How often do you change the substrate?

How often do you clean out the enclosure for your T's?


  • Total voters
    55
  • Poll closed .

Kathy

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
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Apr 4, 2009
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Just wondering how often you totally clean out the enclosure, rinse everything out, and replace the substrate.
 

Lorum

Arachnosquire
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Jun 10, 2010
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111
I like this hobby because I don't have to do a lot of cleaning... just when necessary, I think totally cleaning out the enclosure (with everything implied on it) can be made once every two years or more (depending on humidity of the substrate, feeding regime, etc.) without problems if you are careful and often remove boluses, clean terrarium's walls, etc.

But it also depends on the species... have you ever had T's who love to mess up the enclosure with feces?:p
 

codykrr

Arachnoking
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Sep 22, 2008
Messages
3,112
I couldnt vote. Because I usually do an annual cleaning of ALL enclosures.

I find with proper spot cleaning MOST species dont need frequent total cleanings... It can stress them out to much if you clean to often.

But with species such as Avicularia(who spray poop everywhere!), and other Ts that flick lots of hair before a molt(IE- T. blondi, Brachypelma...and a few other new worlders.) I change them about every 6 months. Only because I break out from the U hairs so to minimize the chances of hairs wafting in the air I change the sub more often.

That being said...I dont include slings/ juvies because they get rehoused throughout the year.

Also with species that need high humidity, I try and change those more often due to possibility of mites, mold, and calcium build up from flooding the substrate.
 

RoseT

Arachnosquire
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Sep 20, 2010
Messages
87
Id say once a year, but with some maintenance throughout that year to keep the mold absent.
 

barabootom

Arachnolord
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Mar 1, 2008
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I clean mine about every six months, every Spring and Fall. I keep mostly terrestrials and they do poop into the substrate. I don't believe in letting them live in their own filth. I disagree with those that say never. One might get by with never cleaning, but how unfair to your T's.
 

barabootom

Arachnolord
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Mar 1, 2008
Messages
644
I couldnt vote. Because I usually do an annual cleaning of ALL enclosures.

I find with proper spot cleaning MOST species dont need frequent total cleanings... It can stress them out to much if you clean to often.

But with species such as Avicularia(who spray poop everywhere!), and other Ts that flick lots of hair before a molt(IE- T. blondi, Brachypelma...and a few other new worlders.) I change them about every 6 months. Only because I break out from the U hairs so to minimize the chances of hairs wafting in the air I change the sub more often.

That being said...I dont include slings/ juvies because they get rehoused throughout the year.

Also with species that need high humidity, I try and change those more often due to possibility of mites, mold, and calcium build up from flooding the substrate.

Excellent post. :worship:
 

P. Novak

ArachnoGod
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Sep 12, 2005
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6,218
I spot clean bi-weekly, and I have found that to be sufficient enough. I will clean out their entire enclosure if they are being transfered are if there is a persistent mold or mite problem, which I really haven't had trouble with at all. I use to clean their cages every year, but saw no need to do so since they arachnids are really not that dirty at all.
 

Scourge

Arachnoknight
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Jan 3, 2005
Messages
278
I only ever fully clean out an enclosure if there's some sort of problem. For instance, mold that won't clear, phorids etc. Most of my humid enclosures have isopods which keep them clean anyway, and I don't have any problems with the dry enclosures.
 

Poxicator

Arachnobaron
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Nov 16, 2007
Messages
354
how often do they get cleaned in the wild? That's how often I clean mine :)
 

Chaika

Arachnosquire
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May 18, 2009
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Clean?

I have only changed the substrate in an enclosure once (when it had mushrooms growing out of it) otherwise I will only disturb the substrate when I'm rehousing and I have reused sub if it looks/smells ok :)
 

Kathy

Arachnoangel
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Apr 4, 2009
Messages
852
Clean?

I have only changed the substrate in an enclosure once (when it had mushrooms growing out of it) otherwise I will only disturb the substrate when I'm rehousing and I have reused sub if it looks/smells ok :)
LOL, good point! Although the wild ones may have more resistance to disease.
 

barabootom

Arachnolord
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Mar 1, 2008
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how often do they get cleaned in the wild? That's how often I clean mine :)
To my knowledge T's don't poop in their burrow and in the wild it rains where most species live. In the wild there is also a constant air exchange. You can't compare an enclosure to the habitat of a wild T.
 

xhexdx

ArachnoGod
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Jul 20, 2007
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To my knowledge T's don't poop in their burrow and in the wild it rains where most species live.
So wait, the argument is that they poop in their burrows in captivity, but not in the wild?
 

barabootom

Arachnolord
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Mar 1, 2008
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So wait, the argument is that they poop in their burrows in captivity, but not in the wild?
My T's rarely poop in their burrows. They usually go to a corner of the enclosure and poop, or poop in the water dish. My avics just spray it everywhere. I only keep new worlds, and I don't keep any deep burrowing species, so I'm not saying it never occurs. However, in the places I've collected T's, during the rainy season the ground is thoroughly flushed with heavy rains. I doubt that happens in an enclosure.
 

Poxicator

Arachnobaron
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Nov 16, 2007
Messages
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If your T poo's in the corner then surely its only the corner that needs cleaning. I remove whats visible, making sure there's no uneaten food and remove mould + bolus. Schultz suggest they create little waste so cleaning the whole closure does little to increase the hygienic state of the enclosure. Obviously if the enclosure smells you may have a different opinion.
The problem with removing everything to replace it is that your tarantula, over months, will lay down a thin layer of webbing on the substrate and coat this with its irritating hairs. These are the guidelines that a tarantula uses to know its area/home. Removing this must have a stress factor if we consider in the wild they'd almost never leave an area of 1 sq m. The way I look at it would be someone coming to your house and removing all your furniture, but at least they hoovered :)
 
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