how to manage good ventilation with high humidity?

phoebe12483

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 19, 2011
Messages
27
I just purchased a 2 yr old female Versicolor and have a couple husbandry questions. How much moisture should there be in the enclosure? She is in a vertical 10 gallon with 4 inches of a soil/moss/reptile soil block substrate with live plants. Right now the soil is only slightly moist. I mist the enclosure 1x a day but the substrate and cage seem dry by the next day. Should I saturate the substrate more? I am concerned about mold growth and stagnancy but also know she needs humid conditions. There is a humidifier next to the cage but Colorado is DRY. Also, her cage fluctuates between 70-80 degrees, 70 at night. Is that too cold or should I supplement with a small heat pad?
Last question is how long does it take before they start building their webs when put into a new enclosure?
 

Novatsk

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jun 6, 2010
Messages
33
Humidity

What you could do to retain humidity in glass enclosures is to cover at least half with food wrap .. It will keep moisture in longer xD
 

ErinKelley

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 1, 2006
Messages
290
Good ventilation and letting the soil somewhat dry out between waterings will help prevent mold, fungus, and bug problems. Remember that your live plants are going to help with humidity a bit. With my avics I'll moisten the sub and let it dry out a bit before I do it again. At that age/size I assume you have a dish of water too??

Your temps sound perfect, no need to supplement with heat :)
 

Poxicator

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 16, 2007
Messages
354
+1 on what Erin says. Many people go for the very moist encloure set-up and then find their Avics don't do so well. I find they do better on dry than wet but occassional spraying does just fine.
Large Avics tend to be slow at webbing after rehousing, so just have some patience, it will eventually come.
If you can grab some woodlice and springtails they will help with the cleaning.
 

archieph

Arachnosquire
Joined
Jan 6, 2011
Messages
115
sir

my versicolr usually webs 2 days after being rehoused.. as for ventilation have tons of holes all over.. and for humidty, i always keep a water dish inside enclosure.. makes my misting less to about twice a week.. i hopw this helps u
 

phoebe12483

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 19, 2011
Messages
27
Many thanks.

I know that I am being an overly concerned first tarantula owner, but am already quite attached! She does have a water dish in her container and I am currently misting 1 x per day which could be excessive, however there is no portion of her habitat that seems to remain even moist within a 24 hour period. Is once a day overkill even if it dries out every day?
I did witness a strange behavior that could be perhaps normal for versicolors however is new to me...perhaps I could get some feedback in terms of whether or not this is normal? This morning before work the cage was misted and a small amount of additional water was added to around the two plants in ther terrarium as the soil seemed close to dry. When I got home this afternoon, she appeared to be in the same place at the top of the glass side as when I left this morning, but she has done significant soil rearragement, specifically around the bases of the plants. She has dug quite extensively and there is soil even at the top of her tree branch and on the leaves of the plants at the top of the enclosure. With open water available, she wouldn't have done this to access the additional moisture around the plant bases, would she?
Is this stress behavior, or getting used to her enclosure behavior? Up until now she has been pretty low key; not overtly active but usually in a different spot throughout the day. We are on day 3 and still no webbing, but it sounds as though it can take a little while.

Feedback has been very helpful, thanks so much! I wish I had utilized this resource while doing research!
 

archieph

Arachnosquire
Joined
Jan 6, 2011
Messages
115
my versi

my versi has shown signs of rearranging substrate.. even made caves of weebing coated wid substrate.. the moving around is more likely she's looking for a nice spot to chill at.. i live in tropical country, philippines.. so my conditions from u may be different.. have very basic setup.. substrate, small branch wer it can web and water dish.. they are doing great..

 
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