Substrate reccommendations

[JordanOconnor170]

Im fairly new to keeping tarantulas so i was just wondering this, I bought SpiderLife multi environment substrate from the pet shop, is this okay? if not, can i have some recommendations for good substrates? ive got 4 t slings, p.murinus (1cm) a.avicularia (1-2cm) e.rufescens (1-2cm) and an e.uatuman (1-2cm), it was a mystery box from the spidershoppe so didnt know i'd be getting an obt lol, any advice is appreciated

 

[SpendoEndo]

I can speak some for the avicularia and say that the substrate isnt TOO important and most soil, cocofiber, and or mixes are fine since itll spend most of its time above the ground

 

[JordanOconnor170]

I can speak some for the avicularia and say that the substrate isnt TOO important and most soil, cocofiber, and or mixes are fine since itll spend most of its time above the ground

ahh ok, ty!

 

[AshLee]

Can't speak on the specific substrate you bought, but I use coco fiber for all of my tarantulas.

 

[SpendoEndo]

Actually ended up looking up a bit on the mix and apparently its really only good for species that like moister substrate, something like the OBT you got would not take to it very nicely. I reccomend coco fiber and/or regular top soil or both mixed.

 

[JordanOconnor170]

Can't speak on the specific substrate you bought, but I use coco fiber for all of my tarantulas.

just coco fibre or a mix, is coco fibre ok for burrowers?

Actually ended up looking up a bit on the mix and apparently its really only good for species that like moister substrate, something like the OBT you got would not take to it very nicely. I reccomend coco fiber and/or regular top soil or both mixed.

ah ok thank u

 

[AshLee]

just coco fibre or a mix, is coco fibre ok for burrowers?

Just coco fiber. I've only had a few burrowers, but they were able to burrow with ease.

 

[JordanOconnor170]

Just coco fiber. I've only had a few burrowers, but they were able to burrow with ease.

Awesome, thank you so much!

 

[SpendoEndo]

Yeah though a cocofiber and soil mix is debatably pretty good for burrows since a couple will line the dirt with their webbing anyways to hold it up.

 

[jrh3]

I use coco fiber for everything. Sometimes I mix coco fiber and reptisoil.

 

[JordanOconnor170]

I use coco fiber for everything. Sometimes I mix coco fiber and reptisoil.

awesome! ill try that, i just dont wanna waste my money for making blends of substrate that isnt exactly needed lol, thanks!

 

[jrh3]

awesome! ill try that, i just dont wanna waste my money for making blends of substrate that isnt exactly needed lol, thanks!

You can use coco fiber for 100% of your enclosures if needed.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

Tbh, Spider Life is just an over priced sedge peat and coarse vermiculite mix. You could've purchased the ingredients and made it yourself for half the price.

Acceptable substrates are as follows:

Topsoil (I use Westland topsoil from B&M or Wickes)
Sedge peat
Moss peat
Coco fibre and its derivatives (eco earth/etc.)
Any combination of the above.

Sand and vermiculite (I use fine vermiculite) can also be used as additives in mixes.

 

[Vanisher]

While soil is mostly up to the keeper i say it is also up to your wallet. One advantage in keeping those spiders is that is soo cheap. Everything from breeding its food to collecting roots and bark from outside
Why on earth should one pay expensive money on buying expansive substrate?
Coco fibre and reptisoil is pretty expensive compared to buying peat or soil in bulk so that us my recommendation.
Yiu can even go out in the woods and dug up the soil yourself for free. I have done this many times, but be sure to do it in rural forrest because of minimuzing risk of pesticides. Therefir i dont recommend it offically. But i have never had any problems doing this

I often mux peat, soil and clay especially when i had a large collection and was very into the hobby. Nowdays i use mostly oeat or topsoil ir organic pottingsoil.

But you can use whatever you want but i suggest buying in bulk for better price
I have only 20 tarantulas but bought a bag of 300 litre peat for 10 dollars. I use mist of it for my garden

 

[JordanOconnor170]

While soil is mostly up to the keeper i say it is also up to your wallet. One advantage in keeping those spiders is that is soo cheap. Everything from breeding its food to collecting roots and bark from outside
Why on earth should one pay expensive money on buying expansive substrate?
Coco fibre and reptisoil is pretty expensive compared to buying peat or soil in bulk so that us my recommendation.
Yiu can even go out in the woods and dug up the soil yourself for free. I have done this many times, but be sure to do it in rural forrest because of minimuzing risk of pesticides. Therefir i dont recommend it offically. But i have never had any problems doing this

I often mux peat, soil and clay especially when i had a large collection and was very into the hobby. Nowdays i use mostly oeat or topsoil ir organic pottingsoil.

But you can use whatever you want but i suggest buying in bulk for better price
I have only 20 tarantulas but bought a bag of 300 litre peat for 10 dollars. I use mist of it for my garden

Oh that's awesome! thanks

Tbh, Spider Life is just an over priced sedge peat and coarse vermiculite mix. You could've purchased the ingredients and made it yourself for half the price.

Acceptable substrates are as follows:

Topsoil (I use Westland topsoil from B&M or Wickes)
Sedge peat
Moss peat
Coco fibre and its derivatives (eco earth/etc.)
Any combination of the above.

Sand and vermiculite (I use fine vermiculite) can also be used as additives in mixes.

thank u!

 

[cold blood]

Acceptable substrates are as follows:

Topsoil (I use Westland topsoil from B&M or Wickes)
Sedge peat
Moss peat
Coco fibre and its derivatives (eco earth/etc.)
Any combination of the above..

Yes, as he said, any of the acceptable subs listed (and their name brand variants, such as jungle mix or eco earth) can be used for any tarantula. Substrate is the keepers choice. I only use topsoil, because its natural and ridiculously inexpensive.

 

[spideyspinneret78]

I use a mixture of coco fiber and repti-soil. That way it retains moisture well, doesn't mold as easily, and isn't too expensive.

 

[Feral]

Yiu can even go out in the woods and dug up the soil yourself for free. I have done this many times, but be sure to do it in rural forrest because of minimuzing risk of pesticides. Therefir i dont recommend it offically. But i have never had any problems doing this

I strongly disagree with the idea of using untreated soil from nature that one just goes and digs up for themselves from somewhere they think seems "clean" enough. Different countries have different regulations on pollution, insecticide/herbicide/pesticide usage, agricultural runoff, etc. But even the purest, cleanest untreated soil can have baddies in it. Since we don't have microscopic eyes and encyclopedic brains for knowledge of pathogens, pests, and contaminants... there are just too many things that could go wrong.

And home sterilization has its own problems, it doesn't get rid of all contaminenants and also just creates a clean slate for any old pathogen to move on in and take over.

It's like in aquariums, where we aquarists know we absolutely need certain beneficial microorganisms present in a balanced ratio to have a stable, functional cycle and a balanced system... but we don't go out and get substrate from the "cleanest" stream or lake we can find to seed our aquariums in order to kickstart the growth of the needed beneficial microorganisms... because who knows what other pests/pathogens/pollution/baddies might be along for the ride, even from "clean" sources. No thank you! So instead we aquarists set up a new/clean system and then seed it with colonized media from an aquarium that is known to be a healthy, established, balanced system and free of disease and pests.

Make sense? So, yes, please have a balanced, healthy system of microorganisms in your enclosures. That's awesome. But please do NOT go get whatever dirt from outside. It'll end badly, sooner or later.

 

[Feral]

I just did some digging (puns are fun!) and found out something interesting... I'm not sure about other countries, but in the US at least the phrase "topsoil" is completely unregulated. Meaningless! You could call anything "topsoil" and sell it. It could literally just be the top layers of dirt, any dirt, of any quality, from anywhere. It could also be "forest fines", or wood products, or even basically mulch. It could be sticks and rocks, no limit. At best, it could silt, sand, clay, loam, or any combination of any of those. It could also have compost in it. And it can, and sometimes definitely does, have manure in it. Sometimes even other fertilizers, too. It could have whatever contaminants in it. It's most often pasteurized when sold in bags, but not necessarily.

It's entirely unregulated.

And companies can change their ratios and/or ingredients at will and without notice.

The term "organic" is likewise entirely unregulated. (Not to mention commonly misunderstood.)

No wonder some people have had problems with contaminated bags.

So... I learned something new today. (And it was a bit scary.)

 

[dangerforceidle]

I just did some digging (puns are fun!) and found out something interesting... I'm not sure about other countries, but in the US at least the phrase "topsoil" is completely unregulated. Meaningless! You could call anything "topsoil" and sell it. It could literally just be the top layers of dirt, any dirt, of any quality, from anywhere. It could also be "forest fines", or wood products, or even basically mulch. It could be sticks and rocks, no limit. At best, it could silt, sand, clay, loam, or any combination of any of those. It could also have compost in it. And it can, and sometimes definitely does, have manure in it. Sometimes even other fertilizers, too. It could have whatever contaminants in it. It's most often pasteurized when sold in bags, but not necessarily.

It's entirely unregulated.

And companies can change their ratios and/or ingredients at will and without notice.

The term "organic" is likewise entirely unregulated. (Not to mention commonly misunderstood.)

No wonder some people have had problems with contaminated bags.

So... I learned something new today. (And it was a bit scary.)

Adding to this, and something that others have noted in other discussions on the topic, but the quality and contents of bagged "topsoil" will vary based on location. Soil in California will be different than Florida, which will be different than what's available in Wisconsin.

I have purchased a bag local to myself here in Canada, and found it to be pretty unsuitable for use as a substrate. I have switched back to the coco coir based substrates for all newly set up enclosures. Only a few of my spiders remain on 'topsoil' because it would be disruptive to swap them over.