The Husbandry of Moisture Dependent Slings

[campj]

If your substrate mix is right, it will equalize the water content throughout the entire volume of substrate. Basically the right substrate mix will wick water evenly throughout.

Cool, that makes sense. I'll keep an eye on things and see how it goes. Really appreciate it.

I feel like an absolute noob with this... had a long gap (about nine years) where we didn't keep OW species due to children and moves. Getting back into the swing of things though, and outside of Poecilotheria, have very little experience with Asian spiders (just a few Haplopelma which I wasn't a big fan of). It's awesome to me how multifaceted this hobby can be.

 

[Dorifto]

A question I'm not sure I've seen addressed very thoroughly anywhere, or I'm just too stupid to remember. Once the substrate dries out a bit, how do you go about making it uniformly damp again? I see you're adding water to one side of the container, do you simply rely on the moisture leaching through the soil? How do you do it without flooding one side of the container?

Finally found time to rework the containers on the few Asian arborials slings I've got, and am still contemplating much of what you've written. Very much appreciated.

Using a good substrate that helps spreading moisture, like peat and clay based topsoil.

 

[l4nsky]

Once the substrate dries out a bit, how do you go about making it uniformly damp again? I see you're adding water to one side of the container, do you simply rely on the moisture leaching through the soil? How do you do it without flooding one side of the container?

Yes, capillary action will evenly distribute the water in the compacted substrate over a few hours. Remember the two ventilation gaps in this design, the space between the two 4x5 ventilation grids on opposite sides? Well we use one to create a starter burrow, but the other one is used to water the enclosure and to see the water percolate down to just barely reaching the bottom. This way you don't flood the sling on the opposite side and add water without leaking from the subsurface ventilation holes.

 

[campj]

Yes, capillary action will evenly distribute the water in the compacted substrate over a few hours. Remember the two ventilation gaps in this design, the space between the two 4x5 ventilation grids on opposite sides? Well we use one to create a starter burrow, but the other one is used to water the enclosure and to see the water percolate down to just barely reaching the bottom. This way you don't flood the sling on the opposite side and add water without leaking from the subsurface ventilation holes.

Right on, I'll try some stuff out. Thanks.

 

[HOITrance]

Very well written, and I will definitely use this as a reference! Thanks you!

 

[yabaidesuyone]

This is actually amazing, thank you very much for this much needed information.

 

[campj]

A couple months into caring for 12 Asian arboreal slings consisting of four separate species (not including my hardy and easy to care for Poecilotheria), and I'd say it's currently a love-hate relationship.

Love: all of them have great feeding responses, have constructed elaborate web/dirt nests, are reclusive enough that it's cool when they're out of the hides but not so reclusive that I'm bored with any of them, they're molting and some are putting on size relatively quickly.

Hate: balancing the thin line of too moist and too dry. Honestly, I've had zero casualties and they all appear healthy, but it's still easy to stress out about whether or not I've got the moisture levels correct from week to week. I wish there was a quantifiable way to know if I'm doing it right, but there are too many variables, as evidenced by the fact that all the enclosures are set up largely the same but one gets drier before another simply because the spiders constructed their nests differently.

These are definitely more difficult (or should say mentally taxing) than most anything I've kept, to include the nearly microscopic dwarf slings and avics. Or maybe I'm just over thinking it and worrying like an old lady for nothing.

 

[curtisgiganteus]

A couple months into caring for 12 Asian arboreal slings consisting of four separate species (not including my hardy and easy to care for Poecilotheria), and I'd say it's currently a love-hate relationship.

Love: all of them have great feeding responses, have constructed elaborate web/dirt nests, are reclusive enough that it's cool when they're out of the hides but not so reclusive that I'm bored with any of them, they're molting and some are putting on size relatively quickly.

Hate: balancing the thin line of too moist and too dry. Honestly, I've had zero casualties and they all appear healthy, but it's still easy to stress out about whether or not I've got the moisture levels correct from week to week. I wish there was a quantifiable way to know if I'm doing it right, but there are too many variables, as evidenced by the fact that all the enclosures are set up largely the same but one gets drier before another simply because the spiders constructed their nests differently.

These are definitely more difficult (or should say mentally taxing) than most anything I've kept, to include the nearly microscopic dwarf slings and avics. Or maybe I'm just over thinking it and worrying like an old lady for nothing.

You are definitely not overthinking it at all or worrying like an old lady. Mind you, a lot of these Asian species are pretty hardy spiders. I have run into the same thing with the 50+ Asian spiders I have at the moment. I worry less about all my other Ts save my T seladonia. I’m gonna have a heart attack with how much I stress over them. But I digress, I have 5 P smithi all set up exactly the same and within a weeks time they are all at different humidity levels (judged by the amount of dry sub is on top of the moist sub)

 

[campj]

You are definitely not overthinking it at all or worrying like an old lady. Mind you, a lot of these Asian species are pretty hardy spiders. I have run into the same thing with the 50+ Asian spiders I have at the moment. I worry less about all my other Ts save my T seladonia. I’m gonna have a heart attack with how much I stress over them. But I digress, I have 5 P smithi all set up exactly the same and within a weeks time they are all at different humidity levels (judged by the amount of dry sub is on top of the moist sub)

Good to know that they're generally hardy. Wonder which extreme is more detrimental: too moist or too dry. Goldie Locks just-right is obviously ideal, but knowing which end of the spectrum is more dangerous would help me stay out of the danger zone. I've let a few of them dry out a bit too much and have accidentally made a couple too damp, but like I said no losses. Feels like it's just a matter of time though. That's the old lady in me worrying (even though I'm a 40 year old man lol).

 

[curtisgiganteus]

Good to know that they're generally hardy. Wonder which extreme is more detrimental: too moist or too dry. Goldie Locks just-right is obviously ideal, but knowing which end of the spectrum is more dangerous would help me stay out of the danger zone. I've let a few of them dry out a bit too much and have accidentally made a couple too damp, but like I said no losses. Feels like it's just a matter of time though. That's the old lady in me worrying (even though I'm a 40 year old man lol).

I think with moisture dependent species, a little too damp is better than a little too dry. So long as you enclosure isn’t New Orleans after Katrina hit you should be fine. Drier side you risk bad molts.

 

[campj]

I think with moisture dependent species, a little too damp is better than a little too dry. So long as you enclosure isn’t New Orleans after Katrina hit you should be fine. Drier side you risk bad molts.

Yeah, I think air exchange is decent as they all dry out over time... I just need to quit worrying. Like I said earlier in the thread, these things are making me feel like a noob, but I'll take that as making progress and learning. Kind of cool to venture into new territory.

 

[l4nsky]

Yeah, I think air exchange is decent as they all dry out over time... I just need to quit worrying. Like I said earlier in the thread, these things are making me feel like a noob, but I'll take that as making progress and learning. Kind of cool to venture into new territory.

Sometimes it's difficult to gauge how far one's experience has grown when they take on a new challenge. In the beginning of this guide, I stated:

My goal is not only to help a hobbyist successfully raise a moisture dependent sling after reading this, but for them to understand the logic and reason that goes into this method for a more complete understanding (Give a fish vs teach to fish, Shuhari, etc).

In this instance, ask yourself a few questions:

1. Can I judge if an enclosure needs watering or doesn't by looking at it?
2. Can I judge if an enclosure needs watering or doesn't simply by picking it up and feeling its weight?
3. Are my slings eating regularly and molting with no issues?
4. Are my slings visible at times at the mouth of their hide or are they always bunkered down trying to conserve moisture (Can be dependent on individual dispositions)?
5. Can I explain the stack effect to someone else?
6. Do I understand the purpose of having ventilation at and/or below the substrate level?
7. Do I understand the advantages a deep, compacted substrate mix offers?

If you can answer yes to the majority of these questions, then are you really a noob? If you can answer yes to all of them, then do you really even need this guide anymore?

 

[campj]

do you really even need this guide anymore?

Yes lol

Are my slings visible at times at the mouth of their hide or are they always bunkered down trying to conserve moisture

Can answer yes to essentially everything, but tidbits like this are good to know. It's too easy to worry, even though it does no good.

I'm going to revive this with petty concerns every so often just to harass you