to read what other members have to say about this thread, cause i need more knowledge about humidity too.

 

[arachnodad93]

Here are some pics of my setup. And Thanks samickgr! I saw a video of a guy who made kind of an artificial water table in his so I did a less extreme version because I was concerned about mold developing.

 

[Thekla]

Humidity in the air is irrelevant. It's the dampness of the substrate that is important.

I don't know about the scorpion but for the G. pulchripes sling I'd just moisten a corner of the enclosure (by pouring/dropping water directly onto the substrate) and provide a water dish. That way it can decide for itself where it likes to hang out, and that's all it needs. Don't chase any arbitrary humidity numbers.

How big is that sling anyway? That breeding box seems awfully big for a sling. I'd use something like this for a juvenile (from 2" onwards).

 

[arachnodad93]

I'll post a picture up! I'm kind of assuming it's a she since it's such a thick little spider but, I decided to upgrade her space when I read that they like to dig around and are actually pretty active for a T

 

[arachnodad93]

Here are my sling pictures!

 

[Thekla]

I'd house it (there's no way of knowing yet ) into something smaller. You'll get a better feeding response and therefore faster growth that way. For example, my T. cyaneolum is probably the same size as your sling (about 1-1,5 inch) and I have it in a 4" cube. It still has space to roam and shows an excellent feeding response. And with enough substrate it can dig itself a nice and comfy burrow.



You should also make sure that the height (from substrate to lid) is no more than 1,5-2x DLS of your spider. That helps to prevent injuries from falls when it climbs (and it will climb at some point ).

 

[arachnodad93]

Awesome thanks for the tip! she does love to climb, she especially likes to get up on the back left where I have a heat pad stuck and will chill there for awhile.

 

[Thekla]

If that heat pad is directly stuck to the enclosure I'd get rid of it asap. Tarantulas are drawn to heat like moths to light not knowing it could desiccate them. If your room temperature is normal (about 70-75F) then there's absolutely no need for additional heating. Generally, if you're comfortable in a T-shirt your T will be comfortable as well. But a heat pad can pose a serious risk! If you do need it warmer a space heater is what's always recommended.

@Tomoran has a good and brief overview of how to keep these Ts:

 

[arachnodad93]

Oh Wow! thanks for save! I guess I totally missed that when I was reading through the care sheet I used to set up the enclosure. removed the heat pad, so all should be good.