Rosea question

[Helen Roberts]

I have now 5 roseas (1 WC female, 1 WC male, 2 CB males? and 1 CB RCF female). I usually keep there substrate on the dry side, but the substrate in 1 of the CB male tank is completely sodden. I have to fill his water bowl almost every day as it is almost always empty. Why has he done this? The substrate in all of the other 4 tanks is dry. So consequently he spends all of his time on top of his hide or on the side of the tank.

I intend rehousing the 2 CB males so any ideas/thoughts would be welcome so I can prevent this from happening again.

[Colin D Wilson]

Hi Helen,
Just a thought but has the waterbowl got a leak?...worth checking.

Also if the substrate is "lapping over" the edge of the bowl, the water will be drawn out through capillary action, particularly with coir substrate as i have found it rehydrates very easily.

I always (now using primarily coir for my Grammostola sp ) have a reserve of "dried" substrate ready for such occurancies and just do a quick sub change.

Hope i've helped

[Harry Armstrong]

Hi Helen.
Yeh I agree with Colin there. My G formosa always bulldozes during the night, and if he gets an overhang of substrate in his bowl I find all the water capillaried out, ( he burried the dish one night ). The substrate is never as wet as you suggest yours is though. Try another water dish... Maybe your rosea is really a water vole lol.

[Nicola Dolby]

I can't offer any words of advice more than you've already got Helen but I hope its sorted soon. If your spider's ok then maybe its just one of those quirks some tarantulas have. I've got a Brachypelma who, no matter where she is when she catches her food, always takes it over to her water bowl to eat. I have another who spends all day on top of his hide regardless of what his living conditions are, he just likes it there. My bet is that your Grammostola just likes to scrabble about and the water bowl is just in the way when he does.

[Helen Roberts]

Thanks for the info, I checked the water dish and it was sound, so it must have been either the spider spreading it around like Nicola suggested or an overhang of substrate which 'drank' the water like Colin suggested. I guess its one of those mysteries. Anyway, I rehoused him earlier so hopefully I won't have the same problem again, fingers crossed.

[Larry Shone]

This kept happening to one of my slings and i was puzzled,till i realised that the coir sub. was sucking up the water. I gave up re filling in the end as the water was still there,just in the sub rather than a dish,and slings can drink water more easily than big Ts,rather like capillary action. I'm a bit concerned that people are still getting W C spiders,not something I would feel comfortable with.

[Helen Roberts]

All the Ts I have bought have been CB, my daughter works in a local Wildlife Park and they acquired the WC roseas. My daughter got her WC rosea when her first spiderling died and the 2nd one she bought home, along with the 2 CB roseas, because the park didnt have the room for them.