Humidity

SnakeManJohn

Arachnoknight
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Oct 1, 2006
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I feel pretty embarrassed to ask this but how do you know if your enclosure is too humid or too less? I'm getting 3 G. rosea slings in a couple of days and I've been trying to find out. Care sheets said they need 75-85% humidity. I don't get that? I also seen a lot of posts when I was searching about misting slings Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays..I can do that also right?
 

jr47

Arachnobaron
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Aug 4, 2005
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rosea's like it dry and really dont need misting. they really hate moist soil and will actually climb the tank to avoid it. when they are an inch or so a bottle cap half full of water is a good idea.
i really have never worried to much about humidity and the seven Ive had sense they hatched are fine and about 1.5 inch's now. just make sure the crickets are well hydrated and they should do fine. also it doesnt hurt to spray a little on the side of the cage now and then so there are beads of water for them to drink if they are to small for a water dish. i use to do it just before bed when they are more active.
 

TheDarkFinder

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rosea's like it dry and really dont need misting. they really hate moist soil and will actually climb the tank to avoid it. when they are an inch or so a bottle cap half full of water is a good idea.
It always amazes me that they ever made it in the wild, considering. :rolleyes:
 

TheDarkFinder

Arachnoangel
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ok, apparently my sarcasmotron is on the fritz... what are you getting at here?
The average humidity of the atacoma desert is between 30-100%. Dew always forms at night. Fog bank roll in to this area almost every day and forms heavy dew, or mist, which covers everything.

Please watch Planet Earth Deserts. About 18 mins into it. You will then get what I mean.
 

Sheazy

Arachnoknight
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Apr 19, 2007
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The average humidity of the atacoma desert is between 30-100%. Dew always forms at night. Fog bank roll in to this area almost every day and forms heavy dew, or mist, which covers everything.

Please watch Planet Earth Deserts. About 18 mins into it. You will then get what I mean.

Very good mini-series to watch, and yes...I know exactly what you mean. I was thinking the same thing when I watch it...crazy how adaptation works.
 

neanyoe

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May 17, 2007
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crazy how adaptation works.
yeah it is. makes you think about evolution and how they/we became the way we are. like the webs between our fingers.. what our hair was for .. why our skin tone is lighter or darker depending on where we were as to location and distance from the equator during the days of "pangea" ... i love evolution.
 

cacoseraph

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parts of the atacama are much harsher, or just about everything i have read (and not in posts) is wrong. nat'l geo, etc.


also, regardless, the fact remains that many rosea will not remain in contact with overly wet sub and try to get away from it any way they can
 

TheDarkFinder

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also, regardless, the fact remains that many rosea will not remain in contact with overly wet sub and try to get away from it any way they can
We are going to have to disagree. I kept a G. rosea on moist substrate for 13 years, before she just stopped. She really did not mind it, she actually dug a tunnel, but tarantulas do adapt. I think a lot of people are just water dish happy and want a easy way out of good tarantula keeping.
 

JMoran1097

Arachnoangel
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May 14, 2007
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for slings, just mist a small portion of the side of the small vial or whatever they are in once every 2-3 days. that's what I do and she has already burrowed and eaten normally.
 

jr47

Arachnobaron
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We are going to have to disagree. I kept a G. rosea on moist substrate for 13 years, before she just stopped. She really did not mind it, she actually dug a tunnel, but tarantulas do adapt. I think a lot of people are just water dish happy and want a easy way out of good tarantula keeping.
I'm sorry, i just started using water dishes again over the past month. and i have noticed most of my slings now kill their crickets then take them to the water dish and hold them in the water while they eat. they also will if i dampen the soil hang from the lid of the container till it dries.
i also will say that i spend a great deal of time with my spiders and reading so i can try to give them the best home possible so i really dont care for the easy way out of tarantula keeping remark. the fact that no matter what you post here some one has to try to make you look ignorant is making me wonder why you people cant disagree without the little digs.
 

Drachenjager

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Jan 23, 2006
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We are going to have to disagree. I kept a G. rosea on moist substrate for 13 years, before she just stopped. She really did not mind it, she actually dug a tunnel, but tarantulas do adapt. I think a lot of people are just water dish happy and want a easy way out of good tarantula keeping.
i have never had a rosea that would stay on the substrate if it was the least bit damp. They tried to be arboreals ...sorta funny looking tho but still. when the substrate dried they came down as became pet rocks.
maybe yours dug down to get away from the wetness lol

and for all you who think its wet because of the fog. you shoudl have watched the show better, the moisture dries up really fast. AND you dont have to have wet substrate to have high humidity, you can have a big water dish and keep the humidity just as high i dont think any T needs to stand on wet soil.
 
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Drachenjager

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I'm sorry, i just started using water dishes again over the past month. and i have noticed most of my slings now kill their crickets then take them to the water dish and hold them in the water while they eat. they also will if i dampen the soil hang from the lid of the container till it dries.
i also will say that i spend a great deal of time with my spiders and reading so i can try to give them the best home possible so i really dont care for the easy way out of tarantula keeping remark. the fact that no matter what you post here some one has to try to make you look ignorant is making me wonder why you people cant disagree without the little digs.
yeah i am getting tired of that too. If you think one way someone here will question your intelligence. or if you type like i do they question yor intelligence .lol
but seriously, if you cant say something with out taking a jab at someone ... dont say nuttin
 

TheDarkFinder

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1.) there is a button at each post that you can report anyone that you feel is breaking the rules.

Second do not take it personal. I do not recall pointing you out as a person that is taking the easy way out of tarantula keeping, in fact rereading the post, I see me saying that 30-100% humidity, which is about the normal range for your house, depending on external environment. I see me saying that humidity may be more important then most people think when it comes to this species.

That long periods of inactivity, not eating, or molting shows problems in keeping and not the tarantulas. A lot of people believe that only care for an tarantula is a water dish.

Lastly there is more then one way to care for a tarantulas. I have been doing this for a long, long, long, long, long time. There is easy ways and hard ways, But there is very few good ways. I have found a very easy and good way of keep the 600 or so I keep.

Since I have been doing this 25 or so years, you learn that if a tarantulas is spending time near a dish then you have humidity issues. If you have humidity issues then you are going to start having molting issues.

Of course I have only had 30 or so G. rosea's so what do I know. Every house, keeper, and conditions are different. I have lost very few and have hundreds. I see people here weekly lose tarantulas, and wonder why I have great luck and they can not keep them live.

Doing a quick search I see about 100 to 200 posts about bad molts. Why if I keep hundreds of tarantula have I had only 2 tarantulas have bad molts.

One was genetic, the other was just shipped to me and died of a bad molt with in 2 days of arriving.
 

jr47

Arachnobaron
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i have been keeping t's for about 3 years now. in those 3 years i have lost one t. that was one i got from a pet store that was in horrible condition. and didnt last long.
Ive also raised g. rosea's and out of 200 i lost only 7 or8. as far as I'm concerned that doesn't make me an expert. i have spent hours reading and trying to learn. and i truly love the hobby. i come here to read others experiences and stories and try to be helpful if i can. and to interact with others with the same interests as mine.
i do not come here to read insults and rude comments from people who think they are far better because of the number of t's they own. i think there are better ways to get a point across than insulting people and trying to make them feel inferior. and i think i can handle a disagreement with someone without the little button at the bottom.
I'm sure with your years of experience you have alot of advice that would be invaluable to many. but i also think you can give it without the little insults to those that do not have the experience you do.
 

Drachenjager

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1.) there is a button at each post that you can report anyone that you feel is breaking the rules.

Second do not take it personal. I do not recall pointing you out as a person that is taking the easy way out of tarantula keeping, in fact rereading the post, I see me saying that 30-100% humidity, which is about the normal range for your house, depending on external environment. I see me saying that humidity may be more important then most people think when it comes to this species.

That long periods of inactivity, not eating, or molting shows problems in keeping and not the tarantulas. A lot of people believe that only care for an tarantula is a water dish.

Lastly there is more then one way to care for a tarantulas. I have been doing this for a long, long, long, long, long time. There is easy ways and hard ways, But there is very few good ways. I have found a very easy and good way of keep the 600 or so I keep.

Since I have been doing this 25 or so years, you learn that if a tarantulas is spending time near a dish then you have humidity issues. If you have humidity issues then you are going to start having molting issues.

Of course I have only had 30 or so G. rosea's so what do I know. Every house, keeper, and conditions are different. I have lost very few and have hundreds. I see people here weekly lose tarantulas, and wonder why I have great luck and they can not keep them live.

Doing a quick search I see about 100 to 200 posts about bad molts. Why if I keep hundreds of tarantula have I had only 2 tarantulas have bad molts.

One was genetic, the other was just shipped to me and died of a bad molt with in 2 days of arriving.


i never had a bad molt even with a bone dry T. blondi. Also i never have seen any of my Ts hanging out by the water dish except once and that was because it was in a temp container that it had to be by the water dish...or in it cause thats all the room it had. I have seen only one of my Ts ever drink at all. never even seen them drink from drops when i misted them. I only mist the Avic now. most if the rest of mine seem to freak out when they set foot on damp substrate.

On a differant note, did it seem odd that Planet Earth did not even mention the G. rosea in that show about the desert? Or did i just miss that part.
 
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