C elegans watering?

[Larry Braverman]

Hey everybody,
I just got a tiny C elegans sling. It came in a pill bottle style enclosure, and the substrate looks a little coarse. I was going to rehouse it to a bottle of similar size but with more of a coco fiber / topsoil mix. Neither enclosure has room for a water dish or bottle cap (plus I am worried about the little dude falling in or drowning in any type of dish). Any advise for watering? I know dehydration is the biggest killer of these guys when they're this tiny, so of course I am in the paranoia over thinking, over tinkering mindset at the moment.
Also...
I keep my T's in the basement. The hygrometer is usually around 45-50%, it is a little cool down there but a space heater is being ordered to warm the small T room up a little for the slings. I was going to aim for 68-70F for the room. Any objections on that?

 

[EvilTrailMix]

Those temps are fine. I kept the substrate damp (but not soaking wet) at all times for my Cyriocosmus as tiny slings, no water dish. Once they were large enough to move from the tiny vial containers, I gave them water bottle caps as water dishes.

 

[Vanessa]

They don't drown. Trickle a bit of water down the side to make part of the substrate damp until they are in a large enough enclosure that you can put a small water dish in. Those temperatures are too low, especially for spiderlings. You need to aim for room temperature at the very lowest and I would increase it by a couple of more degrees. I would start at around 75°F for spiderlings. Once they get to be larger, they can endure cooler temperatures for short periods, but spiderlings are born at the warmest part of the year and that should be what we provide.

 

[Larry Braverman]

They don't drown. Trickle a bit of water down the side to make part of the substrate damp until they are in a large enough enclosure that you can put a small water dish in. Those temperatures are too low, especially for spiderlings. You need to aim for room temperate at the very lowest and I would increase it by a couple of more degrees. I would start at around 75°F for spiderlings. Once they get to be larger, they can endure cooler temperatures for short periods, but spiderlings are born at the warmest part of the year and that should be what we provide.

Thank you! I think they're gonna get moved to the main floor always about 10-15 degrees warmer than the basement until they've molted a few times

 

[mack1855]

Keep in mind, being on the Front Range of Colorado,we are high,dry desert as you are aware.With the heat wave,watch the enclosure closely for excessive drying out..

 

[viper69]

I moisten the sub for mine periodically.

 

[CommanderBacon]

I keep several Cyriocosmus sp and I can't recommend a nice syringe for moistening the bottom of the substrate enough (for all my slings and fossorials, tbh). I shoot a tiny bit of water into the very bottom of the vial weekly with a cheap dollar store makeup syringe to keep the hydration up and it works great. Just be careful not to overwater.

 

[Larry Braverman]

I keep several Cyriocosmus sp and I can't recommend a nice syringe for moistening the bottom of the substrate enough (for all my slings and fossorials, tbh). I shoot a tiny bit of water into the very bottom of the vial weekly with a cheap dollar store makeup syringe to keep the hydration up and it works great. Just be careful not to overwater.

It's like you were watching me, haha. As a vet I often have random vet supplies lying around and I found a 1mL syringe that was perfect for guiding water down to the lower substrate. Also, just for fun FYI we had exactly zero minutes of training for invertebrates in vet school. That's why boards like this are so awesome. For exotic pets it really is the community that are the experts. Not the vets, and many times not the zoo keepers (reptile breeding is a perfect example of this). I am definitely not in favor of poaching or smuggling of animals, but it was/is equally sad and awful how the zoo's would manipulate the government to confiscate rare reptiles from private owners for them, and then they would die in the zoo's care, while they were flourishing and breeding with the private owners.

 

[Vanessa]

That's why boards like this are so awesome. For exotic pets it really is the community that are the experts. Not the vets, and many times not the zoo keepers (reptile breeding is a perfect example of this).

It would go a very long way for vets who accept tarantula patients to know, at least, the basics of husbandry. I've seen stories posted about vets giving unnecessary treatments to tarantulas, when the cause of their injuries were very obvious to an experienced hobbyist - their home was a literal death trap. Unfortunately, the spider was returned to the death trap of a home negating the whole purpose of seeking qualified healthcare for them.

 

[Larry Braverman]

It would go a very long way for vets who accept tarantula patients to know, at least, the basics of husbandry. I've seen stories posted about vets giving unnecessary treatments to tarantulas, when the cause of their injuries were very obvious to an experienced hobbyist - their home was a literal death trap. Unfortunately, the spider was returned to the death trap of a home negating the whole purpose of seeking qualified healthcare for them.

For sure! I wish that they dedicated more / any time to teaching vet students about more exotic pet care. Especially since the reason for illness and death in most exotic pets is poor husbandry. We at least get a little small mammal education, but definitely a slim slim amount of reptile, fish, and inverts. And if a vet doesn't know they sure as <edit> shouldn't be pretending to know, haha. That's why I am here to get the proper advice from the experts like you guys.