Worrying about going on vacation?

[EulersK]

Don't.

Just a report, since there's been a few of these threads recently due to the official start of summer. I live in a very arid environment, meaning humidity has always been a battle with me. I went on a five day vacation, and in preparation, I bumped the humidity in any enclosure needing even a little bit. Essentially, I simulated a rain. I also gave (or at least offered) a heavy meal for all spiders.

Guess what? No losses. I have several slings and many humidity dependant species. A heavy preparation, that's all that was needed.

 

[Andy00]

You're right, I used to worry about this the first couple times I left my house for more than 5 days. Even my b vagans sling and c Marshalli that constantly fill their water dishes with substrate were fine for a week without water, and I'm sure they could've doubled that. All I did for my A Versicolor sling was put some extra drops on her web and she's fine. This is why I love tarantulas, you can leave them for 2 weeks without having to pay anyone to feed them or give them water. Of course it's always a small risk especially with slings.

 

[Poec54]

There's a number of people that have posted about losing spiders when they went on vacation, in spite of heavy watering. The best solution, if you don't have an experienced person to fill in, is to put the cages in closed clear or white plastic bags to reduce evaporation.

 

[EulersK]

Outliers are almost a guarantee in statistics. I do believe that those who only leave for a handful of days and come back to dead spiders either A) did not prepare, B) had an incident while they were away, or C) simply had bad luck. We've all had spiders pass on for no apparent reason - no logic in saying this can't happen while on vacation.

 

[Poec54]

Outliers are almost a guarantee in statistics. I do believe that those who only leave for a handful of days and come back to dead spiders either A) did not prepare, B) had an incident while they were away, or C) simply had bad luck. We've all had spiders pass on for no apparent reason - no logic in saying this can't happen while on vacation.

I'm referring to people gone a week or more. Been too many sad stories from them; they all filled the water bowls and moistened the substrate. Problem is that most people go on vacation in the summer, and the warm weather increases evaporation, and using a/c to keep things cool also dries the air. That's why I recommend using plastic bags so people don't get unpleasant surprises when they return.

 

[EulersK]

I'm referring to people gone a week or more. Been too many sad stories from them; they all filled the water bowls and moistened the substrate. Problem is that most people go on vacation in the summer, and the warm weather increases evaporation, and using a/c to keep things cool also dries the air. That's why I recommend using plastic bags so people don't get unpleasant surprises when they return.

Ah, then yes, I agree. Had I been gone much longer (my arbitrary time limit would be about 7-10 days), I would have arranged care for my slings. For the adults, however, I wouldn't have even given it a second thought. Even the humid species, I'm sure, would be fine.