Ok, so decided I DEFINITELY want a T

I've decided to research a few grammostola [sp?] species, including chiles, & then mexican red knees & mexican red rumps.

Just a quick question though, what should you use for water? I've read many different things such as a shallow dish of water, a damp sponge, bug gel & damp cotton wool..

Also, what size enclosures should slings & juvis be kept in?

& about feeding, how often & how much do you feed?

Thanks a lot

Matt

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A sponge is often only neccessary to stop crickets drowning - its certainly highly unlikely that you could drown a fully grown T as they are covered in water repellant hairs.

I use a shallow 1" dish filled with small polished pebbles in my Viv, and I would probably use the same when housing a smaller T just to be safe.

I've never tried gel, but a sponge works ok,as does clean gravel. It doesnt matter hugely, as some Ts will hardly or never drink - ive certainly never seen mine drink from the dish.

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"All I know is my gut says maybe"

Brachypelma albopilosum (Charlotte)
100's of Harvestmen
Member of the BAS and AAS.

So for a sling/juvi would you recommend using a sponge?

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A sponge or some gravel should be ok.

I'm not really the expert here as I've never reared one from so young (my T was a rescued adult). I'd imagine the likelihood of a spider drowning is low, but why risk it?

There is certainly no mechanical reason to pick a sponge over gravel that I have heard of anyway, so either should be ok. As long as both a clean and unlikely to leach any posions, you should be ok.

__________________
"All I know is my gut says maybe"

Brachypelma albopilosum (Charlotte)
100's of Harvestmen
Member of the BAS and AAS.

Ok thanks a lot

Anyone answer my other Q's please?

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I would just spray for slings, and anything really up to about 3/4inches in size (legspan). Thats when they can start having a waterbowl, although I just spray all mine anyway nomatter the size.
I will be getting a couple of water bowls soon though.
Some people say dont use the gel, as its no good for them. But crickets can use it for moisture, and as spiders drink from it the same way I dont see how it would hurt, but I stay away from it as I dont know much about it in that way. Would be great for the crickets you will feed though.

As for feeding I feed all of mine slings, juvis and adults, of all sizes) 3 times a week. And one cricket per feed.
Obviously depending on the size of the sling or small juvi it would need micro crickets rather than the larger normal ones. These come in a couple of stages, but I find when you buy the tiniest micros they grow quickly into the big ones. Ive even had some grow into massive ones before now.

As for housing, for a sling use a small tub, like a vial. They will often come in these anyway when buying them. You can tell when they will be too big for this and then they can be transferred into something abit bigger and they can have their old canister (or a film canister) as a hide. Theyll love that. As they get older transfer them to different bigger size tubs, abit at a time, when they outgrow them.
As for Juvis, if youre talking about an inch or so, plastic cricket tubs (that you buy crickets in) can be ideal, or ideally (especially for bigger juvis) something about 5/6 inches long with a flower pot hide would be great. Flower pots are cheap and Ive got them in all my tanks for my bigger spids, from tiny ones to massive ones.
I keep all my big juvis, sub adults and adults in exo terra escape proof fauneriums about a foot long just over. They are not too tall either so thats just right, unless youre going aboreal (where the whole setup changes. go down the same path through all the bigger tubs/tanks etc, but you need taller enclosures for them as they like to climb and must have leaves and twigs etc).
My biggest at 8inches is in the largest version of the exo terra faunerium, and it has two lids, It is ideal for her and my other spids when they get that big. Most T's wont get that big though and the smaller version I menttioned is ideal for T's such as chilea roses and red knees etc.
Hope I helped a little.

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1.1.0 cats
1.0.0 chinese dwarf hamster
1.0.0 bearded dragon - Nimbus
0.0.3 baby GALS
0.0.1 carolina corn snake baby - Magma
0.2.12 tarantulas
0.1.0 sub adult female leopard gecko - Lettuce
0.1.0 dog - Rosie

Ahh thanks for that

Reeeally helpful

Do you need to dust crickets for T's like you do for lizards or not?

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No. I read somewhere thr calcium in the powder is harmful for the spids. One thing though...you will need to gut load your crickets 24 hours before feeing to the spiders. But alot of the commercial gut loading diet you can buy to feed to them is packed with calcium, which then gets transferred to your spider which is no good for it.
The spider needs nutrients and moisture from the cricket.
I just feed mine fish flakes on the days I dont feed the spiders..so then they are always filled up ready to be fed the next day to the lucky spids.
But ideally a variety of fruit and veg should be offered aswell or instead such as apple, lettuce, orange etc to the crickets and then they get even more moisture too then.
My crickets dont eat anything apart from fish food and each other which is why they go straight for the water in the spiders tanks.
It depends on the temps in the room the crickets are kept in ..it affects how they eat. But a cricket is a cricket at the end of the day and it is nutrious in itself so if it only eats one thing then thats fine.

BTW.. most of the grammostola and brachypelma species (like chileas and red knees) like it dry, so a slight misting once a week around the sides of the tank (not on the spider or substrate) and a cricket once or twice a week will be all it needs really.
Enjoy your new spid! When you gettin it?
I will be happy to answer any more Q's you have the best I can.

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1.1.0 cats
1.0.0 chinese dwarf hamster
1.0.0 bearded dragon - Nimbus
0.0.3 baby GALS
0.0.1 carolina corn snake baby - Magma
0.2.12 tarantulas
0.1.0 sub adult female leopard gecko - Lettuce
0.1.0 dog - Rosie

Don't use a sponge as they are the perfect place for bacteria to grow. Any spider over a couple of inches will be fine with a water bowl, and pebbles are a good idea. Anything smaller than that won't need a water bowl really. As long as the crickets are well hydrated and at least part of the substrate is wetted occasionally they will be fine.

Nice starter species Any Grammostola sp. or Brachypelma sp. would be suitable.

NO NO NO!! NOOO SPONGES!!! They are a breeding site for harmful bacteria. Your spider won't need one, they're not silly. For spiderlings, they won't need a bowl. Misting the side of the container weekly will be enough. They drink droplets off of the side and off of their webs. Bug gel again no, good for keeping your crickets hydrated when you're not feeding them, but not good in a tank with a spider.

Well, spiderlings i keep in various tubs. As yours will be terrestrial i would use either film cannisters for 1-2cm spiderlings. Filled 3/4 of the way up with coconut fibre/peat (sterilised) and holes in the lid and sides of the pot. Perfect. Juves can use any tupperware tub.. anything really!

When picking the cricket size you don't want anything bigger than your spiders carapace. So bear that in mind when you go to buy the crickets. I feed spiderlings twice a week, juves twice a week if they're lucky (though normally only once with a couple of crix at a time) and adults i feed weekly with 2 or 3 crickets. Or if they take more they have more. Go by the size of your spiders abdomen on how much to feed. Too fat feed less often, not fat enough feed more often! It's easy