# my tarantula's cage has a lot of condensation?



## 19killer44 (Oct 16, 2014)

i bought my tarantula last Saturday she is my first tarantula my room gets very cold at night and sometimes during the day  so i use a heat mat on the side of the tank around where her den is. i have noticed that there is a lot of condensation on the sides of the tank is that bad? also she only has come out twice since ive got her is that bad? need help asap thank you if you guys can help


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## jigalojey (Oct 16, 2014)

Hey mate, what species?

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## 19killer44 (Oct 16, 2014)

Selenocosmia crassipes or australian bird eating spider


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## jigalojey (Oct 16, 2014)

Did you buy it from a pet store?


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## 19killer44 (Oct 16, 2014)

yea i did a trusted pet store


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## jigalojey (Oct 16, 2014)

Thought so, no one over here in the Aus hobby calls it Selenocosmia Crassipes anymore mate, we all call it Phlogius Crassipes, Selenocosmia Crassipes was wrongly named back in 18-1900's and will be renamed shortly, send me a photo mate.

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## 19killer44 (Oct 16, 2014)

ahh ok thanks man sorry im new to
	

		
			
		

		
	



	

		
			
		

		
	
 all this and i like to make sure all my pets are healthy so i came here as soon as i was verified  thats her ill take a pic of the tank now


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## 19killer44 (Oct 16, 2014)

thats where the condensation is


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## jigalojey (Oct 16, 2014)

Mate I can promise you that is not a crassipes, that is not even phlogius, that is either Selenocosmia or selenotypus, these are out in the desert/ rough scrub land, our phlogius come from northern Queensland, It's probably a S.stirlingi or S.Gemfields since you found it in a pet store but honestly who knows. All I'm going to ask you is 1) not to breed her and 2) if you sell her sell her as unidentified. Now as for the T, these are obligate burrowers which means they ONLY burrow so she is going to need a lot more dirt than that, aim for 8-10 inches of dirt and the humidity shouldn't be a problem at all.

---------- Post added 10-17-2014 at 07:24 AM ----------

Yeah on seconds thoughts thats a lot of condensation, when you pack it with more sub just make sure you squeeze the sub hard and pack it down, she wont use that strange den thing either since she is an obligate burrower.

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## 19killer44 (Oct 16, 2014)

so i should be fine with the condensation? and nah im not really into breeding and i sure as hell woulndt sell her if i buy a pet or any sort of animal i look after them that's why i came here for information ill add more substrate for her thanks for the info man any other tips with keeps t's healthy?

---------- Post added 10-17-2014 at 07:00 AM ----------

thats the thing she has been using it  i can take the den peice out and just pack substrate if that would be better? ive just been trying to leave her alone so i dont stress her out to much


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## jigalojey (Oct 16, 2014)

Well you have what we call in the Aus hobby an "arid species" the condensation should be fine bro, these guys live out in the desert BUT they live in 2 meter burrows and down in those burrows it's pretty humid :wink: I suck at Iding our arids I'm much more of a Phlogius guy BUT if you send me some GOOD close up shots of her I can send them to my mate who is an expert at arids and try and get you a good ID.


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## 19killer44 (Oct 16, 2014)

alright ill try  im new to this sort of stuff so its a bit nerve racking im going to try and feed her for the first time this week i tried the other day but she wouldn't take it think it was because of the stress of travel etc any tips on feeding if she stays burrowed ? or only comes out at night?


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## jigalojey (Oct 16, 2014)

Arids are a pretty nervous type of tarantulas, they take a long time to settle in and generally need their own burrow, could take 2 months before she settles in and wants food.


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## 19killer44 (Oct 16, 2014)

ahh ok so you reccommend i take out the burrow? and let her make her own? or would that stress her out to much? i have the heat mat on the side because i heard that under heat mat placement can harm them is that true at all? and thanks for all the help man im really new to this and with all my pets i like to make sure their healthy


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## jigalojey (Oct 16, 2014)

What I recommend you do is take out the weird burrow thing, buy a lot more cocopeat bricks and add alot more inches of sub and then after you add much more substrate put her in the tank and keep her in the dark until she makes her own burrow, this could take 2 days-2 months but she WILL eventually make her own burrow, it's in her nature to make her own. Adding more substrate to the tank also lowers the risk of her falling when she climbs the side of the tank, when the substrate is that low if she climbed to the top of that tank and fell there is a good chance she could split her abdomen and die and also I would recommend never using a heat mat, we don't need it over here in Aus :wink:

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## 19killer44 (Oct 16, 2014)

i only use it when it gets super cold im from sydney so its been super cold here lately ive been turning it off when it gets hot  also what sort of hide do you recommend i use if she wants to use one? im trying to make sure everything is set by the end of this week so i dont over stress and kill her


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## jigalojey (Oct 16, 2014)

19killer44 said:


> i only use it when it gets super cold im from sydney so its been super cold here lately ive been turning it off when it gets hot  also what sort of hide do you recommend i use if she wants to use one? im trying to make sure everything is set by the end of this week so i dont over stress and kill her


 I recommend no hide, she will never use one for longer than a few months, I guarantee she will make her own burrow.

---------- Post added 10-17-2014 at 07:47 AM ----------

Wait you bought her in Sydney? I thought people in NSW weren't allowed to keep any native fauna?


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## 19killer44 (Oct 16, 2014)

ahh ok it gets super cold in my room so thats why i put it on there so it wasn't to cold ill go this weekend and buy the bricks and add about half the tank with substrate  salso here where she is right now just took this photo


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## 19killer44 (Oct 16, 2014)

nah we are allowed to have them you cant keep any other species of tarantula other then australian here


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## jigalojey (Oct 16, 2014)

Judging by the way the dirt is tossed up it looks like she already tried some sort of burrow but hit rock bottom, it's heading into summer thought so you should be fine mate, dw about stressing her. I can tell you really want to add a hide but I promise you she wont use it for long 

---------- Post added 10-17-2014 at 07:58 AM ----------

When you take her out to make changes to the tank get some really good close up photos of her and send them to me and Ill get a good ID for you.


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## 19killer44 (Oct 16, 2014)

alright will do man  ill add about half a tank full of sub so she has plenty of digging room any tips for getting her out of the tank ?  you have been great help man thanks so much. didnt think owning a t would be so stressful 

---------- Post added 10-17-2014 at 08:30 AM ----------

if you have any more tips on keeping her healthy id be down to listen


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## jigalojey (Oct 16, 2014)

No worries mate, well just let her throw her guaranteed hissy fit and prod her from behind with something long and position the container in front of her, she will run into the container and then put the lid on it, really easy thing to do when you get the hang of it. I highly suggest joining the rest of the aussies over at http://inverts.com.au/


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## coppercab (Oct 17, 2014)

IF the condensation persists long term it isn't good for any type of tarantula. Some require higher humidity levels, but no tarantula I know of benefts from stale or stangnant air. Perhaps consider temporarily increasing ventilation until it clears up a bit. Control humidity using substrates and things like shpagnum moss. Humidity levels vary to a large degree, but must AlWAYS be paired with adequate ventilation. Stale conditions can be just as deadly as dry conditions

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## 19killer44 (Oct 18, 2014)

swapped her tank yesterday  this is the result she has webbed up already and has found somewhere she is comfortable she was super pissed off when trying to get her out of the tank but i think she has calmed down now and is starting to settle  the last picture is of where i placed the heat mat for her during winter its on the left side of the tank


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