Just did some rehousing, took some pictures, and have a question for all you more advanced keepers

[Trimspace]

So it's been a while since I last posted, but I figured today would be a good day because I had to do some rehousing and what not.

I was wondering how many people here don't use water dishes for their spiders. I personally don't, and I haven't for at least a year now. Here's my problem with it: almost all of my Ts either fill their dishes with substrate, or flip them over and web them up. Actually my N. coloratovillosus protects it like it's a little hide, and will run down there sometimes when I take the top of her enclosure off.

I haven't really ever had a problem with it, either. I spray the enclosures a couple times a week, feed my spiders pretty regularly, and the only one I noticed that needed a little extra watering was my P. cambridgei.

Does anyone else just forgo the water dish and make sure to keep the Ts hydrated in other ways? Or am I a terrible person? My Ts seem fine, and I've been keeping them for a long time now.

anyway I got some pictures too!

http://imgur.com/a/TSULu

Sorry for the quality. All of it was taken by my less than state-of-the-art phone.

 

[MrCyRiOcOsMuS]

I use water dishes for most of my bigger ts, I just mist my slings. My E. murinus female puts her boluses in her water dish, so I don't fill it up any more and shes perfectly healthy. As for my P. cambridgei she always drinks when I mist her enclosure even though she has a waterdish.

 

[skippydude]

I've seen too many of my Tarantulas drinking water to ignore it. I'm one that thinks no water dish might be cruel, so I don' risk it. If they knock them over, fill them with dirt or web them over I just clean it up or replace the dish if it gets too ugly

 

[Ashton]

I've seen too many of my Tarantulas drinking water to ignore it. I'm one that thinks no water dish might be cruel, so I don' risk it. If they knock them over, fill them with dirt or web them over I just clean it up or replace the dish if it gets too ugly

I'm in the same boat. I have seen ALL of my T's drinking water.

 

[Poec54]

All of mine have water bowls. It's not practical, or responsible, for me to do otherwise.

They get moisture from their food, but the biggest risk is after shedding. They've lost a large percentage of body fluids and aren't able to eat yet. That's when it's very easy to lose them from dehydration. What's the harm in using waterbowls? If they're getting flipped or filled, move them to another part of the cage. Many of us don't mist, as it's easy to get the substrate too moist, besides, it doesn't give the spider much of a drink. A water bowl provides drinks when you get tied up and aren't able to mist on schedule (some of us do have lives outside of spiders).

 

[RegallRegius]

All of mine have water bowls. It's not practical, or responsible, for me to do otherwise.

They get moisture from their food, but the biggest risk is after shedding. They've lost a large percentage of body fluids and aren't able to eat yet. That's when it's very easy to lose them from dehydration. What's the harm in using waterbowls? If they're getting flipped or filled, move them to another part of the cage. Many of us don't mist, as it's easy to get the substrate too moist, besides, it doesn't give the spider much of a drink. A water bowl provides drinks when you get tied up and aren't able to mist on schedule (some of us do have lives outside of spiders).

What he said. ^ All my Ts get waterbowls as well. Even my Avic uses hers.

 

[edgeofthefreak]

My two largest arachnids have waterbowls, and I've never seen either one of them drink from them. In fact, I've even seen them avoid them entire when exploring. Which makes sense... they are feeling their way around and a body of water isn't what they're after. So of course they go around it. But I'll keep those bowls clean and filled, in case I miss a molt, the apartment air dries up from too much A/C, either one of them fancies a swig of good ol H2O....

As Poec54 said, it can be easy to get tied up in our lives outside of spiders, and a waterbowl (even one being abused by an arachnid) serves no harm, but plenty of good.

Also, gives you and your arachnids something to play with together! Like the slowest game of fetch ever!

 

[Forcep]

Have the same problem here; I refill the water dishes now and then, but the Ts will mess it up in a minute. But definitely they drink from it; my P. cambridgei will run at the refilled dish, drinking and grooming and having all the fun, then begin to fill it with trash lol.

Sometimes my Ts got neglected and gain all the moisture from food. But I'm always keeping an eye on pre and post molt individuals, a water dish is quite necessary for them.

 

[delo]

All my T's have heavy/deep dishes which has 3 purposes. 1) drinking 2) humidity and 3) since my enclosures have live plants I use the old/filthy weekly water to hydrate the plants which works out and ensures they always have fresh water. A for fears of drowning.... I have never seen a T below water in my lifetime (20+ years raising T's) and my H.Mac decided to make it's home with a lakefront entrance.

 

[Steve123]

I use water bowls for most of my larger Ts, but I don't notice a difference in health between the ones who get water bowls versus the ones who get water by wetting a corner, placing drops on the container sides, or misting. Water comes in via the oral route, as far as we know, but losses may occur through respiration, metabolism, and even external surfaces. Increased humidity in the environment outside the enclosure might also contribute in a major way towards mitigating the need for water bowls.

I try to take extra care that the T has access to water before and after molts. Some hobbyists, such as my breeder friend in Germany, have thousands of Ts, many of them spiderlings, so he has found a way to produce and maintain health without the use of water bowls, which would be impractical with numbers in the thousands. I've wondered how one manages to provide water bowls to a hundreds of spiderlings, the ones who seem to need access to water the most. Do you give them something the size of one-ounce baking spoons? Watering can be done without soaking the substrate and it has not been established that all Ts, especially desert or dry scrubland Ts, require drinking water to survive.

So to the OP, as I do for myself, read, read, read what others say, but in the end, develop methods that suit your needs and make sense to you.

 

[Poec54]

Going without water bowls requires a balance between temp, humidity, ventilation, substrate moisture, etc. Those conditions change throughout the year, as we turn on and off our furnaces, air conditioners, and ceiling fans, and open and close our windows. You can have it dialed in, and conditions will usually change within a few months. If you don't adjust to those, you can have a dehydrated or dead spider(s). Plus people get tied up with things in their life (job, family, friends, etc) and can't always monitor cage conditions like you want to. Water bowls are a nice cushion for a lot of reasons. Yes, you can go without them, and some people do, but it puts more obligations on you.

 

[RegallRegius]

Wanted to add to my earlier post: I do have a few Ts that I have never seen drink. They still have waterdishes. Who knows if/when they drink while you're asleep. gone, etc.? It gives me peace of mind to know that they have access to clean fresh water any time they need it.

 

[Poec54]

Wanted to add to my earlier post: I do have a few Ts that I have never seen drink. They still have waterdishes. Who knows if/when they drink while you're asleep. gone, etc.? It gives me peace of mind to know that they have access to clean fresh water any time they need it.

+1. They're noturnal, and do a lot in the wee hours of the night, when few of us are up.

 

[telepatella]

I've seen too many of my Tarantulas drinking water to ignore it. I'm one that thinks no water dish might be cruel, so I don' risk it. If they knock them over, fill them with dirt or web them over I just clean it up or replace the dish if it gets too ugly

+1 It's surprising how little time it takes to take care of several dozen T's.

I see my tarantulas - all types, drink all the time.:coffee:

 

[awiec]

I go out of town all the time so the water bowl is a good security measure for me, only my small slings don't have a bowl everyone else gets one. The only T that seems to love the water bowl is my T.gigas and C.darlingi, the gigas will drink from it and the darlingi likes to drown excess crickets in it.

 

[darkness975]

My tarantulas and scorpions all get water bowls, even the ones that are said to "not need it." I have seen my Hadrurus arizonensis drink for long periods from the water dish despite being told by more than one person they get all their hydration from their prey. My G porteri also takes extended drinks on occasion.