Do your old worlds dig?

[micheldied]

It looks dryer than it is. It's a mix of eco-earth, vermiculite and some moss.

Think you can get a pic of the side of the enclosure in good light, just so we can see if it really is moist enough? The kind of substrate these guys are found in in the wild is very different from coco fibre(which tends to dry out much faster as well). IMO coco fibre just doesn't hold shape like peat moss or soil, and I've always preferred to use peat moss for any tropical species.

 

[Roo]

Think you can get a pic of the side of the enclosure in good light, just so we can see if it really is moist enough? The kind of substrate these guys are found in in the wild is very different from coco fibre(which tends to dry out much faster as well). IMO coco fibre just doesn't hold shape like peat moss or soil.

I wanted to use soil but all the soil around here is kept outside when being sold. I've opened up bags that contain spiders, worms and more. Not sure I want to expose my T's to that.

 

[Tomoran]

Hah good point. Will do that just in case.

(edit) I did that and my C. sp did not like that one bit XD

I started keeping a lot of species that needed moist substrate, and I was having fits trying to keep the sub from drying out, especially in the winter when the furnace was running. I found an old juice bottle, washed it out really well, then burned some holes in the top to make a "watering pot" with it. Now I just open the enclosure and soak things down a bit. I actually just did a bunch of enclosures last night!

 

[Tomoran]

I wanted to use soil but all the soil around here is kept outside when being sold. I've opened up bags that contain spiders, worms and more. Not sure I want to expose my T's to that.

If you want to go the soil route, you can find it in bags for about $1.50 or so at Home Depot and Lowes. I use a lot of this.

 

[Roo]

If you want to go the soil route, you can find it in bags for about $1.50 or so at Home Depot and Lowes. I use a lot of this.

Live in the UK

I do a lot of gardening and just about every bag of soil, potting or otherwise is kept outdoors. It's okay to do this because adding worms and spiders will help your garden. Won't help your pets much

 

[micheldied]

I wanted to use soil but all the soil around here is kept outside when being sold. I've opened up bags that contain spiders, worms and more. Not sure I want to expose my T's to that.

That sucks. You'll probably have to water them a lot more then. Like Tomoran said, misting isn't very effective at maintaining substrate moisture. The best way is just soaking a section of the substrate, just don't get it too swampy.

 

[Roo]

That sucks. You'll probably have to water them a lot more then. Like Tomoran said, misting isn't very effective at maintaining substrate moisture. The best way is just soaking a section of the substrate, just don't get it too swampy.

What about mixing coco-fiber with sand and vermiculite? Seems to work for camel spiders.

 

[Tomoran]

Live in the UK

I do a lot of gardening and just about every bag of soil, potting or otherwise is kept outdoors. It's okay to do this because adding worms and spiders will help your garden. Won't help your pets much

Whoops! Yup, scratch Home Depot and Lowes.

 

[micheldied]

What about mixing coco-fiber with sand and vermiculite? Seems to work for camel spiders.

Honestly, I'm not sure because I never had to mix substrates. Can you get peat moss where you live? If all else fails, what you have them in now should be fine if you keep it moist enough for it to hold its form when they burrow.

 

[Roo]

Honestly, I'm not sure because I never had to mix substrates. Can you get peat moss where you live? If all else fails, what you have them in now should be fine if you keep it moist enough for it to hold its form when they burrow.

I'll just put a watering can over it once a week instead of the mister.

 

[Tomoran]

What about mixing coco-fiber with sand and vermiculite? Seems to work for camel spiders.

I haven't used sand (although I think that the top soil I buy usually has some sand in it) but I like mixing vermiculite in my my topsoil/peat for better water percolation and moisture retention. Still, many folks use pure peat or soil without incident (I just enjoy mixing different soil types for desired properties). I have moved away from coco fiber for my moisture loving species. It absorbs water well and quickly, but it's quite fluffy and tends to dry out much to quickly for my tastes. If you use that with those critter keepers, you will just have to be extra diligent in keeping the soil moist.

 

[Roo]

I haven't used sand (although I think that the top soil I buy usually has some sand in it) but I like mixing vermiculite in my my topsoil/peat for better water percolation and moisture retention. Still, many folks use pure peat or soil without incident (I just enjoy mixing different soil types for desired properties). I have moved away from coco fiber for my moisture loving species. It absorbs water well and quickly, but it's quite fluffy and tends to dry out much to quickly for my tastes. If you use that with those critter keepers, you will just have to be extra diligent in keeping the soil moist.

I'll see if I can get untreated blocks of soil from the local garden center. But I doubt I'll find much

 

[Chubbs]

Can you be a bit more specific? The question in general is extremely vague. There are New Worlds that burrow just like there are Old Worlds that burrow. There are New Worlds that are arboreal just like there are Old Worlds that are arboreal. Whether a tarantula burrows or not has nothing to do with it being Old World or New World. It would help a lot if you told us what species you are keeping so we can better help you.

Edit: Nvm just saw on the first page that you did say which species. To be honest, that probably should've been included in the first post tho The species in question are fossforial but are also heavy webbers usually. If provided with enough substrate they will usually burrow, but some will just create silk-tubes to hide in.