HELP! I dont know why my Goliath is dying...

[Kyla]

My Goliath hasnt done well since we brought it home about 4 months ago. Its amlost completely bald. Stays in one corner and doesnt burrow, web, or move much. From what I researched, I have he enclosure at what it needs to be. 20gal, Approx 6 inches of substrate, warm side of cage is at 80, humidity stays between 70%-80%...

Found it mid death curl this morning. Still has movement so not lost yet. Not sure what I've done wrong.

 

[Arachnoclown]

Hello, sorry to see your stirmi like this. This is one of my favorite spiders to breed. I'm going to bombard you with a bunch of questions and comments. Dont take any offense, sometimes I'm pretty abrupt. How are you heating one side? Stirmis actually like it on the cool side. That humidity gauge is useless... completely in accurate. A real accurate gauge would cost alot of money...not $5.00 What kinda soil are you using? I'm worried what's in the bottom soil. That pine log isnt good for a invertebrate either. Pine can be toxic to invertebrates.
The surface looks rather dry for a Theraphosa to me...they like it wet.

 

[Arachnoclown]

That light is a horrible thing for a stirmi. It causes dehydration and it has no where to escape from it. A room at 70 degrees is perfect for a stirmi. Stirmis want to come out of their burrows at night when it's cool out. Your stirmi's burrow was being heated...

 

[Kyla]

That light is a horrible thing for a stirmi. It causes dehydration and it has no where to escape from it. A room at 70 degrees is perfect for a stirmi. Stirmis want to come out of their burrows at night when it's cool out. Your stirmi's burrow was being heated...

Ugh. Thank you so much.! So ditch the lamp and get a new type of hide. Every "birdeater care guide" I read up on had all the same info. Heat lamp, 80 degrees, blah blah blah.... hopefully my baby pulls through.

 

[Arachnoclown]

They are going off a care sheet of the region in which the spider comes from. 80 degrees with 80% humidity during the day. Stirmi's dont walk around during the day. They are in the ground where the temps are more likely in the upper 60s. They come out and hunt at night when the temperatures are much lower then 80 degrees. Care sheets are horrible to try to replicate in a enclosure...almost always resulting in death.

Why remove your photo? I could have helped someone else in the future.

 

[Kyla]

They are going off a care sheet of the region in which the spider comes from. 80 degrees with 80% humidity during the day. Stirmi's dont walk around during the day. They are in the ground where the temps are more likely in the upper 60s. They come out and hunt at night when the temperatures are much lower then 80 degrees. Care sheets are horrible to try to replicate in a enclosure...almost always resulting in death.

Why remove your photo? I could have helped someone else in the future.

I will post it back up. I am new to the forum (this is my first post) and I thought I posted my reply in the wrong spot. I will add the picture of the light to the original post.

Is there any other recommendations you might have?

 

[Arachnoclown]

Other then me tuning on the light for a photo, Cool dark and wet. I keep them on the floor (coolest part of my room). My rooms temperature runs around 73 degrees at 60% humidity.

 

[Arachnoclown]

Heres the set up I use. The hid is a 12" plastic exo terra reptile cave buried. Deep water dish...they love water. I use just a LED light on top to view while I maintain the enclosure. They dont like light at all so I leave it off. I leave the surface around the hide dry but the sub surface is moist. Lots of springtails to help clean and keep the mold and fungus in check.

 

[Kyla]

Heres the set up I use. The hid is a 12" plastic exo terra reptile cave buried. Deep water dish...they love water. I use just a LED light on top to view while I maintain the enclosure. They dont like light at all so I leave it off. I leave the surface around the hide dry but the sub surface is moist. Lots of springtails to help clean and keep the mold and fungus in check.View attachment 42851

Thank you for all your help! I will be updating its cage this weekend.