girly question - How do you know if your T is happy??

[Mandy Green]

Hi

Sorry to ask what maybe a very silly and girl question - but how do you know if your T is happy (I just got a brachypelma smithi on sunday) - i just want him to be happy in his new home!!!

Also people keep asking me why I have got one = I think he is beautiful and love to watch him - why do you all have tarantulas?

Many Thanks for your replies in advance!!!!

[Guy Tansley]

Hi Mandy,

Unfortunately there's no real way of knowing if your spider is happy in the same way as we humans define happiness.

Behaviour will give you an idea though. A spider that is feeding and growing in it's environment are signs that it is at least content enough and feels secure enough in it's surroundings. A spider that constantly roams it's tank and tries to escape, doesn't feed and loses weight are all signs of stress.

Why do we have tarantulas? Can't answer that one either - I've been fascinated by them for years but I can't really explain why.

[Martin Airs (Camberwell)]

Hi mandy,

In my experience an unhappy T will try to escape, I've read quite alot of things about escaping T's but mine dont even try to escape. maybe I'm just lucky, or maybe I'm doing something right

also If a T doesn't like the substrate its on, it will sit on the glass on the side alot, for example the G.rosea (chilly rose) absolutly hates wet substrate, I rehoused a chilly once with fresh coconut fibre which was a little damp, and he just hated it, I could tell this because he was up on the glass all day and night, and trying to push the lid up and he wouldn't sit still. after a couple of days the substrate dried out and he came down off the glass and made a little home under the cork bark I provided for him.

basicaly If the T paces around alot and attempts to lift the lid alot then something isn't right, I've read a few people say a happy T doesn't do alot, and in my experience this is true.

on another note, a mature male T will pace around alot as all that is on his mind is to find a female and do the biz, I dont think you can ever make a mature male T happy, unless you provide him with a girly, then I'm sure he'll be in his element

[Mandy Green]

Thanks for such quick replies - can I ask another possibly stupid question :
You say about keeping the substrate dry - I do use a water spray in there once a day for the humidity and worried that that would make the substrate a little damp - funnily enough - he is up on his plant pot now hugging the heat pad!! - Should I be misting daily for him? My humidity meter seems to show ok levels,

Also when I got him I was advised by the shop that I should spray the substrate with water and scrunch it in so it would be slightly damp - is that right?

many thanks - really impressed with how quick everyone comes back to you and so friendly!! Glad I joined!!!!

[Simon Batten]

I dont think you should mist daily every few days should be alright you dont want the tank too wet as it can breed mites

[Martin Airs (Camberwell)]

Some T's like avicularia and other arboreals do need a higher humidity, but B.smithi doesn't. for a B.smithi you dont really need to spray at all, infact I dont even measure humidity in my tanks, everyone allways worries about humidity when they start out with T's but really its not that important.

what is important is the moisture levels inside the T, so a water dish is very important to drink from, also you can feed the crickets with something like cucumber and lettuce which puts moisture inside the cricket which in turn puts moisture inside the T.

personaly I wouldn't ever spray a B.smithi encolsure, just provide a water bowl.

If anyone else disagrees then I would love to hear why

hope that helps

[Mike Conabeer]

Hi Mandy, as has already been mentioned it is difficult to define "happiness" in a tarantula, but as long as it's feeding and growing you should be doing something right!

With regard to humidity I personally don't like to spray my spiders I prefer to add water to the substrate when needed, the frequency of this will depend on the species in question & on the housing, I tend to water my B.smithis about every 2 weeks but they are in tubs with very little ventilation so I usually monitor the substrate and add water once it looks dried - I know it doesn't sound very precise but trust me it works for me at least!

As far as why I keep Tarantulas, I always had a fear of spiders until I walked into a friend's house who kept spiders to have an Avicularia avicularia plonked into my hands while he cleaned her tank out!

Ever since then the fear has disappeared & I currently house around 150 spiders (some of which belong to my fiancee)

Hope this helps,

Mike.

[Mark Pennell]

Thanks for such quick replies - can I ask another possibly stupid question :
You say about keeping the substrate dry - I do use a water spray in there once a day for the humidity and worried that that would make the substrate a little damp - funnily enough - he is up on his plant pot now hugging the heat pad!! - Should I be misting daily for him? My humidity meter seems to show ok levels,

Also when I got him I was advised by the shop that I should spray the substrate with water and scrunch it in so it would be slightly damp - is that right?

many thanks - really impressed with how quick everyone comes back to you and so friendly!! Glad I joined!!!!

Mandy
Welcome to the BTS forum.
What are you using for substrate?

Some prefer a water dish and a keep drier substrate others just really wet the substrate in one corner keeping most of it dry, I use both ways

If your substrate is to wet all over it will cause problems, both with mites and fungal problems a wet substrate is not advised. Tarantulas don’t like it either.

For my new world species (my Brachypelma and Aphonopelma) I use a water dish and keep the substrate quite dry. For my old world species Cyriopagopus and Haplopelma etc. I basically have a damp corner and spray every now and then perhaps every other week.

I use where possible peat free substrate from garden centres. Make sure you try and get ones free of fertiliser. For a Brachypelma smithi two inches deep will be plenty.

Regards
Mark

[Adam Smith]

As you said at the start of this topic that when you tell your friends that you have a tarantula and they seem baffled by it and want to know why this will be an often thing. I still get funny looks from people when I tell them that I tarantulas and even more surprised by how many and used to hearing comments like why do you keep them or thats far too many and so on. At
the end of the day I always say why not? Whats is the difference between me keeping a few Ts and someone who keeps tropical fish or half a dozen cats. Its because they like them and are happy to have them around. Why do I keep Ts? Guess ive had obbsession with spiders and reptiles since I was a child so was natural that I ended up with tarantulas. As a child I would catch house spiders and feed em little insects it was just fascinating to watch. I am impressed with finding that more and more women are becoming involved with the hobby, its good to see you are all becoming more confident and starting to explore what still a number of women would see a crazy, daft and creepy. My fiancee hates the spiders I have but has learned to live with them.

[Ray Hale]

Ive come to the conclusion that we dont keep tarantulas........THEY keep us.



Ray

[Larry Shone]

Re: girly question - How do you know if your T is happy??

Hi

Sorry to ask what maybe a very silly and girl question - but how do you know if your T is happy (I just got a brachypelma smithi on sunday) - i just want him to be happy in his new home!!!

Also people keep asking me why I have got one = I think he is beautiful and love to watch him - why do you all have tarantulas?

Many Thanks for your replies in advance!!!!

I can answer the last one at least! Ive been fascinated with spiders since i was a kid to the extent I got called Boris the spider by my family(remember the game?).
Some still call me Boris now!

[David Paylor]

As a bit of a beginner to keeping spiders I can't really help with your main question, other than to say that it seems to make sence to me to try to keep the substrate looking just moist. If you have coir (peat-free) based material it actually looks parched when it's dry, so I add mineral water using a dropper until it is just moist. My spiders are all babies at the moment, so they are in cricket tubs, and they get their drinkies from the condensation at the end of the tub away from the heatmat and from their food.

As to why I have gone from being totally s##t scared of all spiders to having five T slings and a spider sanctuary for garden spiders set up in my greenhouse........ Well, I didn't want to pass on a stupid fear to my kids, so I bought one spider. I liked it. So I bought another, and ...........................
It might cost me my wife, but the kids love them and the spiders are staying.

[Mandy Green]

Thank you for all your replies - I must be honest that I do not know what substrate he is on as he came in a small tank etc so I have not had to put him into a different home. Thank you for the advice though - I have jotted it down so I do not forget!

On a funnier note ( i think) talking about people wondering why people keep T's. my mother has just been on the phone to see if I was joking when I said I had got one. She thinks I have gone mad and had a go at me saying what is the point and how can you feed him live crickets - that is cruel!!! She thinks he will escape and stare at her if she comes here!!!So I am definitely getting an earful at the moment!! Kinda gets you down but no way is he going anywhere!!! he is beautiful!! cannot believe the negativity of some people when they are finding out I have one. They really think I have lost the plot!!! Or have you all and I am just joining the looney gang!!!!!

[Martin Airs (Camberwell)]

Re: girly question - How do you know if your T is happy??

Also people keep asking me why I have got one = I think he is beautiful and love to watch him - why do you all have tarantulas?

I think for me its the way they move, I'm fascinated by the way they manage to control 8 legs for walking, each one seems to know exactly were to step and in which order

Ever since I was a kid I learnt from my mother to screem and run when I saw a spider, but now I have 19 tarantulas, It even amazes me sometimes that I keep them.

[David Paylor]

I should probably tell you about the precise time I lost my fear of BIG spiders. I spent a few years in Asia, wasting time and money, and I saw a digger wasp take out a Thai Black T. one afternoon. The spider was the size of a dinner plate, but it hadn't a chance. It was the wasp from hell, body the size of an engineers thumb, and it just murdered the spider, noticed that there was a circle of people around it and when it had decided which way it wanted to go it put the spider down and threatened the people in the way until they left. Then it picked up the T. and flew off.

Since then I have had a certain sympathy for tarantulas .