Substrate in T enclosures drying out way faster than usual.

[Arachnopotamus Rex]

So recently I've been having an issue where the substrate in all of my enclosures is becoming hydrophobic, each watering ends up less and less effective, dries up faster and faster, and it initially beads on the surface now unless soaked, but feels course and almost waxy while wet, and the water has a much harder time distributing evenly.

I never used to have this issue, the soil always retained moisture levels properly (with my help) and felt soft up until now, and with much less effort.
The problem started a few days ago.

No new/different substrate was added, nothing new was added to their enclosures, no new feeders were used, no mold is present, and this happens even while the water dish stays full.

Water used is filtered.
Room temp is 80F.
A source of humidity is present in the room (miko humidifer - water in this is also filtered - ).
Door remains closed most of the time.
Substrate is terra aranea or reptisoil depending on species (for arid ones a bit of cocofiber is mixed in) but issue exists for both soils despite neither being a problem prior to recently, and it happens in terrestrial, fossorial, and arboreal setups.

Live plants are not present in the enclosures, so there isn't anything soaking up all the water.
I have baseboard heating in the house, which adds moisture to the air rather than removing it like forced air heating does.

Enclosure types are tarantula cribs and thrive brand, as well as glass tanks, with the smallest slings being in dram vials, issue persists in all of them.
Occurs in enclosures for species that are heavy webbers, and in ones that don't really web anything.

I'm managing to keep up with re-adding the water as it dries, but having to do that multple times per day (instead of once a week like before) is concerning.

What causes soil to become hydrophobic? and what fixes it?

 

[TheraMygale]

Hydrophobic is almost always an occurance. Even with house plants we see this.

unless the substrate is fully hydrated, it will stay this way.

when house plants dry out completely, we need to “bathe” the pot to saturate the soil. Of course its an art, because it can become oversaturated.

with enclosures its more complicated if there are no holes in the bottom of the enclosure.

The best solution is to dig grooves in corners. And inject water to the bottom in small quantities, until eventualy, its fully hydrated.

my enclosures are allowed to dry out completely, except my moisture dependant. So eveytime i add water, i add it to the bottom and observe how it moves. You could also build enclosures with “straws” in the substrate. This would allow you to add water in different places and layers with more control.

people who “bake” their soil, will see this issue much more often. The drying changes the aggregates nature. When sterilizing soil became popular years ago, for plants, this was observed. This led many plant lovers to stop this practice. For many other reasons aswell.

for my moisture dependant, i don’t humidify the entire enclosure. And i am able to add water everytime i do maintenance and feeding, because i have understood how fast my substrate dries out. By keeping some parts dry, i can see how “wet” the substrate is.

for my smallest moisture dependant, i have drilled holes like they do for haplotanks. I have full control on where i add water, concentrating on the burrow area. The top is always a tiny bit dry.

If youre adding water many times a day, and it dries, measure how much you add. Then add that full amount in one shot, adding 1/4 to a half of that more. And see how that goes.

If it still dries up, add more. Youll end up calculating the exact amount of millileters you need to fully saturate.

winter time is usualy dry in homes. I can tell by the soil in my plants.

Strange about your heating. I have forced air, and its less dry then baseboards. When i visit people with baseboards, my nose gets drier.

For the record, once a substrate has dried up, it will keep pearling water. Unless its fully hydrated like it originaly was, it will stay this way. Compaction over time also changes a soils texture.

at the rate yours is drying, youll probably have to add atleast twice the amount in one shot.

 

[Arachnopotamus Rex]

Hydrophobic is almost always an occurance. Even with house plants we see this.

unless the substrate is fully hydrated, it will stay this way.

when house plants dry out completely, we need to “bathe” the pot to saturate the soil. Of course its an art, because it can become oversaturated.

with enclosures its more complicated if there are no holes in the bottom of the enclosure.

The best solution is to dig grooves in corners. And inject water to the bottom in small quantities, until eventualy, its fully hydrated.

my enclosures are allowed to dry out completely, except my moisture dependant. So eveytime i add water, i add it to the bottom and observe how it moves. You could also build enclosures with “straws” in the substrate. This would allow you to add water in different places and layers with more control.

people who “bake” their soil, will see this issue much more often. The drying changes the aggregates nature. When sterilizing soil became popular years ago, for plants, this was observed. This led many plant lovers to stop this practice. For many other reasons aswell.

for my moisture dependant, i don’t humidify the entire enclosure. And i am able to add water everytime i do maintenance and feeding, because i have understood how fast my substrate dries out. By keeping some parts dry, i can see how “wet” the substrate is.

for my smallest moisture dependant, i have drilled holes like they do for haplotanks. I have full control on where i add water, concentrating on the burrow area. The top is always a tiny bit dry.

If youre adding water many times a day, and it dries, measure how much you add. Then add that full amount in one shot, adding 1/4 to a half of that more. And see how that goes.

If it still dries up, add more. Youll end up calculating the exact amount of millileters you need to fully saturate.

winter time is usualy dry in homes. I can tell by the soil in my plants.

Strange about your heating. I have forced air, and its less dry then baseboards. When i visit people with baseboards, my nose gets drier.

For the record, once a substrate has dried up, it will keep pearling water. Unless its fully hydrated like it originaly was, it will stay this way. Compaction over time also changes a soils texture.

at the rate yours is drying, youll probably have to add atleast twice the amount in one shot.

So after lifting the enclosures up(after refilling the moisture again), I've noticed at least several of them are leaking at the corners like a drippy faucet. Really upsetting since tcribs are so pricey...
Is soil "bathing" still possible with the leak? Or are the enclosures just a lost cause?

As for baseboard, it uses radiant heated moisture to heat a house, so its usually less drying then forced hot air unless your forced hot air has a humidifier built in( around here very few do, but i have lived in one that does and it was more humid than this place is so I get what you mean).

 

[TheraMygale]

So after lifting the enclosures up(after refilling the moisture again), I've noticed at least several of them are leaking at the corners like a drippy faucet. Really upsetting since tcribs are so pricey...
Is soil "bathing" still possible with the leak? Or are the enclosures just a lost cause?

As for baseboard, it uses radiant heated moisture to heat a house, so its usually less drying then forced hot air unless your forced hot air has a humidifier built in( around here very few do).

To bathe an enclosure, you need drainage holes.

since your enclosures are leaking, i recommend putting them in a large enough “cover” or form that could retain water. That way, while you moisturize, if it leaks, it will stay in the “cover”. Like potted plant saucers. Id fill that cover with an inch of water. That way, your enclosure might not lose its water to quickly. Which is why its drying so quickly.

dont leave enclosures in the cover for to long. Just until the substrate is moist to your liking.

it could even work at your advantage. For now.

if its leaking, there is scellant missing. That being said, it doesnt mean enclosure is “done for” yet. Its just making water exit out toquickly and the substrate isnt having a chance to sponge up.

i’d keep on eye on it.

maybe some ducktape could do the trick.

if you think the enclosures are faulty, perhaps try contacting the company.

 

[fcat]

It doesn’t look like much of a moisture gradient because mixed coco fiber with reprisal and went heavier with my coco ratio in the lower levels to assist with water flow actually and to reduce the weight of the enclosure since it’s a repurposed item

In theory it will start to dry out first around those lower ventilation holes

I have it sitting in cheap foil pan and when it starts feeling light I will pour water into the pan the substrate wicks it up


Enclosures can have a bottom hole if you make one
Ask me how I watered several hundred slings in minutes (you need to know your environment and seasonal changes… big part of your question) okay fine it was one bottom hole

Great fail safe if you keep moisture dependent actually. One time overdoing it can be fatal (if left to fester in those conditions)

I don’t trust the look of “old” substrate…. I go by the weight…it can be deceivingly dark and dry.

I wouldn’t be able to afford to keep Ts if I had to invest that kind of money into a “tarantula” enclosure…but I’m yet to have one of my frankentanks fail me…

Just don’t try this exact one at home… I’m still trialing exactly how much dirt a shoebox can hold without collapsing. Supposedly this specific brand can hold 80lbs of weight

If it’s winter where you are, the air is dry, the heat sucks out more moisture, where I live I could run a humidifier all day and maybe achieve 19%. I only turn the heat on because the Ts, I can’t stand dry air and nosebleeds.

I make it rain, literally, as well since I don’t trust any one to use a water dish. Moist dirt is my backup water dish. I appreciate when it pools! That’s a free water dish. Webbing is also hydrophobic, so I always make sure to leave some droplets there…

And in winter I don’t have to worry about overwatering, it’s so dry…but I also don’t have to worry about the effect on temperature when it’s dry. No “feels like” when there’s no humidity, just is. It’s how you can ski/snowboard in a T shirt on a spring day and your bones hurting because you are so cold when it’s 50F on the beach.

 

[Gevo]

As said above, this happens with soil anyway, but with tarantulas, there's the added factor of fine webbing that is often on the surface of the soil, even if you can't see it, and that can also cause water to bead on top of the soil instead of sinking in, almost seeming like it's been sprayed with a water repellent spray. The "non-webbers" still lay webbing down for feeding, molting, and hunting; it's just a lot finer and less obvious.

Are there specific species you're concerned about? For many commonly kept species, the enclosure can be practically bone dry, and as long as the spider has access to a water dish, they're still okay. You could also use some moss and soak that to provide moisture if you don't trust the soil to provide enough.

 

[Wolfram1]

yea, get something like rectangular flower pot saucers to put your enclosures into, otherwise the leaks may damage your floorboards, furniture etc.

it will help with watering too.

in case of pottet plants i allways water an amount it can hold, however at first some of it will run through into the saucer and then be slowly drawn back into the soil and clay pot over the next 12 hours

plants, just like Theraphosidae, do not like to sit in wet soil, but the soil still takes its time absorbing said moisture.

if you can't give your soil the time to soak and absorb it properly you can only swich to repeated waterings in a very slow fashon, like drip watering for example

i wouldnt recommend it however

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

To bathe an enclosure, you need drainage holes.

since your enclosures are leaking, i recommend putting them in a large enough “cover” or form that could retain water. That way, while you moisturize, if it leaks, it will stay in the “cover”. Like potted plant saucers. Id fill that cover with an inch of water. That way, your enclosure might not lose its water to quickly. Which is why its drying so quickly.

dont leave enclosures in the cover for to long. Just until the substrate is moist to your liking.

it could even work at your advantage. For now.

if its leaking, there is scellant missing. That being said, it doesnt mean enclosure is “done for” yet. Its just making water exit out toquickly and the substrate isnt having a chance to sponge up.

i’d keep on eye on it.

maybe some ducktape could do the trick.

if you think the enclosures are faulty, perhaps try contacting the company.

I used to use aluminum baking pans from the grocery store as plant pot saucers for larger cages I drilled drainage holes in. Worked well to catch the water and to prevent a big mess. They come in a variety of sizes for any size plastic box I used as cages.

The lesson I learned with drilling drainage holes in plastic boxes was that their placement is best along the bottom edge and not at the very bottom, unless the box has riser feet, or just above the edge. But of course there is nothing wrong with placing a cage on some kind of riser inside a baking pan so you can have a few holes in the bottom. Lots of easy and cheap ways to drain a tarantula cage as if it were a plant pot.

 

[Arachnopotamus Rex]

So after seeing everyone's advice, and multiple gallons of water and hours of time later, i have managed to "factory reset" the substrate for my moisture dependant species back to how it was upon purchase/initial setup, and I even managed to block the leaks with substrate by accident in the process.

I also managed to use that poking holes on the sides method to wet the substrate in the heavy webbing enclosures without destroying the webs, which took forever, but they should be set for a while.

Thank you everyone for all the help! I'm gonna go collapse now lol.

PS: Sorry i haven't responded much on here, this took a long time and I had barely any sleep the night before for other reasons.

 

[darkness975]

An increase in substrate level webbing is a possibility.

 

[TheraMygale]

So after seeing everyone's advice, and multiple gallons of water and hours of time later, i have managed to "factory reset" the substrate for my moisture dependant species back to how it was upon purchase/initial setup, and I even managed to block the leaks with substrate by accident in the process.

I also managed to use that poking holes on the sides method to wet the substrate in the heavy webbing enclosures without destroying the webs, which took forever, but they should be set for a while.

Thank you everyone for all the help! I'm gonna go collapse now lol.

PS: Sorry i haven't responded much on here, this took a long time and I had barely any sleep the night before for other reasons.

Dont apologize. This is an important informative thread for everyone. This is a question many people have. It will be usefull always. These are relevant discussions we need to have. Its part of our passion. With all our different experiences and views, we share and learn together.

 

[Wolfram1]

i doubt the leaks are truly gone, but as long as you stay on top of it the soil will absorb and hold the water before it has a chance to leak

just don't overdo it

 

[viper69]

You may need to move to the rainforest

 

[Brewser]

" When It Rains... It Pours... "