Bigginer needing help!

[Alfiem123]

Hello there,
About 2 weeks ago i decided i wanted a tarantular.. I did some research and chose a Mexican red knee.. it arrived today along with a terrarium and the other bits and pieces in the adult starter kit from spider shop UK. The spider is a juvinile and in case you was wondering I named him/her wotsit. (From the orange cheesy crisps) I've set up the enclosure making two hides im using a bottle cap as a water hole as wotsit is rather small.. the problem I'm facing is that I think i used a bit to much water on the substrate as there's condensation on the side of the tank from the sunstrate level to the bottom.. wotsit has gone down her hole and is on the roof off her bark upside down I'll try take a clear picture.. what is recommended in this situation? As my rooms cold and my substrate is really thick I'm using a small heat Matt which I doubt will make a different to the temp or humidity..I'm thinking I'll need an extra one for it to keep wotsit from freezing! Need help as panicking a little! Update: I've touched the top of the substrate and it feels a bit cold I think where the moisture has lowered in temp! Definitely not like Mexico in there!

 

[KezyGLA]

How cold is your room in temperature? I live in Glasgow and pretty cold here. Room temps are fine for this species.

High humidity can be a bad for this species. They also hate wet substrate it needs to be dry. Condensation and stagnant air is killer.

You can remove the spider and put in temporary tub, remove the substrate and dry it out by baking or airing then rehouse the spider. This will help bring down the humidity.

Also, should remove the soggy cardboard tube as will get mouldy and harvest bacterias

 

[Walker253]

Just about everything said by Kezy. In addition, a few times when the soil was too moist, instead of dealing with heating it in the oven, I was able to add a layer of dry substrate above the wet stuff. It usually immediately solved the situation. Then the moist stuff dried out over time.
You shouldn't have an issue with ventilation with the Critter Keeper lid, but yeah dump that piece of cardboard tube. figure another hide out, even if it's a piece of clay pot.

 

[Thistles]

I just want to second what Kezy said, but also to congratulate you on your new Wotsit and say your enclosure, despite the paper, is one of the best I've seen a total newbie set up. Make sure your baby can't get through the slats in the lid, though.

 

[Alfiem123]

Thank you all for the fast response, I feel much better now. Tomorrow after work I'll scoot her/him into a pot and will try to dry the top layer a tad, will remove the card hide and place her/him back. I'll also move the enclosure into my cupboard away from the draft that come through my window as I think that will cool it down a lot! And thank you thistles =)

 

[Thistles]

Thank you all for the fast response, I feel much better now. Tomorrow after work I'll scoot her/him into a pot and will try to dry the top layer a tad, will remove the card hide and place her/him back. I'll also move the enclosure into my cupboard away from the draft that come through my window as I think that will cool it down a lot! And thank you thistles =)

Just giving credit where it is due. You did a good job! Take some good pics of Wotsit’s underside while it is in the pot and post them up. We can try to tell you if you have a male or female beastlet.

 

[Alfiem123]

Ooh good idea, I will do when I get a chance, wotsits still incy wincy as of yet!

 

[Alfiem123]

Ok so I've come to face another problem (I'm sure more will come) my spider rarely leaves the hole under the cork bark (pretty much never seen it venture out of the hole). Got home from work to see a nice patch of white fluffy mold on the underside of the cork bark.. I imagine this is because my substrate is too damp and the humidity is too high. I want to put my spider in a box while I clean and dry out the enclosure but everytime I even crack the lid to the enclosure the spider darts down the hole quicker than usain bolt. If I move the cork bark not only do I destroy his burrow but risk the substrate collapsing on him..

 

[Andrea82]

Just posting that i love the name Wotsit. Not familiar with the snacks as i am from the Netherlands, but it sounds funny

 

[Swoop]

Get a pair of tongs (basically a ridiculously long pair of tweezers) and just pick the mold out if you can.

I would give it a bug, let the spider hide, scoop out some of the damp substrate and just replace it with dry substrate. No need to move Wotsit, the whole point of a hide is so they can hide when scary things are looming around their home obviously just be aware of him while you're doing it, don't want him deciding to come see what the fuss is about and wander away or into danger because you're not keeping an eye on him.

 

[Alfiem123]

Andrea check them out on google you'll understand why I named my T wotsit lol! Cheers swoop good plan I'll do that tomorrow! Got a feeling there's nearly a molt as his/her abdomen is going a really whitish colour! Fingers crossed!

 

[ShyDragoness]

Andrea check them out on google you'll understand why I named my T wotsit lol! Cheers swoop good plan I'll do that tomorrow! Got a feeling there's nearly a molt as his/her abdomen is going a really whitish colour! Fingers crossed!

I loved wotsits so much as a kid! Good luck with the little guy!

 

[cold blood]

Sub needs to be dry as addressed....but it needs to be dry today...with colder temps, additional moisture can exacerbate the situation....if its colder in the room, the sub needs to be drier.

Just keep t dry, stop worrying about humidity levels, they're irrelevant (also stop reading care sheets). Dry sub and a water dish, that's all you need, if you have a hygrometer, remove that worthless device.

Keep it simple. You chose a great first t and a great size, you should really enjoy it.

 

[darkness975]

View attachment 259647 View attachment 259649 Hello there,
About 2 weeks ago i decided i wanted a tarantular.. I did some research and chose a Mexican red knee.. it arrived today along with a terrarium and the other bits and pieces in the adult starter kit from spider shop UK. The spider is a juvinile and in case you was wondering I named him/her wotsit. (From the orange cheesy crisps) I've set up the enclosure making two hides im using a bottle cap as a water hole as wotsit is rather small.. the problem I'm facing is that I think i used a bit to much water on the substrate as there's condensation on the side of the tank from the sunstrate level to the bottom.. wotsit has gone down her hole and is on the roof off her bark upside down I'll try take a clear picture.. what is recommended in this situation? As my rooms cold and my substrate is really thick I'm using a small heat Matt which I doubt will make a different to the temp or humidity..I'm thinking I'll need an extra one for it to keep wotsit from freezing! Need help as panicking a little! Update: I've touched the top of the substrate and it feels a bit cold I think where the moisture has lowered in temp! Definitely not like Mexico in there!

Remove the paper and the wood chips from the substrate , bury the water dish so the top of it is level with the substrate , do what everyone else said, your spider will thrive.

 

[Andrea82]

Andrea check them out on google you'll understand why I named my T wotsit lol! Cheers swoop good plan I'll do that tomorrow! Got a feeling there's nearly a molt as his/her abdomen is going a really whitish colour! Fingers crossed!

Ah, Google turned up with the snacks;we have them as well. Google also came up with this, option nr 2 is funny as hell:
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=wotsit&amp=true&defid=4004178