Rose Hair drinking a lot of water

steelerandrew

Arachnopeon
Joined
Dec 1, 2016
Messages
13
Hi, I just recently purchased a male (I hope), juvenile, captive born Grammostola rosea. I put him in a 10 gallon tank with 3 inches of eco-earth coconut husk substrate and a water dish with a screened top. I put a night time UV basking light on one side and a small water dish on the colder side. The temperature is around 80 degrees Fahrenheit and the humidity is around 35%. He immediately has made a burrow on the hot side and has webbed the whole bottom of the aquarium. He is also drinking a lot of water. Hopefully he is happy. The one thing that is odd is that he is drinking water excessively (small water dish every 5 minutes or so as long as its full). Do you think this is because he is webbing so much?
 

Bugmom

Arachnolord
Joined
May 28, 2012
Messages
646
1. More substrate please; don't leave more than 1.5x the length of the spider between the substrate and the lid. Tarantulas will climb, and a fall could rupture their abdomen.
2. Tarantulas need no lighting.
3. Maybe he's too hot... he also doesn't need supplementary heating unless your house is colder than usual (are you cold in the house? If not, the spider probably won't be, either).
4. Webbing and substrate will wick water away very quickly. Are you observing him drinking, or is the water just disappearing? If the latter, it's likely just being absorbed by the substrate.
 

steelerandrew

Arachnopeon
Joined
Dec 1, 2016
Messages
13
1. More substrate please; don't leave more than 1.5x the length of the spider between the substrate and the lid. Tarantulas will climb, and a fall could rupture their abdomen.
2. Tarantulas need no lighting.
3. Maybe he's too hot... he also doesn't need supplementary heating unless your house is colder than usual (are you cold in the house? If not, the spider probably won't be, either).
4. Webbing and substrate will wick water away very quickly. Are you observing him drinking, or is the water just disappearing? If the latter, it's likely just being absorbed by the substrate.
Hi,
Thanks for your response.
1. I'll add more substrate but I feel kinda bad cause he just spent a lot of time making a web mat across the entirety of the whole tank. You think its ok to cover his mat or remove it before adding more substrate?
2. Its a 50 w uv night light to add slightly more heat.
3. I keep my house at 68 degrees, I live in Ohio USA where it can get a little cold. That is why i added the small light to supplement the heat. He seems to hang out a lot on the hot side and made a burrow on that side as well. The temp is 80 and the humidity is 35%.
4. He is small, i'd say two inches across (including legs). He seems to hover over the dish and and as he is hovering the water level goes down drastically. He seems to be draining the bowl in a couple minutes and goes back to his burrow. He then comes back out after a few minutes and drinks it again. He drained three small dishes(smallest water dish I could buy at the pet store -5 ml maybe?) in 5 minutes and acted like he wanted more yesterday. I thought maybe his webbing might be absorbing the water so i remove it and clean it before filling. No webbing or substrate absorbing the water and he is drinking it too quickly for evaporation.
 

Bugmom

Arachnolord
Joined
May 28, 2012
Messages
646
It'll be fine to add more substrate. He will just have to web it all up again while thinking, "Darn you, human!"

Maybe he's just really thirsty? I swear half the time the answer to "why does my tarantula ____" is a shrug of the shoulders, because who knows.
 

ledzeppelin

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jan 8, 2013
Messages
433
Also I would like to add that screened top is a disaster waiting to happen.. Tarantulas go exploring at night, and it's not uncommon for them to climb the glass. If your screen top has mesh all over, I would advise you to change it. The first problem is that tarantulas can in theory chew through that mesh and you have an escapee, and the second problem is, that their hooks on their legs can get stuck in mesh and they can't get it out. This can result in torn off limbs and unpredictable falls, which can be fatal. Maybe not at once, but internal injury can lead to death on the long run. Torn off limbs are usually not deadly, but this is something that should be avoided.
 

Estein

Arachnoknight
Joined
Feb 11, 2016
Messages
153
What are you using for a water dish? Sometimes the plastic bottlecaps I use start leaking water through the bottom pretty quickly and I have to replace them.
 

Vanessa

Grammostola Groupie
Joined
Mar 12, 2016
Messages
2,423
I would say that the light is definitely causing the water to evaporate - especially at 35% humidity levels (although that is probably grossly inaccurate if you're using store bought gauges from the pet shop).
You really don't need the light and it causes more trouble than it does good. Please get rid of it.
 
Last edited:

ledzeppelin

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jan 8, 2013
Messages
433
You really don't need it and it causes more trouble than it does good. Please get rid of it.
I couldn't agree more. When I got my first T at the age of 14, 10 years ago, I wanted to get everything I could for it. I was thinking I was doing this thing properly. One of the gadgets was this hygrometer or whatever, and once my rosea got its leg stuck on the glue. I was struggling to get it off without tearing her legs apart. Imagine a 14 year old kid performing this "operation" It was horrifying. So yeah, I agree. Remove it.
 

steelerandrew

Arachnopeon
Joined
Dec 1, 2016
Messages
13
Thanks everyone for your input. I'll see if I can find a glass top if you guys think that would be better. I use a store bought ceramic water dish, its not leaking. The bedroom where the tarantula is being kept can get down to 63 degrees Fahrenheit during the day in the winter. Is that ok? The water isn't evaporating, I watch the spider drink it.
 

Estein

Arachnoknight
Joined
Feb 11, 2016
Messages
153
Thanks everyone for your input. I'll see if I can find a glass top if you guys think that would be better. I use a store bought ceramic water dish, its not leaking. The bedroom where the tarantula is being kept can get down to 63 degrees Fahrenheit during the day in the winter. Is that ok? The water isn't evaporating, I watch the spider drink it.
The water dish probably isn't the issue then. I would recommend (as would many others) getting a small space heater for the room your T is in. 63F is definitely survivable for a rosea/porteri, but isn't ideal for the long term.
 

Misty Day

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 9, 2013
Messages
437
Definitely replace the screen lid, I'd go for acrylic with holes drilled into it, there's some good tutorials on how to make them on here. I wouldn't use glass as they can be hard to ventilate without shattering.

Also a 2 inch spider in a 10 gallon seems really excessive to me.
 

steelerandrew

Arachnopeon
Joined
Dec 1, 2016
Messages
13
I posted that before I saw his answer. Any idea where in the forums I should look? Thanks again everyone.
 

Venom1080

Arachnoemperor
Joined
Sep 24, 2015
Messages
4,611
ditch the light, spiders dont like it and it does nothing good. they dont have bones so uv is a waste.
10 gallon is way overkill, look for a medium kritter keeper or something like that. way less sub you have to buy to fill it.
this might help if youre dead set on a tank.
 

clive 82

Arachnoknight
Joined
Sep 11, 2016
Messages
204
Hi,
Thanks for your response.
1. I'll add more substrate but I feel kinda bad cause he just spent a lot of time making a web mat across the entirety of the whole tank. You think its ok to cover his mat or remove it before adding more substrate?
2. Its a 50 w uv night light to add slightly more heat.
3. I keep my house at 68 degrees, I live in Ohio USA where it can get a little cold. That is why i added the small light to supplement the heat. He seems to hang out a lot on the hot side and made a burrow on that side as well. The temp is 80 and the humidity is 35%.
4. He is small, i'd say two inches across (including legs). He seems to hover over the dish and and as he is hovering the water level goes down drastically. He seems to be draining the bowl in a couple minutes and goes back to his burrow. He then comes back out after a few minutes and drinks it again. He drained three small dishes(smallest water dish I could buy at the pet store -5 ml maybe?) in 5 minutes and acted like he wanted more yesterday. I thought maybe his webbing might be absorbing the water so i remove it and clean it before filling. No webbing or substrate absorbing the water and he is drinking it too quickly for evaporation.
Could it be that the light is drying the enclosure too much? Ts tend to hover over water dishes if they are thirsty or the atmosphere is dry. Also 68 degrees is not all that low a temp for a G rosea, not ideal but they are very hardy
 

Bugmom

Arachnolord
Joined
May 28, 2012
Messages
646
Could it be that the light is drying the enclosure too much? Ts tend to hover over water dishes if they are thirsty or the atmosphere is dry. Also 68 degrees is not all that low a temp for a G rosea, not ideal but they are very hardy
That species prefers dry substrate though, so a "dry atmosphere" is what should be the goal. If the spider needs water, it will drink it. What it doesn't need is a humid enclosure.
 

WeightedAbyss75

Arachnoangel
Joined
Feb 22, 2014
Messages
921
These T's come from one of the hottest deserts out there. Trust me, they won't mind a bone dry enclosure (they prefer it :)) Should be completely fine. I can bet that light is what's making the water disappear. TBH these T's can be good at temps between 60-65. Unless your house gets to 50 or below, your T would probably do well. Just a little less active (and less growth rate?) when colder. I would just adjust the cage like everyone else says: they are great suggestions that will help ensure your T a little safer enclosure :D
 
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