# B.Smithi Always On Side Of Tank?



## ChameleonFan1989 (Feb 14, 2012)

Picked up a B. Smithi T today to replace one that died during shipping a few days ago and when I got it today saw its in pre molt so misted his/her cricket keeper but saw he/she is always either on underside of the lid or on the side.

Is it too moist when they do this? I know B. Smithi's like it drier but since he/she is in pre molt, been keeping that humidity up.


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## BMo1979 (Feb 13, 2012)

It might not like the moisture at all. 
My B. Boehmei sling can't stand anything bar bone dry substrate so I've always just used water bowls (small bottle caps and now micro dish) for it. It moults fine.


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## ChameleonFan1989 (Feb 14, 2012)

BMo1979 said:


> It might not like the moisture at all.
> My B. Boehmei sling can't stand anything bar bone dry substrate so I've always just used water bowls (small bottle caps and now micro dish) for it. It moults fine.


So should I not bother misting and just leave a bottle cap of water in there instead?


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## PeterUK (Jun 21, 2008)

ChameleonFan1989 said:


> I got it today saw its in pre molt so misted his/her cricket keeper


You do realise that Brachypelma can be in premoult for months ? 
Is the smithi *actually* in premoult or do you *think* it is ?

Misting does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING apart from making the keeper feel better and pissing of the tarantula. It does ZERO.




ChameleonFan1989 said:


> but saw he/she is always either on underside of the lid or on the side.


Almost all tarantulas hate new tanks or substrate. 
Whenever i move a tarantula, I expect it to be stuck to the side of the tubs anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. 



ChameleonFan1989 said:


> Is it too moist when they do this? I know B. Smithi's like it drier but since he/she is in pre molt, *been keeping that humidity up*.


Moulting has nothing to do with humidity and everything to do with internal hydration. 

If the spider has access to water (or juicy prey like maggots etc) for several weeks prior to the actual act of moulting then it will have enough internal fluids to successfully moult


You dont say how big the B smithi is. Any close pics to show if it is actually in premoult ?


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## wilkinss77 (Sep 23, 2008)

PeterUK said:


> You do realise that Brachypelma can be in premoult for months ?
> Is the smithi *actually* in premoult or do you *think* it is ?
> 
> Misting does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING apart from making the keeper feel better and pissing of the tarantula. It does ZERO.
> ...


it is a large sling, i believe- she lost a sling & the seller replaced it.


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## Salazare Slytherin (Oct 21, 2009)

When actually moulting though, isn't it just fluid, that separates the old skin from the new? I would hazard a guess, that the spiders overall osmoregulation, came from moisture in the form of a water dish, or food, although I can appreciate some species might like to access a humid gradient to make it easier, ultimately that isn't black and white in my experience. 

Even some of my more tropical loving T-s, I mist them down lightly once a week, half of the substrate is left dry though. 
: victory:


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## ChameleonFan1989 (Feb 14, 2012)

wilkinss77 said:


> it is a large sling, i believe- she lost a sling & the seller replaced it.


Nah seller didn't replace, got a refund, a shop near me happened to have some a few days after and got one from him

and its a large sling, about half size if a credit card roughly.


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## mythicdawn07 (Jun 18, 2009)

What substrate are you using? Don't mist it just keep a water dish in the tank and you can pour a *little* bit onto one side of the substrate away from the tarantula to help keep the humidity up although probably not needed.


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## ChameleonFan1989 (Feb 14, 2012)

mythicdawn07 said:


> What substrate are you using? Don't mist it just keep a water dish in the tank and you can pour a *little* bit onto one side of the substrate away from the tarantula to help keep the humidity up although probably not needed.


Its on dry coconut fibre


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## wilkinss77 (Sep 23, 2008)

ChameleonFan1989 said:


> Its on dry coconut fibre


my adult red knee climbs if the ambient humidity of the room is a tad too high- for example at the height of a summer heatwave. but yours might be doing it just because it's not used tomits new tank.


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## mythicdawn07 (Jun 18, 2009)

ChameleonFan1989 said:


> Its on dry coconut fibre


Ah well just leave it and give it time to settle


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## Lachesis melanocephala (Feb 8, 2013)

PeterUK said:


> .
> 
> Moulting has nothing to do with humidity and everything to do with internal hydration.



Is this true? I mean, why whenever I read posts on say a versicolor, everyone says it's of paramount importance that you have the correct humidity. 




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Madeyes (Mar 1, 2014)

I'm attempting to raise 5 versi slings, got them last year in Nov. I only place droplets of water on the web every few days, I don't drench anything, 3 have moulted twice.

I will be honest, I did lose a sling 3 days after buying the 5, it had a white spot where the spinnerets are, no idea if the death was anything I did or not. I had it replaced quickly by supplier.

I have 2 other baby avics, I do the same, just add droplets. One moulted a couple of days after it was posted and rehoused, it did started curling within 24 hours so I placed droplet near the sling, seemed to recover ok.

After reading so many posts by PeterUK (I guess he is Peter Roach on FB) that I stopped worrying so much about humidity, just make sure it has a water source if anything and don't disturb them to much.


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## wilkinss77 (Sep 23, 2008)

Lachesis melanocephala said:


> Is this true? I mean, why whenever I read posts on say a versicolor, everyone says it's of paramount importance that you have the correct humidity.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


for rainforest species, yes- not for arid species. & that's for general maintenence, not for assisting moults. even then, you only need to spray the tank a couple of times a week.



Madeyes said:


> I'm attempting to raise 5 versi slings, got them last year in Nov. I only place droplets of water on the web every few days, I don't drench anything, 3 have moulted twice.
> 
> I will be honest, I did lose a sling 3 days after buying the 5, it had a white spot where the spinnerets are, no idea if the death was anything I did or not. I had it replaced quickly by supplier.
> 
> ...


avic slings like it drier than the adults- but even the adults only need spraying occasionally.


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## ChameleonFan1989 (Feb 14, 2012)

He/she seems to have settled now and deffo in pre-mold, going bald, abdomen getting fat and skin underneath where there is hair loss is dark and black


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## PeterUK (Jun 21, 2008)

Lachesis melanocephala said:


> Is this true? I mean, why whenever I read posts on say a versicolor, *everyone says it's of paramount importance that you have the correct humidity*.



Its because people have got this strange idea that all caresheets on the internet are 100% correct in all areas of care but in fact most are only 50% accurate at best. 
I have never measured humidity for any species of any size for any reason because there is no need for it. 
Many caresheets are written or copied in part from other erroneous caresheets by relative newcomers to the hobby and while being very enthusiastic they have no real knowledge of the actual species they are writing about.

At the moment I have 25 Avic of 7 species, 3 eggsacs (2 x versicolor + 1 x Peru Purple) plus versicolor N2's incubating and have no reason to date to change my views on humidity. 

I wrote this about 18 months ago

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/spiders-inverts/991676-avicularia-humidity.html


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## wilkinss77 (Sep 23, 2008)

PeterUK said:


> Its because people have got this strange idea that all caresheets on the internet are 100% correct in all areas of care but in fact most are only 50% accurate at best.
> I have never measured humidity for any species of any size for any reason because there is no need for it.
> Many caresheets are written or copied in part from other erroneous caresheets by relative newcomers to the hobby and while being very enthusiastic they have no real knowledge of the actual species they are writing about.
> 
> ...


moreover, ronald baxter once told me he'd seen avics in a tree in the middle of a field in venezuela- in almost arid humidity levels.


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## Lachesis melanocephala (Feb 8, 2013)

PeterUK said:


> Its because people have got this strange idea that all caresheets on the internet are 100% correct in all areas of care but in fact most are only 50% accurate at best.
> I have never measured humidity for any species of any size for any reason because there is no need for it.
> Many caresheets are written or copied in part from other erroneous caresheets by relative newcomers to the hobby and while being very enthusiastic they have no real knowledge of the actual species they are writing about.
> 
> ...



Thanks a lot. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## wilkinss77 (Sep 23, 2008)

Lachesis melanocephala said:


> Thanks a lot.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


i've only ever kept juv & adult avics, but i find they only need an occasional spraying.


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## joeyboy (Jul 19, 2008)

I've never misted any t's, everything is bone dry. I don't use water bowls as they practically always tip them over in the end or web over them, so if they have a web I'll spray a section near them once a week. If they're on the ground then I'll spray the area near the entrance to whatever they're using as their hide/burrow. 8/10 times if I come back 30 mins later they're drinking from it. 

Bit unethical to do albeit suppose if they showed signs of the legs beginning to curl you could rehydrate, but I did wonder for something like my B-smithi, which is VERY food orientated, if I just gave it a big roach and the odd pachnoda grub, twice a week...would it need external water...


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## PeterUK (Jun 21, 2008)

joeyboy said:


> if I just gave it a big roach and the odd pachnoda grub, twice a week...would it need external water...


Most, if not all, prey insects are 'juicey' and will supply much of the spiders moisture intake.
When I do supply water containers (bottle caps to 8oz tubs) I only do so once a week so if the spider fills the container with substrate then that is just tough luck because no more water will be supplied until the following week.


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## wilkinss77 (Sep 23, 2008)

joeyboy said:


> I've never misted any t's, everything is bone dry. I don't use water bowls as they practically always tip them over in the end or web over them, so if they have a web I'll spray a section near them once a week. If they're on the ground then I'll spray the area near the entrance to whatever they're using as their hide/burrow. 8/10 times if I come back 30 mins later they're drinking from it.
> 
> Bit unethical to do albeit suppose if they showed signs of the legs beginning to curl you could rehydrate, but I did wonder for something like my B-smithi, which is VERY food orientated, if I just gave it a big roach and the odd pachnoda grub, twice a week...would it need external water...


i always offer a water dish. even then i've nearly lost two t's to dehydration cos they wouldn't visit the dish, & i had to literally put the dish near them- they were also bad feeders, mind.


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## MEDICALMAN (Jul 9, 2012)

PeterUK said:


> You do realise that Brachypelma can be in premoult for months ?
> Is the smithi *actually* in premoult or do you *think* it is ?
> 
> Misting does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING apart from making the keeper feel better and pissing of the tarantula. It does ZERO.
> ...


Peter - agree totally. question: do roaches act as a good source of internal hydration.?


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## wilkinss77 (Sep 23, 2008)

MEDICALMAN said:


> Peter - agree totally. question: do roaches act as a good source of internal hydration.?


red turk runner roaches may be- dubias often hide from t's for weeks on end, & in my experience, usually die long before any t's bother with them.


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## PeterUK (Jun 21, 2008)

MEDICALMAN said:


> Peter - agree totally. question: do roaches act as a good source of internal hydration.?


I think they do if they are well fed and hydrated themselves


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