Is it possible to Over Care?

[IrishPolishman]

just wondering, but is it possible to care too much for your T's? I'm very picky about cleaning up any leftover cricket bits and keeping water regularly in the dishes. I'm just hoping that i'm not stressing out the T's. Anyone else feel like their doing this or have opinions?

 

[Endagr8]

Yup. I check on 'em daily......even the slings. I mist daily too.

 

[codykrr]

im the same....im very picky about leftovers and i check one em alot.....i tell my wife im off to the "man cave" she grins and i see her an hour or so later....haha then i go looking for my next T.......but i think i observe them more than "overcare" i just dont want to stress them

 

[Endagr8]

I even do this with roaches.lol. What can I say? I love my pets.

 

[Brian S]

Hell, I have some tarantulas I dont feed for weeks at a time. Yeah you dont need to "over care" for them believe me

 

[gvfarns]

Well, overcaring in my opinion has the following problems:

1. You become obsessive and spend a lot of unnecessary time worrying about their well being when it's not really necessary. This is probably no big deal because it's a hobby, right? Oh, and spending lots of time caring for tarantulas leads to spending money on them. That can be a bad thing in some cases.

2. The more we care for our pets, the more frequently we feed them. Even if it seems like you never feed them, if you are spending a lot of time looking in on them, it's hard not to end up feeding them more often than is optimal. For slings this isn't a big deal, but it can be a bad thing for adults.

Otherwise, if you are not stressing them out by messing around in their enclosure too frequently, I say the more care the better. I find that my attention to them comes in bursts. When I get busy with other things I neglect them more frequently. The T's don't notice or care it seems like, but the roaches can get out of control or run out of food and water.

 

[Widowman10]

you can overcare. it's obsessive and sometimes harmful. i'm with brian, i feed mine sporadically, sometimes even a few weeks between big meals. i do make sure they have a full water dish though. i think it's cool to observe them and whatnot, but to hover over them and try to do things all the time can end up not being good for your T.

 

[radicaldementia]

I think if you're not messing up their hides/webs every time, then it's no big deal to them. Out in the wild T's have to constantly deal with predators, unwanted guests, and other environmental changes. If they stressed about every little vibration or rustling they'd be freaking out nonstop.

But if you think you're over-worrying or spending too much time caring for them, then I think you should take up an additional hobby or find something to take your mind off them. Trust me, they won't miss you

I usually have about 2 "care days" a week where I spend about 45 minutes feeding, cleaning etc. part of my collection (I have about 50 inverts). The other days I probably only spend a few minutes watching them, since most of the time they aren't doing much.

 

[GartenSpinnen]

I lose a lot less Ts overall than most... and i probably pay a lot less attention to them. I think a lot of the reason people have molt issues, random deaths, etc. is due to messing with their T's too much. I prefer to just leave them be. Make sure they have water, decent temps, make sure nothing crazy like mold is going on, and then occasionally food (when i feel like it). They do just fine.

Cheers,
Nate

 

[Fluke]

Yea I observe mine daily but only do maint/other stuff once or twice a week. Call me lazy

 

[DreadLobster]

You can definitely over care for them. Its not a dog or a cat, or any other manner of "pet" that craves attention and interaction with you. At best, you being near them is an annoyance that they (at least some) can tolerate. They need water and food, so obviously you have to interact with them to do that much. And they need you to make sure their cage doesn't get infested with mites or mold or anything else harmful, since they are, after all, locked in and can't just up and move away from a problem like that like they could in the wild.

I'm terrible about this. Always rearranging cages and stuff just because something bothers ME (not the spider). So yeah... I think captive T's would all be a lot better off if we let them have their space more than we do.

 

[MizM]

just wondering, but is it possible to care too much for your T's? I'm very picky about cleaning up any leftover cricket bits and keeping water regularly in the dishes. I'm just hoping that i'm not stressing out the T's. Anyone else feel like their doing this or have opinions?

IMHO, fresh water should ALWAYS be available to every living thing. But, yes, you can overcare. I just posted on another thread how I obsessively tried to follow care sheets, which are worthless. I ended up with mold, nematodes, phorid flies, etc. Now that I've relaxed, I just keep an eye on them, feed them about every two weeks and let them be, they seem to be MUCH better off!

 

[venomous.com]

I mist once a week, feed every week or two and things are fine. Less attention you give, the happier they are IMO. They aren't puppies.

 

[Godzirra]

Too much of anything is bad - if you disturb a tarantula on a regular basis you could stress it out. Might not give it a chance to learn from it's behavior (take for instance if you repeatedly fill a water bowl, you might not give a T the chance to give you a sign that it might not want that water, to show you that it's creating too much moisture within it's environment)

 

[Jojos]

I'm not obsessive but I check on them everyday just like all my animals.I check for poop or leftover food and also check the water. If it's low or dirty, I change it. I don't think it's being obsessive. Clean water and clean terra is just normal just like us.

I like my house clean and my water also. I do that with my dogs, cats, rats, hoppers and with the farm animals too. I check their water so it's clean and not frozen and I give them food everyday. It's our job to make sure they're allright. More than once a day is a bit obsessive.

My opinion.

 

[codykrr]

yeah like i said i check em daily but only feed 2 times a month for adults once a week for sling...but when you have enough it is easy to always have something to do with them. i am like i said very particular on how their cages are kept...never dirty and always fresh water....other than that i just like watching them groom and basicly observe....i only get into there cage to water or pick up roach balls..only ones i have i dont really see much of is my obts when there out i cant help but stare other than that there just a hole i feed every now and again...but im also in my T room for otherpets too .....roaches, snakes, scorps, mantids, fish, and a parakeet...so while im in there i just check em all...i also find that if you put yourself on a feeding schedule you dont "overfeed"

 

[fartkowski]

I look in on mine several times a day. I won't go in the cage unless I really need to (feeding and stuff). I squirt water thru the cracks in the cage. I watch the crap out of them but I try not to bother them otherwise.

 

[Diva Satanica]

If and when I have slings, especially really small ones......I check on them multiple times per day. No disruption, just a visual check. I will mist my A. avic enclosure everyday. As far as actually moving the enclosures on going into them, once a week or less. Right now I have 4 that are in heavy pre-moult so I guess thats why I'm looking so often........I ALWAYS miss moults.

 

[loxoscelesfear]

the less you bother them , the better off Ts are