T. Blondi substrate variation....

minax

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 24, 2002
Messages
266
I have been trying this variation for months now, and thought I would share it with the group. It is certainly not new, it has been used in differant variations for a long time, with scorpions. It is known as the "false bottom". But my idea is to use vermiculite, instead of gravel, to maintain moisture levels better. I have never heard of this being used with T's, and thought I would try it. I have found, it works very well. I use it in my T.blondi enclosures, and they are very happy, and have had perfect sheds, every time. It maintaines high moisture for at least a week, and in most cases much longer. And the dirt or peat, does not get too wet, to avoid any problems with mold. It seems, the top layer stays fairly dry, while the bottom layer absorbs some moisture. It stays humid enough, that there is condensation on the cage walls. High humidity, especially considering that the top soil is dry. It is much more effective than just pouring water into the soil, as I do in dealing with my Haplopelma's. I use the same set-up as the scorpion cages, with the straws to the bottom, to periodically rewater the vermiculite, which is medium grain size. Has anyone tried this? I am very happy with the results, I have seen no downside to it, and have not had to add water to my T.Blondis cages in weeks!!:D
 

arachnopunks

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 10, 2002
Messages
391
We have been doing exactly that for a while now and had great success. You can even do a cool layering patterns. We posted a thread about it a while ago. Here is the link: http://www.arachnopets.com/arachnoboards/showthread.php?s=&threadid=10561

It really works very well, our T. blondi's like it. Our A. seemani has already dug through to the vermiculite layer, which is about 7 inches deep. We have not had any mite problems with this mixture. I think the acidity of the peat with the vermiculite works well.


-Jill
 

Lopez

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 18, 2003
Messages
2,040
I was thinking about this recently, and reckon something like my illustration below would work quite well.

The tank has a suspended floor bonded in, I think strong stainless mesh would work well with stockings/tights/pantyhose/whatever stretched across it to prefent smaller peat chunks dropping through.
Under this you have a slide-out tray of vermiculite, which can be easily watered thoroughly and evenly without disturbing the T at all.
 

arachnopunks

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 10, 2002
Messages
391
We've found that the water drains through the Peat layer just fine without disturbing the Ts' at all. The problem with the mesh/ Panty hose idea is that burrowing species might get hung up while digging. The way we layer ours is to put down the vermiculite first and using a spray bottle moisten the vermiculite so it can be lightly packed down. Then we add a premoistened mixture of 70 percent peat and 30 percent vermiculite on top of the lightly packed vermiculite. We then spread the mixture to give a topographical contour to the top layer of substrate and pack tightly, firmly pressing down the top layer. By doing setting up this way it maintains a separation between the layers without having to use anything to do so. We add our decor i.e. shelters, plants, water dishes, etc. We also put stones around our water dishes, this helps keep substrate from being tracked into the dish too much.
 

Lopez

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 18, 2003
Messages
2,040
Good point about getting hooked up on the mesh - I was only thinking of such tanks as an application for T blondi, rather than burrowing species :)
 

arachnopunks

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 10, 2002
Messages
391
Our T. blondis burrow. We give ample substrate depth so they can at least dig out a few inches. They seem to do it every time gives them room to stretch out. They don't always go as deep as they wide sometimes. However, as s'lings they tend to go deep.
 

minax

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 24, 2002
Messages
266
Thanks!

Thanks for the replies, arachnopunks, and Lopez. I thought someone else might be using this great idea!:) It works even better than I thought it would, and is much safer than keeping the soil wet, or very damp. It gets so humid with this set-up, the only other way to get this much humidity in the enclosure, would be to keep the soil totally wet. And this is not a safe option. I am very impressed by everyones ideas. I think this is great, and shows alot of thought,and analyzation. I think with this hobby, many do not focus on the environment enough, as in the herp hobby as well. There is so much room for improvement, in many areas. And the better the environment, the better the spider will live, reproduce, and so on. It means everything, about how well they do in captivity, a happy T, is a healthy T!!:D I would be interested to hear all your experiments in this area, and Jill, I look forward to hearing more about your T.blondi projects, as I have a breeding project in the near future, and would appreciate any help and ideas you could give me!;)
 

jper26

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 5, 2003
Messages
383
I found a T.Blondi

I know a pet store that has a T.blondi about 3 inches for $125 which i know is too much even counting a no shipping. The thing is there not keeping it humid enough i would estimate the humidity is about 50 in the tank. Should i just pay the extra money because this is defenitly the next thing i want. And it could live a good life with the proper humidity. Its also fun buying in person instead of online all the time. What do you think i should do?
 

arachnopunks

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 10, 2002
Messages
391
No prob Minax. Jill and I were always trying different things with our enclosures and have pretty much settled on keeping all of our T.s' on the mixture/layering system descibed. We can keep dryer or bump up the humidity depending on the species or necessity. As a matter of fact we are currently working on our business which will focus on making habitats easier to care for while also drastically cutting down on unecessary vibration through day to day care. We should have these products for sale on our web page but that is still in the works. BTW our T.blondis paired but we couldn't tell if they bred sucessfully. We have also paired our P. cambridgei, and have a 50/50 breed loan on our P. irminia. We are going to be getting a few females for our male E. campestratus, he's quite the veral lad and we will be mating our I. hirsuta when we find a male. Our C. cyaneopubescens female who now has an eggsac has been a good mommy. She's been turning the sac and guards it without fail. Let us know what you plan on breeding it really is quite a thing to experience. I got to see our Greenbottle actually laying her eggs into the sac, very cool. Good Luck.


And to jper26, $125 for that size is quite pricey. I would try and talk the store down to at least $75 or less depending on the shape that it is in. As a side note, I used to live near York,PA. In a small town called Delta, PA. About a 1/2 hour south of York heading into Maryland. Internet really makes the world a smaller place.


-Johnny
 

jper26

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 5, 2003
Messages
383
Yeah iv been to Dealta a few times im sure you like it much more in Florida now lol. Did you ever go too that Fish place in lancaster pa?
 

arachnopunks

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 10, 2002
Messages
391
I can tell you I definitely don't miss Delta but the heat and humidity here sux. I don't think I've been to the fish place you refer to. I haven't live in Pa since 1985. I have only gone back to see family on a few occasions. I have yet to see for myself but I've heard the house and "neighborhood" I lived in have all changed. I still remember I lived off of Jasmine Rd. Whenever my family did major shopping they wwnt to Belair, MD not so much towards Lancaster. I do remember this homestyle buffet place that was really good I think it was called Willow Valley. It was somewhere in the York-Lancaster area I think.

-Johnny
 

jper26

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 5, 2003
Messages
383
Yeah willow valley has great food. I use too live in stewartstown not too far from delta in the 80s. My grandfather lived in rehmeyers hollow if you remember that story about the guy who got burned alive there in the early 1900s. Check out that fish place if you ever come back its 100,000 sq feet huge only problem they need someone who knows what there doing in the reptile invert room.
 

arachnopunks

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 10, 2002
Messages
391
I'll have to check that out next time I'm up there. Most places we have seen that have exotic pets i.e. reptiles, amphibians, tarantulas, etc. know very little as far as caring for them properly. Ironically, if they knew how to care for them properly and had them in proper set-ups they would probably sell more exotics. Maybe your just the person to work there and help them with their exotics?
 
Top