MistIng v) water bowl v) both

[Poec54]

@Poec54 I don't have any aphonopelma species either? Its not wet or saturated, its slightly damp on parts of the substrate for SLINGS that require more moisture than larger T's. Am I missing something? I've spend almost a year researching Theraphosidae on this forum and the consensus (though most of you like to disagree with each other) is that slings need their sub to have some moisture in it. Its not like I'm putting juvie or adult Brachypelma, Chromatopelma and Grammostola species on damp substrate.

While it's usually true that slings prefer a little moister substrate than adults, moist substrate will kill slings from east and south Africa, and Avics. I wouldn't use it for slings of other species from dry areas. Slings would be timed to hatch when there's ample water, same with plants germinating. In the case of spiderlings, rains would also mean more insects hatching out, and a good supply of food.

 

[mistertim]

While it's usually true that slings prefer a little moister substrate than adults, moist substrate will kill slings from east and south Africa, and Avics. I wouldn't use it for slings of other species from dry areas. Slings would be timed to hatch when there's ample water, same with plants germinating. In the case of spiderlings, rains would also mean more insects hatching out, and a good supply of food.

How do you hydrate your 1/4-1/2' East and South African and Avic slings that are in vials that are still too small for a water dish?

 

[Abyss]

How do you hydrate your 1/4-1/2' East and South African and Avic slings that are in vials that are still too small for a water dish?

No such thing as too small for a water dish but if you dont want to use a water dish, you can take things like eyedroppers, pipets, syringes, etc and leave water droppets on the webbing and leaves

 

[Vezon]

He means that the enclosures are too small for a dish, not the Ts themselves.

I just wet the substrate in vials, let it dry, repeat.

 

[mistertim]

He means that the enclosures are too small for a dish, not the Ts themselves.

I just wet the substrate in vials, let it dry, repeat.

Right, like the vials you would use for 1/4' slings or something. I think I remember Poec54 saying he uses some sphagnum moss in those and wets it but I don't recall completely. I actually really like using sphagnum for some extra humidity. Its localized so its more controllable than just putting water on the sub and it retains moisture very well.

 

[saturnthegrey]

@Poec54 sorry I misinterpreted what you were saying. I thought you were suggesting what I was doing was wrong. But I get it, what's right for some slings can be life threatening to others. If you take a look at the list of what I have in my collection and see something I shouldnt be keeping that way, feel free to tell me. But I think I'm keeping them all correctly.

 

[Poec54]

How do you hydrate your 1/4-1/2' East and South African and Avic slings that are in vials that are still too small for a water dish?

All of those that I've had have been 1/2" to 3/4" at 2nd instar, and all got small water bowls.

 

[Poec54]

@Poec54 sorry I misinterpreted what you were saying. I thought you were suggesting what I was doing was wrong. But I get it, what's right for some slings can be life threatening to others. If you take a look at the list of what I have in my collection and see something I shouldnt be keeping that way, feel free to tell me. But I think I'm keeping them all correctly.

Right, with tarantulas native to so many climates, temperate desert to tropical rain forest, some things in captivity do not work across the board. Look at the huge differences in number of eggs per sac, and size of 2nd instar slings. Totally different approaches to reproduction.

I keep most of my slings on moist substrate, and for ones under 1/2", I lay moist long fiber sphagnum on the substrate for them to drink from.

 

[Pociemon]

Edit title* Misting v) water dish v) both

Wanted to visit a popular debate and see if any new ideas/info/opinions can run rampant here lol

As the title suggests, i wanna hear arguments for/aginst misting, wayer bowls, or a combo of the 2

My goal is for this thread to be a good source of info for hobbiests new an old

I have noticed many keepers here suggesting any/all practices so let le share what i do as a general rule (species dependant of course)

Arboreals:
Loads of good cross ventilation and i provide a sizeable water bowl along with what some consider misting although i dont actually mist. I water the plants with a pipet or syringe when the sub dries out fully, then let it dry again and repeat all while keeping fresh filtered water in the dish.

Higher humidity terestrials:
Same practice for arboreals minus the anple cross ventilation (i use cross ventilation just not as much is all)

Dry terestrials:
Dry sub with a water dish and only fake plants so no extra humidity is provided outside of a once every few months misting (a good ammount too all at once to simulate a fast/hard rainfal)

Heres my thoughts on this:
Misting benefits-
Spikes humidity as if it rained in nature (which happens believe it or not even in the dry deserts). Since tarantulas have 0 learning capabikity i assume they cant diferentiate between captivity and the wild so to me, misting is the best way to provide the natural rain cycle of each specimens climate.
Downsides-
I fear ppl tend to over do it and saturate the substrate which is (IMO) not that big of deal for arboreals with ample crossventilation because natural airflow will allow the extra moisture to flow free causing minimal negative effects. But when done to a dry sub burrower/terestrial, it will stay too humid too long an cause adverse effects. Another downside isthat it evaporates fast so if your expecting the T to drink from the droppets your leaving only a narrow window for the T to drink.

Waterbowl benefits-
Idiot proof in that as long as there is water in the dish, there is generally the proper ammount of humidity being provided for most species. Also there is an ample water supply so the T can drink at its leisure rather then playing aginst the clock with misting.
Downsides-
Not much comes to mind outside of bacterial growth. I combat this by using 2 water dishs per enclosure (the one in use and the clean one waiting for use). Once per week i remove the wayer dish and replace with a fresh one. I wash the old one then repeat weekly.

Combo misting/water bowl:
Benefits-
All mentioned above in both
Downsides-
All mentioned above in adition to a higher risk of providing too much hunidity depending on enclosure setup.

I said what i do and have done for years and have had good success with my various T's (mostly arboreal and/or more hunidity dependant species).

So what say the experts?????

I dont use waterdishes, only use them if i need a long cooling/dry period to get offspring. I mist in there thoroughly and i do it in late evening when temperature is lower(i use thermostats to control the heat), that way the water will be there a longer time. If they need water they will come out and drink, if not, a waterdish is not needed anyway. I mist 2 to 3 times a week, in rainy season more. I do pour water in the substrate in the rainy/wet seasons, otherwise not. I speek here only of arboreal T´s.

 

[Abyss]

I dont use waterdishes, only use them if i need a long cooling/dry period to get offspring. I mist in there thoroughly and i do it in late evening when temperature is lower(i use thermostats to control the heat), that way the water will be there a longer time. If they need water they will come out and drink, if not, a waterdish is not needed anyway. I mist 2 to 3 times a week, in rainy season more. I do pour water in the substrate in the rainy/wet seasons, otherwise not. I speek here only of arboreal T´s.

With excellent cross ventilation i assume???

 

[Pociemon]

With excellent cross ventilation i assume???

I make cross ventilation such as it keeps it wet in there after heavy misting for at least 12 hours. This gives the T enough times to come out for a drink. I have good ventilation on the lower front and in the top of each enclosure. But i mist heavyly in there, not just a few drops, it really gets alot of water allover. Usually it is enough also to keep the substrate humid. I get lots of offspring doing it this way with poecs, so it works i can tell you.

It might not be a good idea to do for all, but when you get more experience you will get tired of waterbowls for arboreals as they pretty much never uses them. Only if severely dehydrated i see them, and in this case some just dies instead of using them. It is in my humble opinion a bad idea to rely on waterbowls for arboreals, you risk loosing them quickly.

 

[Poec54]

It might not be a good idea to do for all, but when you get more experience you will get tired of waterbowls for arboreals as they pretty much never uses them. Only if severely dehydrated i see them, and in this case some just dies instead of using them. It is in my humble opinion a bad idea to rely on waterbowls for arboreals, you risk loosing them quickly.

I disagree. 2/3's of my collection is arboreal, and they all get water bowls, from day one. All it takes is one warm, dry day when you're tied up, and without water bowls as a back up water supply, you can lose spiders. I don't see any point to trying to juggle not using water bowls. I want to be able to keep substrate moisture as I think it should be, and not also try to balance it as a water source too. That can be a fine line. I know a few experienced keepers can manage without water bowls, but it's a bad idea for the average person.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

I don't want moist substrate for east and south African slings. Same with Avics. That can kill them.

True. That's why a good ventilation and just a slightly moist corner are enough. Seriously, while i do always support the water dish, i've never used one for little slings.

 

[Pociemon]

I disagree. 2/3's of my collection is arboreal, and they all get water bowls, from day one. All it takes is one warm, dry day when you're tied up, and without water bowls as a back up water supply, you can lose spiders. I don't see any point to trying to juggle not using water bowls. I want to be able to keep substrate moisture as I think it should be, and not also try to balance it as a water source too. That can be a fine line. I know a few experienced keepers can manage without water bowls, but it's a bad idea for the average person.

It might have to do with that you live in a country with much higher average temperatures than here in Denmark where it is a country for mostly vikings! We do have some periods with higher temps, but i dont find it that hard to maintain humidity through misting. Of course when i am on holyday i give them a waterbowl if one of my friends cant come and mist, and also on dry seasons. I understand why people prefer to have them, but most people i know here do it without waterbowls. But most people i see in this hobby are of course experienced keepers.
It is no secret that my T collection are 99% arboreal and 90% poecs, and i simply never see them use waterbowls, i might have seen it a couple of times in 10 years with them, and that is in dry seasons. So i think it could be the differences where we live that might have a role here if a waterbowl is neccessary!

 

[Poec54]

I also have a lot of Poecs, and do see them use their water bowls. Most of the US has hot summers; in Florida, our spring and fall are mostly pretty warm too.

 

[woodermeloon]

IME....I put everything on a mix of sand, coco, and top soil. I use different ratios of the three to help control humidity (with sufficient ventilation of course).

In general, for humid terrestrial and burrowing species, I routinely soak a corner of the tank (~1/6th of tank floor) and throw a few springtails in the constently moist corner. For humid arboreals I also heavy mist a side of the enclosure for the spider every few days.

For desert species I soak a portion of the dirt every so often and assure that all their prey is fed moist fruits and veggies.

I have been successfully keeping 15 different species of Ts and scorps this way for close to a year now.

 

[Teal]

I use a spray bottle at least ever other day to add some water to sling enclosures for them to drink. I don't saturate the enclosure. I keep a lot of slings on moist substrate, except things like Brachys and Aphonopelma. I will drip some water into the corners of their cups every once in awhile or give them a little spritz with the spray bottle. I do sometimes spray everyone to simulate rain, but then I let the enclosures dry out.

Anything that is 1.5-2" gets a water bowl in addition to the aforementioned misting routine.

 

[WeightedAbyss75]

This is just my 2 cents, but I just obtained 3 "3i" gracilis. They are about the length of the first segment on my finger (not sure of the term, lol). Despite this, I do put a water dish in there for all of them, they seem to love it. Keeps the humidity and gives prey and scorp a place to get a drink Never had a problem with waterdishes, don't see why misting would be better overall. That's just me though, to each their own if the T's are healthy and thriving

 

[volcanopele]

For me, it depends on the specimen. My G. rosea and C. cyaneopubescens have just a water dish and get no misting. The soil remains dry. I've never seen my GBB drink, but I've seen my G. rosea drink from her water dish several times. My A. purpurea juvenile gets a plastic bottle cap for a water dish and a light misting to get some moisture into the soil about once a week. My LP sling doesn't have a water dish but does get a light misting about twice a week. My Tapi sling does have a beer bottle cap as a water dish and I expect to do a light misting once a week.

My N. chromatus and my L. klugi have water dishes and do get regular misting, just to keep the soil from completing drying out. Moist but not damp. I try to keep the soil dark, but I don't want to be able grab a handful of the substrate and wring out water from it. Again, my goal when misting isn't to increase humidity by itself, but to put just enough moisture in the soil to allow it to slowly evaporate. I live in southern Arizona, and it gets very dry here, particularly in the early summer and winter (when I have to run a space heater to keep the tarantula room/my office at okay temperatures for the tarantulas). Some people do this by overfilling the water dish, but that can localize the moisture, and make some areas of the cage really damp and other parts bone dry. I do that to some extent with my G. rosea, until she moved dirt around and now overfilling causes water to drain into her hide...

 

[woodermeloon]

My N. chromatus and my L. klugi have water dishes and do get regular misting, just to keep the soil from completing drying out. Moist but not damp. I try to keep the soil dark, but I don't want to be able grab a handful of the substrate and wring out water from it. Again, my goal when misting isn't to increase humidity by itself, but to put just enough moisture in the soil to allow it to slowly evaporate. I live in southern Arizona, and it gets very dry here, particularly in the early summer and winter (when I have to run a space heater to keep the tarantula room/my office at okay temperatures for the tarantulas). Some people do this by overfilling the water dish, but that can localize the moisture, and make some areas of the cage really damp and other parts bone dry. I do that to some extent with my G. rosea, until she moved dirt around and now overfilling causes water to drain into her hide...

I actually removed my water dishes when I started keeping my lasiodora. I found that my Kulgis and LPs would always fill their waterbowl with substrate or flip it. They all ended up having bowls full of gravel so They wouldn't flip them. The last straw was when my psalmapoeus started actively webbing over their bowls.

I keep most my spiders in generously sized enclousers with live plants, mosses,isos, and springs. I often will wait months before I put a spider into an encloser I made for it- so the plants can throw down solid roots and so the isos can establish themselves. I'll be damned if I'm going to junk the tank up by putting a bright orange gateraid cap or a 2oz deli cup in there.

From my observations most my spiders seem to dislike their waterbowls. Also I believe that most spiders naturally acquire moisture from wet soil or wet leaves, and 99% of it from their diet. I used to observe my spiders shimmy down onto moist dirt or drink water droplets while completely ignoring their bowls.

I do think waterbowls are a good idea but I don't think they are necessary if you keep your spiders in enclosures large enough to have a wet soil patch. Of course these are all my own observations and I've only been keeping my spiders like this for about 13 months now. But so far none of my spiders have curled from dehydration and everyone has been eating like a monster.