# giving tarantulas water



## Rex_Grrrr (Aug 1, 2008)

really what I'm interested in is how do people supply there tarantula with water?? My first tarantula was a rose hair an I got a water dish which I change every few days. My brachypelma smithi came with a water dish an the people at the pet shop or the previous owners have put a sponge in the dish. Thisseems an easier way to give tarantulas water especially the more aggresive ones as you dont have to mess about taking the whole dish out, its a matter of dampening the sponge every day.

so how does everyone else supply there tarantula with water??


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## Becky (Mar 26, 2007)

Sponges are bad for tarantula's... they harbour all sorts of bacteria and infections. Wouldn't ever let a sponge near any of my spiders!!!

My adults have water bowls filled weekly and my slings are misted for water.


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## Kathryn666 (Dec 16, 2007)

good question!! I am new to spiders and have and adult chili rose who has a water dish, changed daily and a baby pink toe who I use a damp piece of cotton wool. What worries me about the little spider is, bacteria growth on the cotton wool. She is in a tube though so it is impossible to have a bowl :S


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## Becky (Mar 26, 2007)

Kathryn666 said:


> good question!! I am new to spiders and have and adult chili rose who has a water dish, changed daily and a baby pink toe who I use a damp piece of cotton wool. What worries me about the little spider is, bacteria growth on the cotton wool. She is in a tube though so it is impossible to have a bowl :S


Get a sprayer and mist the sides of her tank. She'll drink the droplets. 
She will also leave her web to drink from a bowl


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## Sollytear (Aug 7, 2008)

I actually have something called "Water Gel". They are granuals that u add to 1/2 a litre of water and then it turns into a gel. My crickets love it, and its perfectly good for spiders. Its solid enough for u to be able to drop into the disk from a distance!


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## Becky (Mar 26, 2007)

Nope.. crap for spiders. They get nothing off of it! I use it for roaches only.


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## Rex_Grrrr (Aug 1, 2008)

maybe's I should take the sponge out then. Is it important to change the water every day or can it be left for like a week before cleaning the dish out??


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## Lucifus (Aug 30, 2007)

Only a few of my adults have water dish's, the rest are high humidity burrowers that wont come out to use water dishs.


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## EAD (Aug 7, 2008)

I am not quite sure with spiders or tarantulas, both I am not interested in.

With scorpions however, standing water is not necessary. This is because most of the needed water is consumed through prey. Furthermore, we provide our critters with much more suitable enviroments than in nature. (Where there can be floods, drought, periods of no food, etc.) Becuase we provide such good habitats, loss of water is really at a minimum.

I'd say 98% of the time I do not provide water for my scorpions. (This goes throughout the hobby, not just me)

The other 2% of the time is usually when I receive scorpions. When they arrive I provide a small plastic bottle cap of water in case they became dehydrated during transport. I will also offer one or two capfuls of water to gravid females during the course of their gestation. 

With small specimen (newborns of certain species), I use the lid from a 40 dram vial which holds basically no water, but much more than enough for a small scorpion and it helps prevent a little one from drowning itself. (This happens with young scorpions but never with adults)

Hope this helps,
Ed


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## Jo81 (Aug 4, 2008)

We had our Chlli Rose for years on Spidar Gell and a spray of water everday and she was fine. Also meant if excess crickets ended up in the tank they weren't drowning, they lived till she was hungry again.


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## Rex_Grrrr (Aug 1, 2008)

EAD said:


> I am not quite sure with spiders or tarantulas, both I am not interested in.
> 
> With scorpions however, standing water is not necessary. This is because most of the needed water is consumed through prey. Furthermore, we provide our critters with much more suitable enviroments than in nature. (Where there can be floods, drought, periods of no food, etc.) Becuase we provide such good habitats, loss of water is really at a minimum.
> 
> ...


yeh was really helpful. I never seen Lorraine drink from the sponge but have only had her a week. I sometimes see Boris venture out the plantpot an sit on top of the water dish for a drink :whistling2:
does cotton wool collect bacteria just like a sponge?? suppose it can be changed more often as its more cost effective to put a new piece of cotton wool in ever day rather than a new sponge XD


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## Becky (Mar 26, 2007)

You don't need anything except water in the bottom of a dish.. They're fine! They won't drown as their lungs are on their abdomen, not on their mouth parts. 

When i come to change water after a week its normally empty. They don't drink regularly like other animals. I mist slings for humidity and so they can drink the droplets as they're too small for bowls.


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## Kev132 (Aug 13, 2006)

do you have to be careful not to wet the spiders ? got my first 3 young ones comming tommorow and unsure how damp to keep them.

cheers


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## Becky (Mar 26, 2007)

Depends what species...


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## Kev132 (Aug 13, 2006)

one chile flame, one chile zebra and one salmon pink  so some dont mind being sprayed directly and some do ? :s its just everytime ive accidently splashed one of my odler spiders they've jumped a mile !


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## Becky (Mar 26, 2007)

You dont have 2 get the spider, just mist the sides. 
Keep them dry, they're all dry species, but you'll need to mist the sides of their containers for them to drink.


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## 9Red (May 30, 2008)

Becky said:


> Sponges are bad for tarantula's... they harbour all sorts of bacteria and infections. Wouldn't ever let a sponge near any of my spiders!!!
> 
> My adults have water bowls filled weekly and my slings are misted for water.


 
Totally agree with Becky on this one.

I make an effort to try and change Insty's water every day but sometimes it gets left if she's not playing ball. She has an XS exo-terra bowl and she's just fine with it, she'll quite happily lower her front end in for a drink. Also anything that goes in the viv she doesn't like/want, like plastic plants or unwanted bugs get thrown in the water bowl. Think its her way of saying 'What's this? I don't want it, take it back.'


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## Rex_Grrrr (Aug 1, 2008)

9Red said:


> Totally agree with Becky on this one.
> 
> I make an effort to try and change Insty's water every day but sometimes it gets left if she's not playing ball. She has an XS exo-terra bowl and she's just fine with it, she'll quite happily lower her front end in for a drink. Also anything that goes in the viv she doesn't like/want, like plastic plants or unwanted bugs get thrown in the water bowl. Think its her way of saying 'What's this? I don't want it, take it back.'


what type of tarantula is Insty?? good how she puts stuff in the water bowl. One night I heard Boris digging an when I looked she'd picked up a pile of soil, went straight into the water dish. I was not happy having to change the water at 1am lol. I have taken the sponge out of Lorraines tank an just filled the dish with water. Was just how I got her from the pet shop, looks like the previous owners used a sponge.


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## Becky (Mar 26, 2007)

Sponges are baaaaaaaaaaad but petshops always advise it.. ignore them! lol


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