Do Tarantulas play in water?

[AndyandDru]

My husband and I got my 6 year old a Chilean Rose Hair for his birthday in March. I'm completely new to spiders that aren't for stepping on (and of course do most of her care, as a 6 year old really isn't ready to be responsible) She seems to be doing well, seems happy. The tank is normally at 30 to 35 percent humidity. She needs the heat lamp on all the time, as we live in a cool coastal area. But we keep a wet area and a dry area in the tank. Every night though she splashes out all of her water. Is she feeling parched? Should I be upping her humidity? Or does she just like water?

 

[Denny Dee]

Have you seen her actually splash the water out? I have purchased a wide variety of different dishes with varying results. I have found some to not hold water very well (I will not share the names of the manufacturers but they are a big player in the reptile business. A good test is to remove the dish and fill it but leave it out of the enclosure for a day and see what happens. If it holds water, then you have a different problem. I have not personally owned a Chilean Rose but my understanding is that they need lots of humidity (upwards to 70%). I suspect the light is creating a drying effect that can be harmful to the spider and she is battling it by consuming the water nightly. Try increasing it. Good luck!

 

[novakdesigns]

Have you seen her actually splash the water out? I have purchased a wide variety of different dishes with varying results. I have found some to not hold water very well (I will not share the names of the manufacturers but they are a big player in the reptile business. A good test is to remove the dish and fill it but leave it out of the enclosure for a day and see what happens. If it holds water, then you have a different problem. I have not personally owned a Chilean Rose but my understanding is that they need lots of humidity (upwards to 70%). I suspect the light is creating a drying effect that can be harmful to the spider and she is battling it by consuming the water nightly. Try increasing it. Good luck!

I think I know what water dishes you are on about. Tanks off those guys are amazing, but I fill water dish then go look at the spiders a few hours later, dish is empty and substrate around it wet. My chaco golden knee wont walk on the wet bit so she tries to web over it but same thing happens after I refill.. Shame really as they look good in the tanks but ive had to swap for a chocolate spread lid now

 

[HungryGhost]

I have not personally owned a Chilean Rose but my understanding is that they need lots of humidity (upwards to 70%).

G. rosea is a desert/scrubland species. It requires LOW humidity and a dry substrate. Just water dish should do.

 

[HungryGhost]

My G. pulchripes seems to empty her water dish out on occasion, I've never seen her do it but I know my water bowl doesn't leak so she must be splashing it out at night. She hasn't done it in a long time. Once every few weeks I overflow the water bowl when I fill it so there is a moist area in the enclosure.

Get rid of the heat lamp, it could kill your tarantula by drying it out and they don't like direct light. What are the temps in your home? They shouldn't need additional heat but if you want to the best way is a small heat pad under a portion of the enclosure.

 

[Denny Dee]

G. rosea is a desert/scrubland species. It requires LOW humidity and a dry substrate. Just water dish should do.

I found this on the LL Reptile site specific to the G. Rosea:
Substrate and Furnishings
The substrate used for rose hair tarantulas should be one that is free of inorganic contaminants, and that will hold enough moisture to support a burrow. Peat moss, bed-a-beast, orchid bark, and sandy soil are good choices. Some hobbyists have found vermiculite to be an acceptable alternative, but the jury is still out regarding the potential harm caused by ingested vermiculite.
The bedding should be at least 3 inches deep, and kept just moist enough to clump when pinched, but it should never drip. A small piece of cork bark or a small half-log should be included as a starting place for your tarantula to dig its burrow below.
Additional decorations such as live or fake plants, sticks, and rocks may be used as well. However, make sure that anything even remotely heavy is placed firmly on the cage bottom before the bedding is added. Otherwise, your pet may burrow under said item, only to have it fall and crush them.

Water and Humidity
A small, shallow water dish should always be present. Some sources indicate that standing water is not necessary, as the tarantulas will ignore it. However, I have found that for long term success, it doesn’t hurt to include it.
Humidity levels inside the cage will vary, but within the tarantulas burrow, levels of at least 70% should be maintained. If the substrate remains moist enough to hold the form of a burrow, then the humidity within the burrow is likely fine.
The entire enclosure should be misted every few days to maintain the substrate and humidity levels as outlined earlier.

 

[TarantulaGirl549]

Agreed with HungryGhost on this one. I have a both Grammostola Porteri and Rosea,. Each take their turn in kicking their water dish over which is nothing unusual and definitely ditch the lamp, bad idea there!
I live on the coast too and I understand what you mean about it being cool however my chile roses aren't bothered by it. They don't necessarily require a heat source and mine are happy at room temp. They have water and if I see their enclosures getting a bit dry then I'll mist them down.

Also, as we can see you are taking responsibility for the T, if your 6 year old does handle it make sure it's low to the ground or on an open surface as a fall can kill the critter.

If you are new to the hobby a fantastic book to get your hands on would be The Tarantula Keepers Guide by Stanley A. Schultz. It's my bible! (If i'm allowed to recommend that!:/)

 

[HungryGhost]

I found this on the LL Reptile site specific to the G. Rosea:
Substrate and Furnishings
The substrate used for rose hair tarantulas should be one that is free of inorganic contaminants, and that will hold enough moisture to support a burrow. Peat moss, bed-a-beast, orchid bark, and sandy soil are good choices. Some hobbyists have found vermiculite to be an acceptable alternative, but the jury is still out regarding the potential harm caused by ingested vermiculite.
The bedding should be at least 3 inches deep, and kept just moist enough to clump when pinched, but it should never drip. A small piece of cork bark or a small half-log should be included as a starting place for your tarantula to dig its burrow below.
Additional decorations such as live or fake plants, sticks, and rocks may be used as well. However, make sure that anything even remotely heavy is placed firmly on the cage bottom before the bedding is added. Otherwise, your pet may burrow under said item, only to have it fall and crush them.
Water and Humidity
A small, shallow water dish should always be present. Some sources indicate that standing water is not necessary, as the tarantulas will ignore it. However, I have found that for long term success, it doesn’t hurt to include it.
Humidity levels inside the cage will vary, but within the tarantulas burrow, levels of at least 70% should be maintained. If the substrate remains moist enough to hold the form of a burrow, then the humidity within the burrow is likely fine.
The entire enclosure should be misted every few days to maintain the substrate and humidity levels as outlined earlier.

Wow that seems like bad information to me. He is a link from the man himself Shultz, I consider him the go to guy for T info.
http://people.ucalgary.ca/~schultz/roses.html

 

[AndyandDru]

Her tank is in the low 60's during the day without the lamp and will drop down to 50 at night. I tried a heating pad and she spent all of her time pressed up against it. If there are other ways of regulating the temp in there, I can do that. She is ridiculously beloved. Whatever Dru needs, we can do

 

[TarantulaGirl549]

Grammostola Rosea's are hardy creatures and come from a country which has a vast change in climate from glaciers in one part to deserts in the other, they don't really require any heat source at all, along as you are comfortable at the temperature the room is in then the T should be happy.
Definitely check out Schultz's book.

 

[Denny Dee]

Wow that seems like bad information to me. He is a link from the man himself Shultz, I consider him the go to guy for T info.
http://people.ucalgary.ca/~schultz/roses.html

Good stuff. Again, I have never owned a G. rosea but am now adding them to my want list as I would like to learn more about the desert T's. I have a B. smithi desert species but that is it. She does like to hang out at the watering dish but I do mist the tank manually once a week. Only concern I would raise is during molting as I have seen what happens to desert scorpions during molt without proper humidity or more. Not pretty. My only parting comment is that I have never seen any inverts pass from temperature or diet compared to proper humidity so just keep an eye on it.

 

[Ceratogyrus]

As has been said, its a desert species.
I have found that they sometimes dump substrate into the bowl and throw it out later.
I have also found that if there is a small piece of substrate in the bowl connected to the other substrate it seems to leech out via the connected substrate.

 

[Denny Dee]

As has been said, its a desert species.
I have found that they sometimes dump substrate into the bowl and throw it out later.
I have also found that if there is a small piece of substrate in the bowl connected to the other substrate it seems to leech out via the connected substrate.

Yep. I HATE when that happens. It is amazing how fast it leeches too. .

 

[Tgirl1010]

I would not use a heat lamp. Unless it's just freezing in your house, she will be perfectly fine. It will dry the enclosure out too much. I realize they are an arid species, but the heat lamp is too much in my opinion. She may be spending more time near or in the water because of that.

 

[Tongue Flicker]

Do my Ts play with their water? No
Do they love tipping their water dish? Yes

Ts are weird and fun to observe

 

[BossRoss]

Do my Ts play with their water? No
Do they love tipping their water dish? Yes

Ts are weird and fun to observe

LOL!!! and so true

Yep. I HATE when that happens. It is amazing how fast it leeches too. .

I thought I was just loosing my mind... Glad to know this happens to others!

 

[Grammostola]

Yep. I HATE when that happens. It is amazing how fast it leeches too. .

This happens to me too

 

[Fuzzball79]

Mine absolutely hates water. Every time she touches the bowl on her nightly cruises around her faunarium she does this little dance where she lifts all her legs one after the other, lol.
Yet, I have to refill her water bowl every day. At first I thought I had accidentally bought a feeder bowl and it was leaking, but that's not the case.
Now I have my answer, lol. She must be doing the same as yours.

 

[katiekatelyn]

It seems like a lot of people have different ideas about the proper care of tarantulas. I know they all come from different places and have different needs, but has anyone stopped to consider that maybe the proper care should be based more on what the climate is like for where these tarantulas actually are, as opposed to where they were discovered? Am I making sense? For example, I live in Massachusetts in a city nearly surrounded by the ocean. It gets really muggy during the summer and really dry during the winter. Wouldn't I then have to figure out whether or not my pets need extra humidity or less misting based on the weather here? So wouldn't information like get rid of your water dish or take out the heat lamp or mist it every few days be inaccurate and thus possibly put my tarantula in danger or being improperly cared for? If that's the case, it doesn't matter if a g.rosea came from an arid desert. If my apartment is muggy, I take the water dish away. If it is dry, and cold, I add the water dish and add an alternate heat source.

 

[Tongue Flicker]

i do that too.. but i maintain a water dish at all times since heat, humidity and evaporation rates are up here almost all year round