Megaphobema Mesomelas Theories

[Predacons5]

...For the most part is common sense of how one should take care of a tarantula.

I mean no disrespect when I say this, but it is quite apparent that within the tarantula keeping hobby, it clearly is not "common sense" about what the proper parameters are for keeping tarantula species that come from places like where Megaphobema mesomelas originate from.

When there is a wide range of opinions and disagreements where not a lot of people can offer facts as to what the appropriate high end temperatures that the species can tolerate are, that doesn't sound like it is common sense to know what the species' needs are.

If a lot of people come together and mostly agree to one thing as being factual, that, to me is what I would consider common sense or common knowledge. If it was common sense why would various people be debating this issue to begin with?

I'm not trying to ridicule anybody or anything when I say the following, but rather, I'm trying to make a point for sharing knowledge if one is willing to do so, as well as not being afraid of asking others for their insight on matters. If I never told anybody in this thread that 65 F - 67 F were nighttime temperatures for a place like Costa Rica at an elevation of 1,000 m - 1,800 m, how many people would have known? It seems as if a good number of people would not have based off of the responses that have been posted so far. There is nothing wrong with asking questions about matters for which one is seeking the answers for.

If nobody bothered to question standard tarantula hobby practice would people have figured out that GBB's are desert dwelling T's? If nobody bothered to ask, would people have known that the hobby's standard protocol for keeping Avics in the past was incorrect and that the reason why Avics kept dying "randomly" was because air circulation was the factor? To both questions, I'd venture to say the answer would've been no.

It's situations like this where I find understanding an animal's or plant's habitat comes in handy for understanding how to grow their favorite plants or keep their favorite pets. To me, understanding the habitat eliminates variables that don't fit and narrows down possible solutions to a problem.

I'm interested in facts that can be supported by evidence that can pass the test of scrutiny. I'm always in search of good information on subjects I'm interested in. I hope others feel the same way.

 

[ChaosSphere]

@Garetyl while I don't see what adding pebbles would do, earthworms and plants would help aerate the soil and this would especially help in an enclousure with very high humidity and moisture.
The reason we talk more about airflow is that it affects the tarantula much more directly and can be used directly (like if you put in a terrarium ventilation fan), while earthworms and plants will only contribute.

I keep my mesomelas with plants and I'm going to start growing ferns and mosses in the enclousure as soon as I get a growth light for them.
I'm also adding a fan and most likely a fogger as well, mostly for my own pleasure (and to keep up humidity for the ferns and mosses).
I would not mind adding earthworms but I'm unsure if they could live off of whats in the terrarium.

 

[Thoth]

The region they are from in Costa Rica ranges in temperature from 80°F (occasionally higher) to about 65° which means basically unless you keep your home at ridiculous extremes of temperature whatever your room temp should be fine. The bigger issue is rh for that region rarely drops below 75% which is probably more an issue for husbandry than anything else considering one of the easiest way to boost humidity is to reduce ventilation. Chances are there isnt as much air circulation as we think there is or is needed. Then again this is all hand waving speculation.

Mine ended dying of a wet molt, despite trying what was done in a similar situation in the BTS journal, ended up dying a week later.

 

[Arthroverts]

I am staggered by the can of worms opened here. Few times have I seen such passion argued with such vociferousness from both sides on Arachnoboards (I do gotta say that @Predacons5 and the rest won the day though). The quality of content...wow. And the amount of content...wow.

Someone remind me to get a Megaphobema mesomelas so that I can participate in the conversation next time.

Thanks,

Arthroverts