help!

[edie]

i am allergic to everything and keeping most my tarantulas on peatmoss isn't working out so well for me. would vermeculite be better? or is there anything else that anyone knows of that would be easier on me? this isn't a best substrate post, its a i'm dying of sinus headaches every morning and i need some help. thanks

 

[mr_jacob7]

I heard that you could use some cat litter, and my spider doesn't mind it too much. if you're not allergic to that, then, tada!!! just try not to get it wet...

 

[edie]

I heard that you could use some cat litter, and my spider doesn't mind it too much. if you're not allergic to that, then, tada!!! just try not to get it wet...

i don't think cat litter would be a very good idea, thanks though

 

[Pyst]

Go to your local petstore and pick up a brick of coconut coir. It produces very little dust.

 

[Mina]

You could also try organic potting soil. It is what use and my T's and I love it.

 

[Hedorah99]

I heard that you could use some cat litter, and my spider doesn't mind it too much. if you're not allergic to that, then, tada!!! just try not to get it wet...

Just out of curiosity, where did you hear that from? That's gotta be one of the worst suggestions I have heard in a while.

 

[syndicate]

i am allergic to everything and keeping most my tarantulas on peatmoss isn't working out so well for me. would vermeculite be better? or is there anything else that anyone knows of that would be easier on me? this isn't a best substrate post, its a i'm dying of sinus headaches every morning and i need some help. thanks

your allergic to dirt?:?

 

[aliceinwl]

What kind of T's do you have? Could you be having a reaction to urticating hairs rather than the substrate? Do you keep feeders? Crickets, mealworms, etc can all trigger allergies.

-Alice

 

[fantasticp]

Just out of curiosity, where did you hear that from? That's gotta be one of the worst suggestions I have heard in a while.

LOL. I agree. Seriously Mr_Jacob get your t off of that. There has to be 0% humidity in that tank and lots of dust.

 

[Pyst]

your allergic to dirt?:?

I think she's allergic to the dust it puts off.

 

[Alice]

but still - its probable you're reacting to the urticating hairs rather than peat... do you have nw ts? and if, ever handled them and seen your reaction? i suppose you could try vermiculite (if it IS the peat after all), but you cannot give that to burrowers, as it will not support their tunnels.

 

[edie]

What kind of T's do you have? Could you be having a reaction to urticating hairs rather than the substrate? Do you keep feeders? Crickets, mealworms, etc can all trigger allergies.

-Alice

i keep crickets but i keep them in a different room, so i don't think they're the problem. all my t's are in my profile, i don't handle the ones that kick hair so i don't think that would be it. i think its mostly the dust but it could always be something else, i'm just trying to play it safe. i vacuum and dust everything in my room 2x a week, i hate it

 

[edie]

but still - its probable you're reacting to the urticating hairs rather than peat... do you have nw ts? and if, ever handled them and seen your reaction? i suppose you could try vermiculite (if it IS the peat after all), but you cannot give that to burrowers, as it will not support their tunnels.

haven't had a new t i could handle in a while. i ended up putting vermiculite in my arboreals cages, i'm just going to clean more

 

[Windchaser]

A substrate of only vermiculite for terrestrial tarantulas is not recommended. It does not hold a burrow. The frass from crickets has been known to cause people with allergies problems. I doubt that it is anything from the tarantulas themselves but more likely than not the dust from the substrate. One other thing to check is do you have mold or mildew in your house. That could also be causing you problems.

 

[Seen1980]

Out of curiousity, do you know what your allergic triggers are? Can you pin them down to the Tarantula's dwelling?

 

[aliceinwl]

i keep crickets but i keep them in a different room, so i don't think they're the problem. all my t's are in my profile, i don't handle the ones that kick hair so i don't think that would be it. i think its mostly the dust but it could always be something else, i'm just trying to play it safe. i vacuum and dust everything in my room 2x a week, i hate it

If you're doing anything that stirs up dust in the cage, you'll also likely be stirring up urticating hairs and cricket frass etc. Even if you don't handle the hair kickers, they'll kick to lay down hairs on their molting mat, and webbing or if a cricket annoys them. Maybe consider transferring the NWs to the cricket room and see if that cuts down on your allergies.

Frequent cage cleanings can be pretty disruptive / stressful to the T so experiment with substrates / alternative housing locations. When you do a cage cleaning, it might help to take it outside or somewhere well venalated so that the particles you aerosolize don't stay in your room and get the substrate wet first. If I try to clean out one of my cricket eating animal's cages in my room and end up stirring up dust I get pretty bad allergies. I wear gloves too to try to cut down on my chances of becoming more sensitive to the hairs.

If it doesn't have one already, try to get a vacuum with a hepa filter so that it doesn't aerosolize more particles etc.

Good luck!
Alice

 

[mr_jacob7]

Just out of curiosity, where did you hear that from? That's gotta be one of the worst suggestions I have heard in a while.

I heard that on Yahoo answers. it wasn't my question, but the guy who answerd it said he had a B.Smithi that lived in it for 6 years until then. i was debating it in my mind, and my T doesn't seem to mind it. however, i am a newb spider handler, so i'll probably listen to you guys and change it. thx.

However, he's an Aphonopelma Pallidum, and native to mexico. wouldn't he be used to dry, dusty places?

 

[Arachno~Raver]

i use for my substrate eco earth which is coconut fibres with vermiculite and calci sand mixed in and that works quite well

 

[Hedorah99]

I heard that on Yahoo answers. it wasn't my question, but the guy who answerd it said he had a B.Smithi that lived in it for 6 years until then. i was debating it in my mind, and my T doesn't seem to mind it. however, i am a newb spider handler, so i'll probably listen to you guys and change it. thx.

However, he's an Aphonopelma Pallidum, and native to mexico. wouldn't he be used to dry, dusty places?

I'm pretty sure its Brachypelma verdezi now. See this.

And it may be used to drier dustier places, but I doubt they are made of cat litter. Even keeping a T on plain sand is not recommended.