T is 'throwing' substrate in the water dish

[Rappy]

Hey guys,

So I noticed my T doing something that seems strange (to me). She moved a ball of substrate that she previously made, into her water dish after spending 2-3 minutes in the water dish.

Does this mean anything? Sorry if my question is silly but I'm just trying to stay on the safe side. (new keeper).

Thanks!

 

[TownesVanZandt]

Some Ts seems to be quite fond of doing that. It doesn't necessarily mean anything, but it can be somewhat annoying.

 

[MetalMan2004]

Yeah they do that. Normal tarantula behavior. No one knows why they sometimes take their frustrations out on their waterdish but they do!

 

[Garth Vader]

Yeah, they can be messy buggers. Several of mine do this and yes, it is annoying. My tiny Euathlus sp 'red' sling is just a slob about the water dish. It's kind of like people who wash their clothes and then pile them up to just get dirty and wrinkly again instead of putting them away. It doesn't make much sense, and yet it happens.

 

[Rappy]

Haha, I see. I'm glad it's nothing to worry about! Thank you all for the info!

 

[Mirandarachnid]

You could use a deeper water dish so it doesn't wick all the water out right away when it throws sub in there. Actually, when I gave my N. chromatus a deep water dish, it stopped filling it with sub altogether, and she was the worst.

And you don't need to worry about your tarantula drowning, if that was the reason for the shallow dish

 

[DanBsTs]

Hey guys,

So I noticed my T doing something that seems strange (to me). She moved a ball of substrate that she previously made, into her water dish after spending 2-3 minutes in the water dish.

Does this mean anything? Sorry if my question is silly but I'm just trying to stay on the safe side. (new keeper).

Thanks!

My B. Vegans is an absolute bulldozer and does this ALL.THE.TIME. I still love him/her though. Pretty normal as others have stated.

It's kind of like people who wash their clothes and then pile them up to just get dirty and wrinkly again instead of putting them away.

Guilty.

 

[Rappy]

You could use a deeper water dish so it doesn't wick all the water out right away when it throws sub in there. Actually, when I gave my N. chromatus a deep water dish, it stopped filling it with sub altogether, and she was the worst.

And you don't need to worry about your tarantula drowning, if that was the reason for the shallow dish

Yep, that was the reason. I'll get her a new water dish soon, something nicer and deeper!

My B. Vegans is an absolute bulldozer and does this ALL.THE.TIME. I still love him/her though. Pretty normal as others have stated.

Haha, mine is not THAT bad at this so it doesn't really bother me, I was just worried, lol.

 

[Mirandarachnid]

Haha, mine is not THAT bad at this so it doesn't really bother me, I was just worried, lol.

N. chromatus

• Mirandarachnid
• Dec 28, 2017

"Hurr de durr, why ain't there no water in my dish?" -_-

this was daily

Nhandu chromatus

• Mirandarachnid
• Feb 9, 2018

What do you see, Richard Parker?

A rehouse, and a molt later. Nothing in the dish but water

 

[Rappy]

N. chromatus

• Mirandarachnid
• Dec 28, 2017

"Hurr de durr, why ain't there no water in my dish?" -_-

this was daily

Nhandu chromatus

• Mirandarachnid
• Feb 9, 2018

What do you see, Richard Parker?

A rehouse, and a molt later. Nothing in the dish but water

Wow, it really did a number on that water dish, barely visible.

 

[MrTwister]

My L.p fills the water dish every time it expands its burrow.

 

[the sith witch]

My L. p kept filling the big water dish with webbed substrate, which wicked all the water out and made a soggy mess . I went back to bottle caps. There has to be 20 buried all over now . It just molted, so I added yet another cap so she could re-hydrate. I watched. She drank for 10 seconds, backed up, considered for 5 seconds, then flipped it.

There was a thread about "what would you say to your T if it could understand" at some point. I'd just ask WHY.

 

[Mirandarachnid]

This is one of my all time favorite T videos
(not my video)

 

[EulersK]

About 95% of husbandry in this hobby has something to do with the water dish. Tarantulas love nothing more than to fill them with dirt, bury them, hide them, or move them across the enclosure.

 

[spookyvibes]

About 95% of husbandry in this hobby has something to do with the water dish. Tarantulas love nothing more than to fill them with dirt, bury them, hide them, or move them across the enclosure.

Fill them with dirt, boluses, poop... They definitely know how to mess with us.

 

[Ungoliant]

Does this mean anything?

It means, "Your move, human."

 

[Goopyguy56]

My B albo likes to take a dump in her water dish. Lp sling likes to dump substrate in its dish about every other day. Probably wants me to stick my fingers in there but i use tongs so haha.

 

[SDCustom78]

"Avian i told you, i cant be bothered with this tap water swill". My A. seemanni picks a fight with its water dish on a weekly basis. Thankfully its in premolt now and has given the dish a break.

 

[edesign]

I don't use water dishes except in special, temporary situations. Really no need to and makes life much easier for me as I have about 100 inverts, mostly Ts. Just feed hydrated prey (a tarantula's primary source of hydration) and some water spritzed on the walls 1-2x a week. Maybe not recommended for new keepers though as you have to know. They're good insurance.

I am taking only for hydration purposes. If they're used to raise humidity that's a different story. I keep my specimens in a dedicated room with a steam humidifier (sterilizes the steam) set around 50%. I still moisten substrate for many of them with wet/dry cycles and moisture gradients in the sub. Ymmv.

 

[darkness975]

Hey guys,

So I noticed my T doing something that seems strange (to me). She moved a ball of substrate that she previously made, into her water dish after spending 2-3 minutes in the water dish.

Does this mean anything? Sorry if my question is silly but I'm just trying to stay on the safe side. (new keeper).

Thanks!

Happens all the time. Annoying but not much you can do about it.