Starter Advice and Candles / Scents

[GummyLovesYou]

Hello, everyone, my apologies if my layout is not appropriate, I am very new to this website. I have a gorgeous, five-year-old Mexican fire leg tarantula, I just got her last week from a very trusted source. I have had a tarantula before, who, unfortunately passed away prematurely. I have been informed that it was not my fault, and rather an issue with the spider themselves, when I took them to some experts to see what I could’ve possibly done wrong. this is a very long-winded way for me to say that I am very nervous around my tarantula in the sense of potentially hurting her. I was wondering if anyone had any advice on helping her feel very comfortable in her new enclosure, I have enrichment items such as several pieces of Corkwood, and of course a water bowl. and as soon as I have the finances to do so, I will be getting her some silk leaves to play with. I have been making sure her temperatures are correct and her humidity as well. She is in the process of wanting to molt, she’s not quite there yet, but she has definitely started to head that way. So I understand why she isn’t wanting to eat and why she has been staying in more secluded areas, such as her tunnel. I honestly just wanna make sure she is as happy and content as possible. Another thing that I am really wondering about is candles, I have read 1 million different answers, some people saying that candles have never affected their tarantula, while other’s saying that they don’t want to risk it, so I was just wondering, what some of you would suggest, in terms of candles, all of my candles are a good couple of feet away from where I keep her, and the room is very ventilated, with my fan unit constantly on. I just wanna make sure I do everything as right as I possibly can, and I just wanna make her as happy as I can here’s a picture of my beautiful girl for anyone interested! Her name is Phoenix. thank you all so much for your patience and help in advance. <3

 

[Arachnophobphile]

Hello, everyone, my apologies if my layout is not appropriate, I am very new to this website. I have a gorgeous, five-year-old Mexican fire leg tarantula, I just got her last week from a very trusted source. I have had a tarantula before, who, unfortunately passed away prematurely. I have been informed that it was not my fault, and rather an issue with the spider themselves, when I took them to some experts to see what I could’ve possibly done wrong. this is a very long-winded way for me to say that I am very nervous around my tarantula in the sense of potentially hurting her. I was wondering if anyone had any advice on helping her feel very comfortable in her new enclosure, I have enrichment items such as several pieces of Corkwood, and of course a water bowl. and as soon as I have the finances to do so, I will be getting her some silk leaves to play with. I have been making sure her temperatures are correct and her humidity as well. She is in the process of wanting to molt, she’s not quite there yet, but she has definitely started to head that way. So I understand why she isn’t wanting to eat and why she has been staying in more secluded areas, such as her tunnel. I honestly just wanna make sure she is as happy and content as possible. Another thing that I am really wondering about is candles, I have read 1 million different answers, some people saying that candles have never affected their tarantula, while other’s saying that they don’t want to risk it, so I was just wondering, what some of you would suggest, in terms of candles, all of my candles are a good couple of feet away from where I keep her, and the room is very ventilated, with my fan unit constantly on. I just wanna make sure I do everything as right as I possibly can, and I just wanna make her as happy as I can here’s a picture of my beautiful girl for anyone interested! Her name is Phoenix. thank you all so much for your patience and help in advance. <3 View attachment 463389

I have no idea what fire leg is but it looks like a B. boehemi. Nice T and welcome to Arachnoboards.

Well it depends on the type of candles. Scented candles will boil down to what chemicals are in the ingredients. I vape and have used a scented lamp candle. I've also had it very far from my T's. None of either of that has affected my T's in the slightest. Just know what chemicals are in the candle if it's scented.

Also this a great link to read to help get you started:

Admin Announcement - Tarantula Information for Beginners (and More)

Below are some helpful resources. (Rather than having half a dozen or more pinned threads, which clutter the top of the board, we are pinning this index.) While the focus is on beginners, there are other threads on health and more advanced species that may be useful to more experienced keepers...

arachnoboards.com

 

[Rigor Mortis]

Me personally I've never lit candles in the room I keep my T in. I know some people have had perfectly fine experiences but I don't want to risk it.

 

[viper69]

Do you have a question? I didn’t see a single ?.

 

[Gevo]

I had the same concerns about scents because I love aromatherapy. After also seeing many different answers and no consensus, this is where I landed:

- Lots of people will try to tell you natural scents are safe. This is false. Cedar oil can be deadly, for instance, and lots of essential oils are, if not toxic, repellent to tarantulas. Don’t fall into the natural vs. synthetic trap when gauging safety.

- No one knows definitively what causes DKS in tarantulas, but exposures to household chemicals and scents are thought to be potential causes. You can find lots of information on DKS in the forums as far as its symptoms and such go, but we don’t know exactly what causes it, what concentrations cause it, whether repeated exposures have cumulative effects, whether different species tolerate exposures differently, etc. So, there’s always risk until we know more.

- Lots and lots of keepers do use scented candles and products in their homes and have had no issues.

- If you do use scented products (and I do), take some common sense precautions: don’t use them around the enclosures, don’t use sprays or aerosols anywhere in the same room, avoid known toxic oils like cedar, provide good ventilation, and don’t use scented products constantly or in really high concentrations. I do not use my essential oil diffuser anywhere near my tarantulas because those turn essential oils into micro droplets that go through the air, and I feel like they carry the same risk as aerosol sprays. I use mine now only in a separate room, on a separate floor, with the door closed. Candles seem to be less bothersome, but I still avoid ones with cedar oil. I have a pretty open floor plan on the main floor, but I keep my Ts several meters from any candles. I always make sure my hands and wrists are clean and free of any lotions or essential oils when I go to do maintenance.

Note: I’m a beginner myself and don’t have a lot of experience. I’m just sharing what I found in trying to answer the same question for myself. Until we know what causes DKS, it’s important to know that most claims of safety are anecdotal.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

A Simple search yields this result first

Wax melters/Candles in the same room as a tarantula?

i have a pet tarantula, a b boehmei, and i like to melt dented wax in wax burners, or light candles. i was wondering if it’s okay and safe to do in the same room that my tarantula is in? i’ve done it a couple times since i’ve got him and it doesn’t seem to bother him but i’m new to the hobby so idk.

arachnoboards.com

 

[Charliemum]

Hi & welcome to ab,
you have a beautiful little floofer there and dont worry new keepers often ask questions like this, its a great sign of being a good keeper, if you didnt care you wouldn't be asking
Tom Moran has a great podcast he has discussed candles on before . He has a podcast and a you tube channel and you can't go wrong with his info pretty sure he will have an upload on Brachypelma too. (What you have.)
Also if your little one is in premoult (although they look pretty fresh to me) leave them alone don't mess about with the viv with new decor just wait till they moult and keep the water dish full. You also don't need to get caught up on humidity just overflowing the water dish once the subs dried out is enough for this sp Brachypelma tend to like it a bit drier or mine have . A temp of 24/27°c or about 75/80°f (for my friends over the pond) is enough to keep them happy . A night time drop is good too, I drop mine to about 20°c (68°f) and my baby's do great with those temps.
Don't worry so much and don't over think it just enjoy having your little one they don't worry you shouldn't either .

Google Podcasts is no longer available

podcasts.google.com

Hopefully it will give you this link to toms podcast, I tried to put it through media but it said it wasn't supported so I have tried to add it as a link instead if it doesn't work look for Tom's big spiders on your chosen podcast player and look for
Scented candles, bright lights , and stereo systems, are they harmful to our t's?

Gl to you both and if you have more questions just come back and ask

 

[Denn]

I have enrichment items such as several pieces of Corkwood, and of course a water bowl. and as soon as I have the finances to do so, I will be getting her some silk leaves to play with.

If using silk leaves, it is always best to give them a thorough rinse out in warm / hot water. If you notice any coloration bleeding from the silk leaves, do not use them within your tarantulas enclosure, as the dyes can be harmful to the tarantula.

I have had some that you could rinse in boiling water and they keep 100% of their color with the water remaining completely clear, I have had others that just bled dye regardless of the water temp until they went from a dark green to a very light green, these I just threw in the trash. It is always best to be safe rather than sorry.

 

[Smotzer]

I was wondering if anyone had any advice on helping her feel very comfortable in her new enclosure,

If it was just rehoused just give it time to settle in. It would also be helpful to post pictures of your entire enclosure so we can make sure nothing major needs to be adjusted. Not saying you did this, but a fair amount of new keepers do not use enough substrate when first housing heavy bodied tarantulas such as your Brachypelma. So make sure there is no more than 1.5x diagonal leg span from substrate to the lid, this is to prevent fall injury up to and including death (we have indeed seen it happen). And about the lid make sure its not weaved screen/wire lid as they can get their tarsal claws (feet) stuck in them.

I have been making sure her temperatures are correct and her humidity as well.

Honestly, you don't need to really worry about either of these factors, a wide array of room temps are fine without need for any modify, to give you an example my house has been sitting about 62-65ºF this time of year and I don't give that concern with my tarantulas. And humidity you don't need to worry about either, if you're using a thermo/hygrometer you don't need it and can quit using it. In most set ups and enviornments, simply keeping a water dish full and occasionally overflowing it will suffice for you species.

She is in the process of wanting to molt, she’s not quite there yet, but she has definitely started to head that way.

Im not sure how you seem to presume this.

Another thing that I am really wondering about is candles,

Honestly most scented candles in general are toxic to humans and greatly disrupt hormones so for your own health I would say not to burn them as most are paraffin wax is petroleum based which are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (very bad for you) and is a competent of perticides but on topic for spiders I have seem mixed evidence of possible ill effects.

 

[Arachnophobphile]

Think I need to be more clear on what I do with scented candles as I was too vague.

What I have used is a heat lamp that melts the scented wax. I very rarely use it. I might use it two or three times a year, something like that.

If you're a person using scented candles and use them like every day or multiple times a week I would be concerned.

There's really no concrete data proving scented candles kill tarantulas. It is always better being safer than sorry.

I'm not an example really to go off of as I simply hardly ever use them.

Vaping however, that's non-stop, God forbid if I go without nicotine I turn into a raving lunatic.

 

[viper69]

It would also be helpful to post pictures of your entire enclosure

The overlord has spoken! Look out!

 

[Smotzer]

The overlord has spoken! Look out!

With blinding fervor!

 

[viper69]

With blinding fervor!

No doubt, I'm sure you expect the entire layout of the home, with notations of pets, distance to them, and composition of T home too!