Do you mist your T's

I personally mist my T's every few days with distiled water. I have heard many people say that misting is unnesessary and should not be done, but I have also heard that it is something that should be done to keep the humidity up in the enclosure. I was just curious to know everyone else's opinion on this topic and whether or not you mist your T's, if you dont how do you keep the humidity up.

I agree that slings & avics need a little more, but otherwise I just keep a water dish in all others.
Humidity was an extensive topic at the ATS conference and I also agree that it is over-rated, for the most part.

I use to mist my T's, until I got infested by Flies I just mist the slings now, about twice aweek ( or when I remember for my bigger T's, I just keep their water dishes full.

No, I don't mist. Over fill water dishes and add a drop or 2 with a dropper as needed, but no misting.

Yes i mist mine about 4 or 5 times a day...if it gets too dry then your tarantula(s) will die...

Humidity is highly overated.
I think that alot of the information you find that is pro-humidity is purely based on the climate a particular species is found, but what I think is being missed here is the mortality rate of tarantulas that are found in high humidity climates. All sorts of flies and other parasites simply flourish in these enviroments and these parasites are the greatest threat to tarantulas in captivity.
In the past I have discovered more tarantula death in high humidity/over saturated substrate enclosures.

But I have NEVER found a dead tarantula in front of a water dish sitting on a dry substrate.
NEVER.

My suggestion is to simply keep a water dish with fresh water.

Eric
www.e-spiderworld.com

I have two t's that I mist, the others I just add some water to the substrate as needed to keep them from getting too dry. My "misters" are definately happier when its wet. They seem to really like it, but I keep a careful watch to make sure I dont get any mold.

Gotta mist them dog gone tarantulas, at least once a week! And gotta have a water bowl. If a tarantula becomes dehydrated it will cease to do anything. They dont have muscles, they have legs that work like hydraulics, so if they cant control their blood pressure(cause they cant get no water in em) they will lock up like your car when the oils never been changed! So yes, mist them at least once a week. Some need high humidity, some need low, but all need water. I mist mine whenever it seems dry in general, but at the least once a week. Some, I mist daily. Either way, the distilled water is a good idea, doesnt leave blotches on the glass, I cant afford it, so I let water sit for a few days, then use it.

I usually fill up their water dish but when i am too lazy i mist instead..

I don't mist so much as spray to dampen substrate in containers that have no water dish yet - the little ones. My Avics over 2 years old have no substrate, so in addition to keeping their water bowls full, I spray their silk plants (it's raining) two or three times a week. Avic slings get a paper towel folded in the bottom of their containers, I keep that wet and change to fresh as needed (sometimes have to remove for a while when feeding to prevent crickets hiding beneath.) Many of my spiders have a water dish and no additional spraying. I make spraying decisions based on information I have read about the care of each species, experience, observation of each individual, and female intuition.

I have come to believe ventilation is very important, and would rather spend more time adding water to the container than have a shortage of air holes. Most of my juvie or larger spiders live in aquariums with screen tops or Kritter Keepers. Only the Avics have Saran Wrap covering part of the screen to help keep moisture levels up. (Spent a couple of hours yesterday with Dremel drill and Beanie Baby display cases - I prefer to cover some holes with Saran Wrap if needed rather than discover a container has too much moisture and too few air holes. Now if the slings will just hurry up and grow large enough to move into those lovely new homes...)

RazorRipley said:

They dont have muscles, they have legs that work like hydraulics, so if they cant control their blood pressure(cause they cant get no water in em) they will lock up like your car when the oils never been changed!

Click to expand...

As far as I know that is wrong. T's do have muscles. They use hydraulic pressure to stretch their limbs but muscles to pull them back. That is also why the T's go into a death curl if dehydrated or dying. The hydrodynamic pressure is smaller than the muscle force, leading to a contraction of the limbs.

CYA

Matt

Thanks for all your replies, based on what all of you have posted this is still a very debatable topic. I on the other hand will continue misting but the idea of overfilling the water dish sounds good as well, so thanks for the help and the input.

MatthewBerfield said:

Yes i mist mine about 4 or 5 times a day...if it gets too dry then your tarantula(s) will die...

Click to expand...

4 or 5 times a day? Wow, that is really unnecessary, very experienced keepers have kept a variety of species in bone dry environments (with water dish of course) with great success.

We need some words of wisdom/experience: >Click here< >Click here< >Click here<

Yea, I have let versi go bone dry and not water them for two weeks to come back and find one or two molted just fine.

Eric, by greatest threat do you mean fungi and molds? I have scuttle flies, but I have had losses in humid containers that were fly proof. One's with no or limied ventilation.
I believe the legs only contain retractor muscles, so extend hydraulicly (no extensor muscles?) Stan n SB n Fred (i believe) sorted this out in 2000 or 2001?
Tony

MatthewBerfield said:

Yes i mist mine about 4 or 5 times a day...if it gets too dry then your tarantula(s) will die...

Click to expand...

AHHHHH

Misting your T's 5 times a day is whats going to kill them.

Stop misting them so much, they do not needed to be misted even Once a day. Just use a large waterdish.

MatthewBerfield said:

Yes i mist mine about 4 or 5 times a day...if it gets too dry then your tarantula(s) will die...

Click to expand...

Only in your mind

Nope, I have mist my T and I've never had problem with molting. My B. smithi sling molted many times and never once get stuck.

The only thing that's really debateable is if a high humidity enviropment may be bennificial LONG TERM to some species. Considering the number of people out there keeping their cages bone dry, even topical forest species, I'd say there's no evidence that tarantulas drop dead fom low humidity. I have heard arguments that the total captive lifespan of some species may be longer if kept at a RH level close to their natural habitat, but this is a seperate issue and will require years of data collection to really get a handle on.

Also, if raised humidity is the goal, misting has to be the slowest and most labor intensive way to achieve it. Even if we acknowledge some species may benifit from higher humidity, that doesn't mean we have to wet down the inside of the enclosure! Restricting the ventilation on a dry cage will still result in high humidity if there's a water bowl. Soaked substrate is not required. There's a big difference between "humidity" and "everything's wet".

Moist substrate is certainly one way to raise humidity, but why bother with misting? Just pour some water on the substrate. Most tarantulas hate being misted, if the goal is to wet the dirt, just wet the dirt!

I do occasionally use a mister, but only as a way to provide water for animals that may not dring from bowls, like mantids, orb weavers, etc. Sometimes I will set the nozzel on "stream" and squirt some water into Avic retreats. Not for humidity, but for drinking. IME, damp conditions will kill them faster than excessively dry ones.

Wade

I mist my pokies and avics once a week to give them an opportunity to drink. They're all in kritter keepers so the humidity doesn't last long. Except for my tiniest slings, everybody else gets water dishes.

Karen N.