Ordering tarantula and substrate at the same time

[Lentsy]

Hi, I’m a new tarantula owner and forumer and I just ordered my first t, a juvenile t/b vagans. I also ordered all of the equipment needed for the t including brick substrate. Since it’s an arid species, how do i get the substrate quickly dried for it’s enclosure if i’m receiving it with the t?

 

[Gavin Sons]

I spread mine out on a baking sheet and stick in the oven at 350. Take out every 10 minutes mis and put back in. Usually takes a good hour and a half to get all the moisture out. Then let it cool on the counter. Cools off really quick.

 

[Lentsy]

I spread mine out on a baking sheet and stick in the oven at 350. Take out every 10 minutes mis and put back in. Usually takes a good hour and a half to get all the moisture out. Then let it cool on the counter. Cools off really quick.

So about how long can my t be in the packaging when i’m Preparing the enclosure?

 

[Gavin Sons]

I'm sure it would be fine for an hour or so. Best bet is to just go buy a bag of substrate and have everything ready. How do you know the sub is going to come wet?

 

[Lentsy]

Oh no it’s just that I bought brick substrate, you need to pour water on it before using right?

 

[Gavin Sons]

Ah, yes, it will be very wet after that. I'm sure the T will be fine in the shipping package until you have the enclosure set up. How big is this T? You say juvenile, 2", 3"? Anything over an inch is going to do fine while you get things ready.

 

[Lentsy]

Website said 4-5 cm which is about 1.5 to 2 inches

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

Hi, I’m a new tarantula owner and forumer and I just ordered my first t, a juvenile t/b vagans. I also ordered all of the equipment needed for the t including brick substrate. Since it’s an arid species, how do i get the substrate quickly dried for it’s enclosure if i’m receiving it with the t?

You're in luck because T. vagans comes from tropical Mexico, the state of Yucatan to be exact, and doesn't come from an arid climate. In the future, make sure you have housing setup before your tarantula arrives or have substrate already prepared for use.

 

[Lentsy]

Oh, I always thought that they were arid, most of the sources say so. And yeah I should’ve prepared it first but it would’ve costed me a lot due to shipping and I wasn’t sure if I was getting a t or not so it’d be unfortunate if I had already ordered equipment but not a spider

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

Oh, I always thought that they were arid, most of the sources say so. And yeah I should’ve prepared it first but it would’ve costed me a lot due to shipping and I wasn’t sure if I was getting a t or not so it’d be unfortunate if I had already ordered equipment but not a spider

No big deal. To prepare your substrate add water to the brick slowly, break up the brick with your hands, then keep adding water a little bit at a time so you don't over saturate it. If you do happen to oversaturate then you can unpack the tarantula and put it into a small dry container with just a bit of moistened paper towel (think misted with a water spray bottle; not soaked and wrung out) without any substrate at all for a while until you have its permanent enclosure ready. T. vagans is quite hardy, but overly dry conditions for a prolonged time will harm it more than damp conditions.

 

[Lentsy]

Agh thank you so much, I feel a lot more sure of what i’m doing

 

[viper69]

Hi, I’m a new tarantula owner and forumer and I just ordered my first t, a juvenile t/b vagans. I also ordered all of the equipment needed for the t including brick substrate. Since it’s an arid species, how do i get the substrate quickly dried for it’s enclosure if i’m receiving it with the t?

Don't know what your sub is...some you can put in the oven, home smells soil after.

most of the sources say so

When you first start out it's hard to know what is a good source and bad one. YouTube is a crappy source for example, CARESHEETS KILL TARANTULAS

Come here with your questions. Do your research HERE before asking your question. Use my friends at Google to search within AB itself.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

As said, T. vagans actually prefer a bit of moisture in the sub so no need to dry it out.

When you make up the substrate don't follow the instructions that come with it or it'll be soaking wet. I suggest breaking the brick up into small chunks (use a chisel or screwdriver), put the chunks in a mixing bowl, add just enough warm water so that it's level with the top of the chunks of fibre, give it a quick stir to make sure it's all wet, leave it for 10 minutes to expand. You might have to crumble up the odd dry bit but if you've done it right then it should be no wetter than fresh topsoil.

 

[Lentsy]

Agh things would’ve been easy if i was gonna get a vagans but they couldn’t get any so i’m getting a hamorii instead (i’ve read a lot on both)

 

[Gavin Sons]

I have a hamorii. Listened to the guys and girls here and mine is doing great.

 

[FrmDaLeftCoast]

Since you mentioned "brick", I'm assuming your talking about coir pith (coco). All you need to do is wet the brick until it has absorbed enough moisture to allow you to break it up easily. Once this is done, any extra coco can be placed in a bag/container for another day. If you believe the coco is too wet. You can either squeeze out the moisture with your hands or pat it dry with a paper towel (similar to what I do with pizza and grease).