Replacing substrate, how often?

[Rhino1]

I have several enclosures housing adult T's that have not been touched for at least 12 months and one must be around 2 years since it had fresh sub. The latter is a borderline mushroom farm and webbed from top to bottom. Im not a big fan of routinely destroying webs and just wondering how often other keepers would refresh an entire enclosure.

 

[Patherophis]

Never. There are only two reasons for substrate change I can think of, rehousing and death of animal.

 

[Rhino1]

Never. There are only two reasons for substrate change I can think of, rehousing and death of animal.

Thanks for the reply.
So the sub in the enclosure shown below is fine for the next 10-15 years?

 

[Liquifin]

Thanks for the reply.
So the sub in the enclosure shown below is fine for the next 10-15 years?
View attachment 304200

Woah, that's mold you got there. You need to add some more ventilation and dry out that enclosure a bit.

 

[Rhino1]

Woah, that's mold you got there. You need to add some more ventilation and dry out that enclosure a bit.

Not quite, it's fungi and seems to have a cycle of around 6-8 weeks in another week or so it will turn into a load of mushrooms like the one on the left. Subs very dry at the moment (for a rainforest species), and the entire top is screened and as you can see the water dish is dry. This all started around 9 months ago with one cute shroom and every few months goes through its cycle again then dissapears for a while.
The other problem is I live in Qld in the rainforest and deal with 80-90% humidity most of the time, the room where it's kept is bright and airy as we have all our doors and windows open all the time. I reckon I'm changing this substrate when I get home from work tonight.
Cheers

 

[Rhino1]

@Liquifin, to show what I'm dealing with this my backyard

And the pic below is from the garden less than 15 m from the front door

It's the whole environment of where we live I guess, hot and humid where everything grows like crazy, we have more rain coming with hot days in between, so may as well change it as it will get worse before it gets better.

 

[Vanisher]

Not quite, it's fungi and seems to have a cycle of around 6-8 weeks in another week or so it will turn into a load of mushrooms like the one on the left. Subs very dry at the moment (for a rainforest species), and the entire top is screened and as you can see the water dish is dry. This all started around 9 months ago with one cute shroom and every few months goes through its cycle again then dissapears for a while.
The other problem is I live in Qld in the rainforest and deal with 80-90% humidity most of the time, the room where it's kept is bright and airy as we have all our doors and windows open all the time. I reckon I'm changing this substrate when I get home from work tonight.
Cheers

I often had mushrooms in my moist tank lined with peat. Sometimes i took them away, but sometimes i let them grow there. They added a certain rainforrest look to the setup!

 

[Patherophis]

@Rhino1 Have You tried to use some cleaning crew ?
Btw Your backyard is absolutely amazing. :wideyed:

 

[Ungoliant]

So the sub in the enclosure shown below is fine for the next 10-15 years?

Barring some catastrophic issue, yes. (I only change the substrate when I rehouse or clean out an old enclosure to prepare it for a new resident.)

 

[jrh3]

Barring some catastrophic issue, yes. (I only change the substrate when I rehouse or clean out an old enclosure to prepare it for a new resident.)

Would it be safe to rehouse the same species into an old enclosure that is already webbed up? Say your moving your juvi of said same species to an enclosure that your other juvi outgrew. I normally make a new setup but this was always a question in my mind.

 

[Rhino1]

Thanks heaps for the input gentlemen, we do have a very soft shelled, dwarf isopod I can't remember the name but know it is an introduced species (possibly European). If you think that will help, I'm very keen to try it out.
I know I introduced it into the tank on a piece of driftwood originally and my wife loved the little shrooms but now just wished I pulled it out before it was mature enough to release spore.

Barring some catastrophic issue, yes. (I only change the substrate when I rehouse or clean out an old enclosure to prepare it for a new resident.)

That's awesome, I think as much as I love Viv style enclosures, from now on every adult T's last enclosure will be put together as sanitary as possible.

Would it be safe to rehouse the same species into an old enclosure that is already webbed up? Say your moving your juvi of said same species to an enclosure that your other juvi outgrew. I normally make a new setup but this was always a question in my mind.

It's a big phlogiellus species easily as big as my wife's hand and she has been so relaxed lately, it will break my heart to destroy her home.
Thanks again for the advice everyone.

@Rhino1 Have You tried to use some cleaning crew ?
Btw Your backyard is absolutely amazing. :wideyed:

Thankyou I've tried to put in heaps of fruit trees but most is either citrus or wierd tropical fruits, normal stuff like apples struggle.

 

[Ungoliant]

Would it be safe to rehouse the same species into an old enclosure that is already webbed up? Say your moving your juvi of said same species to an enclosure that your other juvi outgrew.

I wouldn't. I'm not sure if the new resident would recognize the webbing as belonging to another tarantula and if so, how that might affect its behavior.

 

[Vanisher]

My belief is the longer a spider are kept in an enclosure the more set in it become and the more stressed it would be if rehoused. My G porteri female have been in the same enclosure for 2 years now. I had to rehouse her cos i moved. Prior i have had spiders that been in the same envlosure fir 8 years. I tried to move one of those spiders once vos her enclosure had been pretty "Slum like" after 8 years. I gave her a new nicelooking tank, but kept the old one just in case! It started pace and climb reslessly, so i moved it back to her old enclosure and she settled down perfectly. Like she rememberd her old "home"!

 

[viper69]

Not quite, it's fungi

Mold is fungus

Qld in the rainforest

Friends of mine live in Townsville, what a lush place that is. Reminded me of Hawaii!