Uh oh, looks like mold!

[Rs50matt]

Sorry I fell asleep and forgot I hadn’t replied.

Terrarium plants you could grow yourself if you chose. Leaf litter is fine , I gather dead leaves out the back garden and lightly bake them in the oven just to kill off anything that might be on them. It also makes them nice and crispy to break up and crumble in smaller enclosures

I wouldn’t know the best way to cut a terracotta pot tbh. I’d end up smashing it into pieces lol.

Online information is ok but caresheets aren’t ideal. Humidity isn’t important , just a water dish and some species require/prefer damper substrate.

We all started with just one or 2. It’s frightening how quickly that can escalate you prob don’t want to know how many some members in here have . Good thing is thou you have all the knowledge and experience in one place

 

[Huntzman90]

Sorry I fell asleep and forgot I hadn’t replied.

Terrarium plants you could grow yourself if you chose. Leaf litter is fine , I gather dead leaves out the back garden and lightly bake them in the oven just to kill off anything that might be on them. It also makes them nice and crispy to break up and crumble in smaller enclosures

I wouldn’t know the best way to cut a terracotta pot tbh. I’d end up smashing it into pieces lol.

Online information is ok but caresheets aren’t ideal. Humidity isn’t important , just a water dish and some species require/prefer damper substrate.

We all started with just one or 2. It’s frightening how quickly that can escalate you prob don’t want to know how many some members in here have . Good thing is thou you have all the knowledge and experience in one place

Hey no worries at all

Thats good to know about the leaf litter will definitely use the oven trick. I will probably wait for my T's adult enclosure to add live plants but im glad I can use them.

Ill probably try breaking one of my pots in half (i ordered a pack of 2) if i fail i can always try using a hack saw. Apparently if you soak it in water for 24 hours they are easier to cut and dont break apart. Theres a few videos online of how to do this but it doesnt look very easy lol

When I first started to research tarantulas I was looking at the care sheets, however most differ from each other drastically so I did more research using youtube and blogs. Immediately it was obvious how inaccurate the care sheets are. And yes most of them streesed about humidity levels, where as nearly every Tarantula keeper says to just keep a water dish and mist once a week depending on species. Its worked fine for me so far but I was always curious as to what to do for a sling in a small enclosure (too small for a water dish), I have heard dropping water in using a straw or syringe is better than misting with a spray bottle? Is this true? Do tarantulas prefer bigger water droplets?

I can only imagine how many Tarantulas some members here have. Its always interested me how they are able to keep so many. I would think a tarantula could accidentally be forgotten and not fed or watered? Im referring more to the people that have 100's of T's. I imagine they would have very strict feeding schedules.

Yes, it is very helpful having so many experienced tarantula keepers in one place, that are willing to share theyre knowledge. Its a nice little community you all have created here

 

[Rs50matt]

The problem with the caresheets is they are lazy. They search a species and look at the climate and then go ok.... average temperature there is 28c and the humidity is 78%. Dont counter in that there is a breeze so the humidity isn’t stagnent. And also the t burrows or hides in a cooler darker place with lower humidity.

I had the space and not too many slings so I always kept slings in containers big enough to use some sort of water dish. Pill buttons , Lego bricks anything that can hold water has probably been used by someone at some point. For vials a syringe so the water is more directed . Spraying/misting does evaporate very quickly aswell so isn’t always the best.

Yeah 100’s in some cases 1000’s

Tarantulas can go a long time without eating so forgetting one for a week isn’t an issue really. But people accumulate their collections so each time it’s just an addition to a routine they already have. On a larger collection I’m assuming it’s spread out across a few days so feed by location in the room or shelf

All credit goes to the long term members here and the moderators. They do a very good job at keeping the community inviting and helpful

 

[Huntzman90]

The problem with the caresheets is they are lazy. They search a species and look at the climate and then go ok.... average temperature there is 28c and the humidity is 78%. Dont counter in that there is a breeze so the humidity isn’t stagnent. And also the t burrows or hides in a cooler darker place with lower humidity.

I had the space and not too many slings so I always kept slings in containers big enough to use some sort of water dish. Pill buttons , Lego bricks anything that can hold water has probably been used by someone at some point. For vials a syringe so the water is more directed . Spraying/misting does evaporate very quickly aswell so isn’t always the best.

Yeah 100’s in some cases 1000’s

Tarantulas can go a long time without eating so forgetting one for a week isn’t an issue really. But people accumulate their collections so each time it’s just an addition to a routine they already have. On a larger collection I’m assuming it’s spread out across a few days so feed by location in the room or shelf

All credit goes to the long term members here and the moderators. They do a very good job at keeping the community inviting and helpful

Thats funny, I was kinda curious as to what people would use as a water dish in such a small enclosure. Im sure lots of weird things have been used. lol

I eventually found a small enough receptacle for my C. Laetas enclosure but had a hard time deciding where to put it.. Theres so much webbing that theres not enough space left. I didnt want to destroy my T's web so I left it out and just made sure to give it plenty of water. Glad I didnt destroy its web as it was in premolt when i got it and i was completely unaware.

Now that its molted and ready for a new enclosure Im not sure wether or not it is worth while to try to put the water dish back in the old enclosure?

Do slings need a water dish or as long as they get plenty of water will they be fine?

I will be receiving my new enclosure on Wednesday but will take some time to set it up.
I have also heard that its best to wait a couple weeks to rehouse a freshly molted T. Is this correct?
Are there ways to tell when a Tarantula has completely hardend after molting?

Again this is my C. Laeta so already going to be taking extra precaution. If I am best leaving it for a couple weeks then maybe i should add a water dish.

 

[Rs50matt]

I’m smaller enclosures I use the pill buttons from cough sweets. There about 4mm deep and maybe the size of a small coin. Larger enclosure i use sauce pots from fast food orders

If it’s webbed up you can just drop water o the webbing itself. I wouldn’t worry about destroying web either unless it is in premolt. They have an endless supply

Slings don’t need a water dish but I always provide one through my own preference. They get most of their fluids from food but I like to eliminate the risk of dehydration.

It’s best to wait atleast a week for a t to harden. You can tell by looking at their fangs. If they aren’t completely black then it’s still not fully hardened. But a week is generally good for the size of your T

 

[Huntzman90]

I’m smaller enclosures I use the pill buttons from cough sweets. There about 4mm deep and maybe the size of a small coin. Larger enclosure i use sauce pots from fast food orders

If it’s webbed up you can just drop water o the webbing itself. I wouldn’t worry about destroying web either unless it is in premolt. They have an endless supply

Slings don’t need a water dish but I always provide one through my own preference. They get most of their fluids from food but I like to eliminate the risk of dehydration.

It’s best to wait atleast a week for a t to harden. You can tell by looking at their fangs. If they aren’t completely black then it’s still not fully hardened. But a week is generally good for the size of your T

Thanks for the quick reply. I wont worry about a water dish in my C. Laetas enclosure for now and will just add one in its new enclosure. I should have the new enclosure this week so will be rehousing soon.

I rehoused my Brachy today, hopefully he/she likes its new home

Still gotta add some leaf litter. The T is still in its original enclosure (temporary after mold was discovered in old enclosure) kept going back in when i was rehousing so i just left it to come out on its own. Hopefully it will use its new hide.

Btw breaking the pot worked fine and i was able to get a decent piece for my hide

 

[Rs50matt]

Enclosure looks good Is the substrate compact? Ts don’t like it loose so that could be why it went back into the cup. If not then it’ll come out on it’s own once it’s dark and hopefully start making itself at home

Glad the pot broke ok. I always use plastic pots so wouldn’t have known best way to do it

 

[Huntzman90]

Yea the substrate is compact. It did come out on its own eventually, however it didnt use its hide.. Its starting to burrow in the corner near the fake plant i put in there. Hopefully it will eventually use it. Guess theres not much I can do to entice it to use its hide is there lol

Next time I will buy a plastic pot.. At least then i can save the other half as it wont be in pieces

Oh well. 1 rehouse down..1 to go

 

[Rs50matt]

Glad it came out on it’s own. Unfortunately you can provide anything you want for a t and make an enclosure look nice but they have their own ideas so all we can do is watch and laugh to ourselves about the effort we have wasted .

Once it’s settled in and explores more it might use ts hide but it’s out of your control I’m afraid

Good luck on the next rehouse. You’ll be fine. Look forward to seeing the pictures of your set up

 

[Huntzman90]

Yea didnt think there was anything i could do about it haha.

He/shes still there btw. Will give it some time to settle in and maybe itll notice the hide.

Thanks a lot for your help! I will post an update after i rehouse my C. Laeta. I am feeling much more confident.

Cheers

 

[Huntzman90]

Caribena Laeta rehouse pending! well here it is, hope my T is as happy with it as I am haha. What do you guys think? Any recommendations?

All fake plants. Ive yet to wet the substrate. Hopefully he/she will use the cork bark. Had its first roach last night and seemed to leave very little behind. Will rehouse soon.

My Brachy is still hiding in the corner of its new enclosure.. Im sure it will explore eventually.

I will let you know how the rehouse goes.

 

[Rs50matt]

Looks good to me. Hygrometer isn’t required thou tbh . Don’t worry wetting the sub. Leave it dry and just make sure the water dish is full. Ignore caresheets with their humidity requirements

It might hide behind the cork bark when you house it but as it settles in it’ll choose. Normally where you don’t want it to but what can ya do

 

[Huntzman90]

Its actually a thermometer, It gets fairly cold during the winters where I am so figured Id add it to be safe. After what you said in previous posts I didnt bother adding a hygrometer, will just keep a fresh water dish

Yea im sure it'll find a good spot to web up. Im definitely excited to see what it does.

 

[Rs50matt]

Its actually a thermometer, It gets fairly cold during the winters where I am so figured Id add it to be safe. After what you said in previous posts I didnt bother adding a hygrometer, will just keep a fresh water dish

Yea im sure it'll find a good spot to web up. Im definitely excited to see what it does.

Ah np. I stand corrected

 

[Huntzman90]

Hooray! Caribena Laeta rehouse was successful. Was able to move the web around with my tongs until it came out on its own.

Loving the colors on this tarantula, the pink only showed up after it molted last, before it was just blue.

Well thanks again for all the help Rs50matt and Tortoise Tom! It is much appreciated. Will definitely be using this forum more often.

Cheers

 

[Rs50matt]

Well done on the rehouse. Spider and set up looking really good

Avicularia and caribena are pretty as slings and watching the transformation in colours as they grow is a delight . Enjoy it