How to know the humidity is right for a GBB

[Roger Gan]

I would like to purchase a GBB juv soon but i do not know how much is 30 percent humidity for it and can have skme care sheet about it

 

[The Grym Reaper]

Care sheets are garbage, the word "humidity" isn't relevant to tarantula keeping as tarantulas cannot obtain moisture from the air (substrate moisture is more important) and chasing magic numbers is a good way to kill some species.

Slings should be kept in a well ventilated enclosure on slightly moist substrate, once they hit 1.5" they should be kept on dry substrate with a water dish.

 

[Roger Gan]

Care sheets are garbage, the word "humidity" isn't relevant to tarantula keeping as tarantulas cannot obtain moisture from the air (substrate moisture is more important) and chasing magic numbers is a good way to kill some species.

Slings should be kept in a well ventilated enclosure on slightly moist substrate, once they hit 1.5" they should be kept on dry substrate with a water dish.

Thank you very much for the info bro

 

[The Grym Reaper]

Thank you very much for the info bro

No worries, also check out Tom Moran (Tom's Big Spiders) on YouTube (he has a blog and podcast as well), he's probably the most consistent YouTuber in regards to quality of husbandry info.

 

[Roger Gan]

No worries, also check out Tom Moran (Tom's Big Spiders) on YouTube (he has a blog and podcast as well), he's probably the most consistent YouTuber in regards to quality of husbandry info.

Ok np

 

[Vanisher]

I would like to purchase a GBB juv soon but i do not know how much is 30 percent humidity for it and can have skme care sheet about it

Just put in a dish of fresh water for adults and juveniles. Keep the substrate dry. For spidelings too small for waterdishes, just mist the webbing slightly 2 times a week for the spider to drink until it reaches the size that waterdish can be installed

 

[Roger Gan]

Just put in a dish of fresh water for adults and juveniles. Keep the substrate dry. For spidelings too small for waterdishes, just mist the webbing slightly 2 times a week for the spider to drink until it reaches the size that waterdish can be installed

So i do not need to mist the substrate dry for juv and just keep it dry?

 

[Vanisher]

No, the misting is just for drinking purpouses, so the sling can drink the droplets, in small enclosures where it is impracticle to have waterdishes. It has nothing to do with humidety

But very young slings should be housed slightly moist i must add, if you did not know this? This is because they can dry out otherwise.
Keep them on slightly moist substrate until they are juveniles, after that speicies like GBB should be housed on dry substrate

When sling, keep them on slightly moist sub, and mist slightly their webbing 2 times a week for drinking

When they are juveniles up to adults, keep them on dry substrate with a waterdish

 

[Gavin Sons]

I have always read slightly moist until your enclosure allows for a water dish. I keep mine in a 3 oz condiment container and have a chapstick lid for a water dish. I do drip water on the webbing a couple times a week too.

 

[quirinus]

Care sheets are garbage, the word "humidity" isn't relevant to tarantula keeping as tarantulas cannot obtain moisture from the air (substrate moisture is more important) and chasing magic numbers is a good way to kill some species.

I read this here very often. Here in Europe many tarantula keepers do chase humidity numbers. I stopped doing this after reading this forum and watching EulersK and Tom Moran. But i have to ask: is it really 100% irrelevant? Imagine a moisture depending species has wet substrate but around 20% (air-) humidity. Are you sure that doesn't matter? What about 10%? In german forums they would get multiple heart attacks if someone says he keeps his teraphosa spec at 20% humidity. Sorry for OT, didn't want to open a new thread.. Thank you.

 

[Andrea82]

I read this here very often. Here in Europe many tarantula keepers do chase humidity numbers. I stopped doing this after reading this forum and watching EulersK and Tom Moran. But i have to ask: is it really 100% irrelevant? Imagine a moisture depending species has wet substrate but around 20% (air-) humidity. Are you sure that doesn't matter? What about 10%? In german forums they would get multiple heart attacks if someone says he keeps his teraphosa spec at 20% humidity. Sorry for OT, didn't want to open a new thread.. Thank you.

Humidity and moisture are actually two different things. Humidity is the moisture in the air, which most species do not need a lot from.
Moisture in the substrate however, there are quite a lot of species who do better with damp substrate. (E.murinus comes to mind).
So yes, humidity of the air is irrelevant, but humidity of the substrate can be relevant, depending on species.
C.cyaneopubescens (GBB) doesn't need either of them, apart from small slings.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

I read this here very often. Here in Europe many tarantula keepers do chase humidity numbers. I stopped doing this after reading this forum and watching EulersK and Tom Moran. But i have to ask: is it really 100% irrelevant? Imagine a moisture depending species has wet substrate but around 20% (air-) humidity. Are you sure that doesn't matter? What about 10%? In german forums they would get multiple heart attacks if someone says he keeps his teraphosa spec at 20% humidity. Sorry for OT, didn't want to open a new thread.. Thank you.

All humidity affects is how long it takes for the substrate to dry out so I can quite easily keep Theraphosa/Asian fossorials alive when the humidity drops to <10% in the winter.

 

[viper69]

I would like to purchase a GBB juv soon but i do not know how much is 30 percent humidity for it and can have skme care sheet about it

GBBs live in extremely xeric conditions

Chasing humidity values is an exercise in insanity- do not do this.

Come here for your info - CARESHEETS KILL TARANTULAS

I read this here very often. Here in Europe many tarantula keepers do chase humidity numbers. I stopped doing this after reading this forum and watching EulersK and Tom Moran. But i have to ask: is it really 100% irrelevant? Imagine a moisture depending species has wet substrate but around 20% (air-) humidity. Are you sure that doesn't matter? What about 10%? In german forums they would get multiple heart attacks if someone says he keeps his teraphosa spec at 20% humidity. Sorry for OT, didn't want to open a new thread.. Thank you.

I know a lot of Germans, tons, and honestly this info doesn't surprise me at all. They are a very meticulous culture in certain ways, this would be one of them (technical things, the nature etc). To be fair they have always been ahead of the USA in Ts, and EU in general favors more natrual setups than in the USA when it comes to Ts.

Scientifically, no one actually knows if the lack of humidity is causing changes of any sort. It might be, but we don't know because no scientist has looked.

We raise and breed Avics here under dry conditions relative rainforest. Is that a good thing, again no one knows. I've always wondering myself what is truly happening at the cellular level with species kept "dry".

What would be interesting to learn from zee Germans is how do they account for successul Avic breeding under dry conditions? What are their thoughts...

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

I read this here very often. Here in Europe many tarantula keepers do chase humidity numbers. I stopped doing this after reading this forum and watching EulersK and Tom Moran. But i have to ask: is it really 100% irrelevant? Imagine a moisture depending species has wet substrate but around 20% (air-) humidity. Are you sure that doesn't matter? What about 10%? In german forums they would get multiple heart attacks if someone says he keeps his teraphosa spec at 20% humidity. Sorry for OT, didn't want to open a new thread.. Thank you.

No, humidity is not completely irrelevant. Humidity prevents evaporation so to a tarantula, it means it can go longer without needing to take a drink. To a person, high humidity combined with high heat is dangerous since our bodies cool by evaporation. To a tarantula, high heat and humidity is beneficial since it needs heat for metabolic processes and humidity to prevent desiccation. You can't have wet substrate and 20% humidity at the same time since the water in the substrate evaporates to form water vapor. Without sufficient ventilation by way of holes in the top of an enclosure, that water vapor will condense on the lid and cause wet stagnant conditions.

The primary difference between nature and captivity, as far as water is concerned, is where it goes when there is a lot of it. In nature, water from rain drains away from soil so fossorial tarantulas are not living in puddles and arboreal tarantulas are practically living on dry trees since water isn't completely absorbed by the wood they live in. Also, one has to take into account the seasons were rainfall is higher in some months and lower in others. Humidity could be a cue for behavior such as the start and stop of the mating season and egg laying. In captivity when one mists an enclosure or waters the substrate, the only way it can escape is by evaporating which causes a rise in humidity inside of the enclosure. The enclosure of a tropical species of fossorial tarantula would benefit from drainage holes at the bottom of an enclosure so the substrate can be watered and the excess can drain away; just like a potted plant.

Does this all mean one has to constantly measure humidity? No, it doesn't. Tarantulas from arid climates can tolerate high levels of humidity for a time and tarantulas from tropical climates can tolerate low levels of humidity for a time. There isn't a magic number that needs to be achieved for optimal health. The only difference in care between caring for tarantulas from the two climates is how often you water the substrate.

 

[Roger Gan]

Humidity and moisture are actually two different things. Humidity is the moisture in the air, which most species do not need a lot from.
Moisture in the substrate however, there are quite a lot of species who do better with damp substrate. (E.murinus comes to mind).
So yes, humidity of the air is irrelevant, but humidity of the substrate can be relevant, depending on species.
C.cyaneopubescens (GBB) doesn't need either of them, apart from small slings.

So i just need ro put a cup of water only for my juv gbb

 

[Andrea82]

So i just need ro put a cup of water only for my juv gbb

Yes. A waterdish is fine. Make sure the edges of the dish are level with the substrate for easy access.