plants/fertilizer

robc

Arachnoemperor
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 10, 2007
Messages
3,824
I have pothos plants in my enclosure and wanted to know if I injected fertilizer into the roots if it would hurt my T, it would be injected 6" into the substrate.
 

Hedorah99

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
May 2, 2005
Messages
1,863
Pothos are a pretty tuff plant and should do alright with minimal fertilizer.
 

Talkenlate04

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 13, 2006
Messages
8,656
IF you do want to use something, I would suggest taking a fertilizer spike and breaking off a small eraser sized piece and pushing it deep with a pencil into the plants root system. That small of a piece should be harmless to the tarantula and also be small enough to not burn the plant itself. You would only have to do that once every 6 months or so with a pothos because as mentioned they are very hardy plants to begin with.
 

GoTerps

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 18, 2003
Messages
2,115
Why exactly will fertilizer (within reason) harm a spider?

Shall spiders in the wild assure that the soil is void of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium prior to making a burrow? :?

Eric
 

Talkenlate04

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 13, 2006
Messages
8,656
Why exactly will fertilizer (within reason) harm a spider?

Eric

I don't think it will. It's not like they live on a diet of dirt. :rolleyes:

There is one rule I always follow and that's that I will not use a liquid fertilizer in a T tank. But other then that the time release stuff seems to work just fine with no ill effects. I don't do to many live plant tanks anymore though, they are a pain to up keep. Plus my new T room does not have great natural light for such tanks.

I have a feeling that if someone has something go wrong with their T, in a setup they did use fertilizer, they are going to be quick to blame it on the fertilizer.
 

Crono

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 18, 2006
Messages
530
Just stir some good compost into the surface of the substrate, the roots will find it easy enough, and the spider won't know the difference.
 

chrispy

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 3, 2006
Messages
72
Go organic and don't allow any runoff to pool up so it can be drank by the T.
 

Fenrir

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 23, 2007
Messages
119
Pothos can be grown w/o soil, fertilizer isnt a requirement for them but it makes them grow a little bit faster. Only way i know to kill a pothos is to seal them up until they use all the CO2.
 

Talkenlate04

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 13, 2006
Messages
8,656
Pothos can be grown w/o soil, fertilizer isnt a requirement for them but it makes them grow a little bit faster. Only way i know to kill a pothos is to seal them up until they use all the CO2.
Ya if you kill a Pothos you better re think keeping anything plant related ever again. :}
 

Kwadapok

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 1, 2007
Messages
71
Why exactly will fertilizer (within reason) harm a spider?

Eric
Fertilizer has chemicals that will burn our skin. I can only assume it would do the same to a creature 1/100th of our size.
 

Talkenlate04

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 13, 2006
Messages
8,656
Fertilizer has chemicals that will burn our skin. I can only assume it would do the same to a creature 1/100th of our size.
You can handle time release fertilizer and it is not going to to anything to you. You can handle dirt that has or had fertilizer in it and nothing is going to happen. And if you stick some fertilizer at the base of a plant in your T tank, nothing is going to happen.
 

Hedorah99

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
May 2, 2005
Messages
1,863
Why exactly will fertilizer (within reason) harm a spider?

Shall spiders in the wild assure that the soil is void of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium prior to making a burrow? :?

Eric
The liquid can be pretty harsh on non-plants. When I was working in a nursery, it was treated as a hazmat if you spilled a good amount of it. This product was more for lawns rather than houseplants, but the fundamental chemicals were still the same. Its one of those, better safe than sorry routines.
 

GoTerps

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 18, 2003
Messages
2,115
Fertilizer has chemicals that will burn our skin. I can only assume it would do the same to a creature 1/100th of our size.
If your dumping the concentrate on your skin, sure. But properly diluted say 10/10/10 fertilizer that dangerous to your skin. You could take the spider out of the enclosure while fertilizing the substrate, and even over-dilute the mix.

I use nothing but Miracle Grow brand peat in all my enclosures, including spiderlings, and have been doing so for many years. I like the consistency and moisture content of the brand. No problems here.

When I was working in a nursery, it was treated as a hazmat if you spilled a good amount of it.
This product was more for lawns rather than houseplants, but the fundamental chemicals were still the same. Its one of those, better safe than sorry routines.
Of course fertilizer is a hazardous material, especially at higher concentrations. A business would certainly have to treat it as such.

I would have no qualms at all about putting any spider I own in an enclosure with properly fertilized soil.

Eric
 

TheBeautyOf8

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 29, 2007
Messages
66
while i belive if you buy an animal it deserves respect and your care and vigilance, i also believe alot of people think they are the most delicate things on the face of the earth, these creatures have long preceeded us
and do just fine without us, i was told recently that if i blew gently on my g rosea , the tank would fill up with co2 and kill her, i laughed.:clap:
 

Hedorah99

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
May 2, 2005
Messages
1,863
Of course fertilizer is a hazardous material, especially at higher concentrations. A business would certainly have to treat it as such.

I would have no qualms at all about putting any spider I own in an enclosure with properly fertilized soil.

Eric
Like I said, kinda a better safe than sorry situation. Considering I use silk plants I think I am in the clear. {D
 

Drachenjager

Arachnoemperor
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 23, 2006
Messages
3,509
Fertilizer has chemicals that will burn our skin. I can only assume it would do the same to a creature 1/100th of our size.
the chemicals in fertilizer are necessary for plant growth. I think you haven't a clue about fertilizers. I actually use it at work on a daily basis to help bacteria digest oils. i dip it with my bare hands and drop it in. it doesn't burn. its NPK all necessary for plants and all life functions actually.
and to those who say use compost, it may well be "hotter" than a light dose of water soluble NPK , but either way the part that fertilizes the plant is NPK period.
 

Drachenjager

Arachnoemperor
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 23, 2006
Messages
3,509
Like I said, kinda a better safe than sorry situation. Considering I use silk plants I think I am in the clear. {D
i don't think they will need any fertilizer lol but you never know, they may sprout buds and make little silk seeds lol
 
Top