y i tried the same thing, won't work, i gave it a dislike, nothing more we can do.
That's what I always look for. Gotta have that 98% positive ratio!
There was a thread a year or two ago regarding an Avicularia (I believe) sling that drowned (although I don't believe drowning is really the correct term when it comes to tarantulas) in a water dish. I will see if I can dig it up.
I haven't had a tarantula specifically drown in a water dish before but I have had many caterpillars drown in the water used to keep their host plant hydrated. Somehow they just crawl down the stem and always a few manage to get past whatever attempt at a barrier I make and then they get to the water and apparently think they will just swim to the next branch or something. I initially thought the same thing and didn't even bother with a barrier until I lost half of some uncommon Sphingids I was rearing this way- they hit water, so they should know to turn around rather than venture out into the water basin. But alas, they do not. Mind you this is thousands of caterpillars over many years and probably less than 1-5% that make the fateful journey to the water cup with a little Saran Wrap contraceptive (like the good old days, hehe). But it is still a small percentage every single brood despite my best efforts to prevent the loss.
The only way I could see an adult tarantula potentially drowning would be if it was already sick/dying and weak, and somehow wound up in the water dish, but yeah, I haven't heard anything about an adult drowning.
Ive seen my overly fat, ~2.75"DLS L. difficilis clinging to the rim with his back three pairs of legs, lowering his whole body into the dish to drink from the bottom. Diameter of the dish was ~3.5". I tried really hard to find the camera for just this reason, but with no luck.