Satu
Arachnopeon
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2011
- Messages
- 25
Hello everyone,
Nearly a month ago I got my first T, a little G. pulchra sling called Mort (Mr S and I have since acquired 6 more spiders, but that's a story for another thread...); he's slightly over an inch in size at the moment. I'm a little bemused by some of his behaviour and wondered if others have had similar experiences with these, or if something is actually wrong.
When I first got him I put him in a Critter Keeper type enclosure filled almost to the top with substrate (this stuff). As soon as I put him in he practically jumped off the ground and onto one of the sides, and I realised it was probably a bit damp for him. I put in a dry layer on top but that didn't make much difference -- he still preferred hanging out on the underside of the lid.
A couple of weeks ago I decided to put him in a different container with coco fibre sustrate and a transparent lid; I made sure I dried the substrate out a bit in the oven before I put it in, and also put in a water dish. (Photo attached.)
Well, he still spends most of his time on the sides (usually, but not always, on the one closest to the heat mat). The substrate is obviously not completely dry yet -- there's condensation on the sides of the box, though not as much as when I first put it in. Mort doesn't seem stressed out or anything; he'll happily munch on any cricket I drop in there (the other day he came down to catch one and then clambered back up the side with it in his fangs), and he does occasionally come down onto the substrate (usually if I pick up the box, as you can see from the photo).
So! Extremely long-winded story short, should I be worried about this? Is this just a thing they do sometimes? Also, should I bother with the water dish or just mist, given that he doesn't seem very impressed when I do?
Thanks!
Nearly a month ago I got my first T, a little G. pulchra sling called Mort (Mr S and I have since acquired 6 more spiders, but that's a story for another thread...); he's slightly over an inch in size at the moment. I'm a little bemused by some of his behaviour and wondered if others have had similar experiences with these, or if something is actually wrong.
When I first got him I put him in a Critter Keeper type enclosure filled almost to the top with substrate (this stuff). As soon as I put him in he practically jumped off the ground and onto one of the sides, and I realised it was probably a bit damp for him. I put in a dry layer on top but that didn't make much difference -- he still preferred hanging out on the underside of the lid.
A couple of weeks ago I decided to put him in a different container with coco fibre sustrate and a transparent lid; I made sure I dried the substrate out a bit in the oven before I put it in, and also put in a water dish. (Photo attached.)
Well, he still spends most of his time on the sides (usually, but not always, on the one closest to the heat mat). The substrate is obviously not completely dry yet -- there's condensation on the sides of the box, though not as much as when I first put it in. Mort doesn't seem stressed out or anything; he'll happily munch on any cricket I drop in there (the other day he came down to catch one and then clambered back up the side with it in his fangs), and he does occasionally come down onto the substrate (usually if I pick up the box, as you can see from the photo).
So! Extremely long-winded story short, should I be worried about this? Is this just a thing they do sometimes? Also, should I bother with the water dish or just mist, given that he doesn't seem very impressed when I do?
Thanks!
