Moisture discussion....

[The Grym Reaper]

GBBs do not like moist substrate.

Yeah, if you keep them in overly moist/poorly ventilated enclosures then they develop issues with their book lungs/develop bacterial infections/etc. and eventually drop dead.

Conversely, if you keep them bone dry right off the bat then some either dehydrate to death or suffer moult complications.

They do perfectly fine on slightly moist sub as slings. Once they reach 1.5" they can be kept on dry sub with a dish.

 

[Colorado Ts]

Yeah, if you keep them in overly moist/poorly ventilated enclosures then they develop issues with their book lungs/develop bacterial infections/etc. and eventually drop dead.

Conversely, if you keep them bone dry right off the bat then some either dehydrate to death or suffer moult complications.

They do perfectly fine on slightly moist sub as slings. Once they reach 1.5" they can be kept on dry sub with a dish.

I would totally agree with lightly damp...the area around the water dish gets damp from time to time, and I see no adverse effects from that condition.

But damp substrate, like what I use for my other slings...No Bueno.

But I am totally amazed at the size they put on after this last moult. I just found it incredibly cool.

 

[Jesse607]

I had my Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens in enclosures on moist substrate, all 5 slings. They refused to eat, they became lethargic, they quit webbing. This went on for weeks. The slings would climb the sides of the enclosure and sit by the vent holes....nothing else. Not good.

I reached out to several people about what I was experiencing with my GBB slings. Everyone of them said the same thing....”dry out the enclosures, add a water dish”.

I moved spiders around and ran every enclosure through a food dehydrator until they were bone dry.

Problem solved...Within a week, they began eating, OMG they can web up an enclosure, and they began exploring the substrate...GBBs do not like moist substrate.

In fact...There was a time, when the GBBs first entered the hobby; they very quickly developed a reputation for being a difficult, sensitive species. Then someone figured out to put them on dry substrate....now they are a hobby staple, and actually considered a beginners spider.

Interesting...I've reared 7 GBB on moist substrate over the years without issue. I did allow sub to dry out a bit between waterings, but never had issues with them while sub was moist.

 

[Jesse607]

I've seen countless "my GBB sling died" and even "My C. lividus/Cobalt Blue died" posts over the last year or two, all being kept on "bone dry substrate" and often with a "But it had a water dish" response. I also see a trend of 'Blah blah desert species REQUIRES/NEEDS dry substrate" sling or not. A lot of species from tough climates are tough as nails and are adapted for tolerating less than ideal conditions, does that mean they require those tough conditions? No. There is a reason they dig (sometimes deep) burrows and shelter in cool protected places in these climates.

 

[Smotzer]

I think I’ll just moisten an area in my GBB slings enclosure, that way it can choose what it wants, but I mean most of the time it stays on its hide or web

 

[Colorado Ts]

I think I’ll just moisten an area in my GBB slings enclosure, that way it can choose what it wants, but I mean most of the time it stays on its hide or web

Signs to watch for:
Lethargic
Not eating
Not webbing
Staying off substrate
Hanging on sides of enclosure at or near vent holes

As long as the sling(s) are not doing any of these...you are good.

 

[Vanisher]

So on facebook, I was talking to a guy that was basically saying all Tarantulas can be kept on dry substrate as long as there is a water dish. Even species as C. Lividus and O. Violaceopes. Stating that all tarantulas can survive in dry substrate as long as they can drink, that this is the only moisture they need. How much truth is it to this statement? It goes against what I have learned about moisture dependent species but he was a moderator on one of the groups so you would think he had some knowledge.

I disagree. I would call this a ridicolous statement. Sure all can be kept dry but how do they fare? And for how long do they survive? We know for fact that a T blindi will hover over the waterdish if kept dry for a extended period. And i will imagine that moisture dependent speicies gets trouble moulting. Maybe they produce less fluids than speicies from dry climate and are mire dependent of moisture in the substrate to moult right? This i dunno, just an assumption. But again i disagree wuth his statement. It sounds like a comment from a lazy keeper that use this as an excuse not to moisten his tarantulas

 

[cold blood]

I think I’ll just moisten an area in my GBB slings enclosure, that way it can choose what it wants, but I mean most of the time it stays on its hide or web

This is what i generally suggest...its a good plan.

 

[jrh3]

I disagree. I would call this a ridicolous statement. Sure all can be kept dry but how do they fare? And for how long do they survive? We know for fact that a T blindi will hover over the waterdish if kept dry for a extended period. And i will imagine that moisture dependent speicies gets trouble moulting. Maybe they produce less fluids than speicies from dry climate and are mire dependent of moisture in the substrate to moult right? This i dunno, just an assumption. But again i disagree wuth his statement. It sounds like a comment from a lazy keeper that use this as an excuse not to moisten his tarantulas

I ended up quitting the discussion with him. He wouldn’t listen lol.

 

[SonsofArachne]

As far it goes some species may not need it but they seem to prefer it. My 3 Acanthoscurria (2 geniculata, 1 musculosa), especially the sub-adults, spend most of their time sitting in the 1/4 of their enclosure that I keep moist, probably 99% of their time for the 2 sub-adults.

 

[Teds ts and Inverts]

I ended up quitting the discussion with him. He wouldn’t listen lol.

Some people just can't be reasoned with....

 

[boina]

Interesting...I've reared 7 GBB on moist substrate over the years without issue. I did allow sub to dry out a bit between waterings, but never had issues with them while sub was moist.

The thing is moisture increases the bacterial load. Does that mean there will always be pathogens among the bacteria? Most certainly not. It's a question of statistics: At what point is the probability higher that there will be complications from too much moisture than there will be complications from too little moisture? No one can really answer that question, so the solutions will always be a bit of personal preference.

It's also a question of the general environment. I tend to keep the substrate on my enclosures on the drier side, but then I live in marshlands in a very humid environment (it sucks, even leather shoes will mould and laudry never dries), so the probability of too little humidity is very low. Other people live in desert like conditions or have their heating dry out the air and will therefore need more moisture in the substrate. I think those are valid reasons why some people have more success with the dry variant and others with more moisture. Btw., I raised my GBBs on completely dry substrate without issue, but we do have 60 to 90% ambient humidity.