# Fogging cage, please help?



## Jessica Dawson (Feb 12, 2018)

Hey so I'm new to this having a spider thing and i have no idea what I'm doing on this website but I really need help. My friend gave me her Tarantula and I don't know what type he is and now his cage is fogging up and I'm not quite sure what to do, any help will be appretiated.


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## Mirandarachnid (Feb 12, 2018)

A full picture of the enclosure from the side will also be helpful.

What temperatures are you working with?


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## Jessica Dawson (Feb 12, 2018)

Mirandarachnid said:


> A full picture of the enclosure from the side will also be helpful.
> 
> What temperatures are you working with?


Quite warm during the day and then it gets really cold at night, since I live in SA it's like 20-25° during the day and then 10-15° at night.

Reactions: Funny 1


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## sasker (Feb 12, 2018)

Wow! I have never seen such a poorly ventilated terrarium before! Not your fault, but you need to change a few things. What do you have on top of your terrarium to close it off? It would be best to have something like a sheet of plexiglass with many holes drilled into it to cover it. You keep the tarantula in an aquarium. As these fish tanks are designed to keep water in, they are not the best in keeping the enclosure ventilated.

You say the temperature drops to 10-15 degrees at night. Does that mean that the room your tarantula is in gets that cold? It is better not to let the temperature drop to below 16-17 degrees. Your day temps are fine, though.

Something else, you should increase the amount of substrate in the terrarium. It can easily be filled half with cocofibre and you can take the wooden trunks out of it as well. Your tarantula looks like a Lasiodora species (can someone confirm?), but I am sure it is a terrestrial one. It likes more floor space and it will have more room to walk around if there is not too much clutter in the terrarium.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## Mirandarachnid (Feb 12, 2018)

Looks like you have *way *too much moisture in there. Does it get that cold inside your house?
I feel like those night temps could be a bit low, but that's just me, and I don't tolerate cold temps whatsoever. I'll let someone else chime in about that.

Also, there is too much vertical space in the enclosure as well. This looks like a terrestrial species, which means it's clumsy and can't climb glass very well. Eventually, when it decides to wander around, it may climb up the glass and fall down, which could rupture it's abdomen. This spells death for the spider. It is recommended that the height of your enclosure should not exceed 1.5x the diagonal leg span (DLS) of your tarantula. So, a four inch T should be in an enclosure with no more than six inches of space between the surface of the substrate, and the top of the enclosure.

EDIT: @sasker Beat me to it! I thought G. porteri at first, but the more I looked at it the more it was looking like a Lasiodora to me as well.

Reactions: Agree 3


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## Jessica Dawson (Feb 12, 2018)

sasker said:


> Wow! I have never seen such a poorly ventilated terrarium before! Not your fault, but you need to change a few things. What do you have on top of your terrarium to close it off? It would be best to have something like a sheet of plexiglass with many holes drilled into it to cover it. You keep the tarantula in an aquarium. As these fish tanks are designed to keep water in, they are not the best in keeping the enclosure ventilated.
> 
> You say the temperature drops to 10-15 degrees at night. Does that mean that the room your tarantula is in gets that cold? It is better not to let the temperature drop to below 16-17 degrees. Your day temps are fine, though.
> 
> Something else, you should increase the amount of substrate in the terrarium. It can easily be filled half with cocofibre and you can take the wooden trunks out of it as well. Your tarantula looks like a Lasiodora species (can someone confirm?), but I am sure it is a terrestrial one. It likes more floor space and it will have more room to walk around if there is not too much clutter in the terrarium.


Awesome thank you! And my whole house gets cold so what can I do about that?


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## Jessica Dawson (Feb 12, 2018)

Mirandarachnid said:


> Looks like you have *way *too much moisture in there. Does it get that cold inside your house?
> I feel like those night temps could be a bit low, but that's just me, and I don't tolerate cold temps whatsoever. I'll let someone else chime in about that.
> 
> Also, there is too much vertical space in the enclosure as well. This looks like a terrestrial species, which means it's clumsy and can't climb glass very well. Eventually, when it decides to wander around, it may climb up the glass and fall down, which could rupture it's abdomen. This spells death for the spider. It is recommended that the height of your enclosure should not exceed 1.5x the diagonal leg span (DLS) of your tarantula. So, a four inch T should be in an enclosure with no more than six inches of space between the surface of the substrate, and the top of the enclosure.
> ...


Okay thank you so much! And what should I do about the cold? Because my whole house gets that cold.


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## Ungoliant (Feb 12, 2018)

Jessica Dawson said:


> And what should I do about the cold? Because my whole house gets that cold.


I would use a space heater.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Mirandarachnid (Feb 12, 2018)

A space heater is widely regarded as the best option.

Heat lamps are to be avoided without exception, and heat mats are discouraged, as they can cook your spider if you use them the way the manufacture recommends (under the enclosure).

@Andrea82 uses a heat cable in a cabinet, and I have taken a page from her book. (I *love* it by the way.)

Reactions: Like 1


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## Venom1080 (Feb 12, 2018)

Brachypelma albopilosum imo.

Well they do appreciate some humidity, that is way too much. For any tarantula in fact.

I'd just swap out the entire substrate for topsoil or peat moss. Cheap, and probably better than that clay (?).
You'll want to fill it so there's a gap of no more than 2x the spiders legspan. Falls are dangerous for terrestrials.

I can barely see inside that cage because of all the moisture.
	

		
			
		

		
	



So just aim for something similar.. hide, water dish, slightly moist sub..

Aim for temps 70+. A space heater is probably your best option. But a heat mat would work in a pinch too. Those temps are probably okay for an adult like yours tho. But not optimal imo.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## sasker (Feb 12, 2018)

Mirandarachnid said:


> heat mats are discouraged, as they can cook your spider if you use them the way the manufacture recommends (under the enclosure).


Indeed. They can be used, but look into the proper use of heat mats before you apply them. Here is a helpful thread:

http://arachnoboards.com/threads/wh...emently-oppose-heat-padd.294401/#post-2632216



Venom1080 said:


> Brachypelma albopilosum


Yes, that actually makes more sense

Reactions: Agree 2


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## Jessica Dawson (Feb 12, 2018)

T


Venom1080 said:


> Brachypelma albopilosum imo.
> 
> Well they do appreciate some humidity, that is way too much. For any tarantula in fact.
> 
> ...


Thank you so much!


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## Jessica Dawson (Feb 12, 2018)

Mirandarachnid said:


> A space heater is widely regarded as the best option.
> 
> Heat lamps are to be avoided without exception, and heat mats are discouraged, as they can cook your spider if you use them the way the manufacture recommends (under the enclosure).
> 
> @Andrea82 uses a heat cable in a cabinet, and I have taken a page from her book. (I *love* it by the way.)


Great thank you!

Reactions: Like 1


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## Ant (Feb 12, 2018)

Make sure you update us with a picture once you've made the appropriate changes! Your friend giving you this T might have been the best thing for it!

Reactions: Agree 4


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## Andrea82 (Feb 12, 2018)

Mirandarachnid said:


> A space heater is widely regarded as the best option.
> 
> Heat lamps are to be avoided without exception, and heat mats are discouraged, as they can cook your spider if you use them the way the manufacture recommends (under the enclosure).
> 
> @Andrea82 uses a heat cable in a cabinet, and I have taken a page from her book. (I *love* it by the way.)


This is the set up i use. I should add though that i only use it to keep my spiders above 20°C in fall/winter chill. As soon as the roomtemp is above 20°C i switch it off. 
http://arachnoboards.com/threads/c-lividum-setup.301554/page-3#post-2721123

Reactions: Like 1


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## Chris LXXIX (Feb 12, 2018)

A lot of people, in South Africa (I personally spotted the local T's online shops products) use those kind of glass cages. Ventilation is average, to say the least, but can work for certain species.

Here the issue is that your enclosure is incredibly wet, and combined with low ventilation and cold temperatures, a bad mix.

What I would do, and ASAP, being you, is a total rehouse, providing a bone dry substrate. For the humidity, a water dish always full and, here and there, a bit of slightly moist substrate but that's all for the 'humidity part'.

Btw the 'Hi, I'm Christopher...' label on the enclosure cracked me up

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Jonroe (Feb 12, 2018)

If it's just a single cage I'd suggest using a low wattage heatpanel attached to a side of the enclosure and let it run at night.
If you won't use a thermostat you'll have to check how hot it gets with either a thermometer or heatgun to check that it doesn't get too hot. I'd avoid letting it get over 80f. (27c)
Put the panel on one of the far sides so there is a range of temperature naturally developing. Don't ever put it under the tank as T's burrow down when they feel to hot, thus overheating because they actually burrow closer to the heat source.


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