Australian Tarantulas

[Sphagbog]

forums are nice but nothing beats finding a network of friendly keepers IRL


now having the nympths die is concerning, personally i have simply kept the few that i planned on feeding off completey in the container i bought them in, no water just a little piece of carrot and oats every week, and i had zero deaths, they are acctually growing

and i am really not caring for these especially well

View attachment 468601
very few left as i continue to feed them off

are the dying ones injured?

Are they crickets? I think sometimes they just die... I don't reckon a lot of care goes into promoting genetic diversity and health in pet shop feeders

 

[Wolfram1]

Are they crickets? I think sometimes they just die... I don't reckon a lot of care goes into promoting genetic diversity and health in pet shop feeders

no, S. lateralis nympths, they hide from the light so they are mostly inbetween the two eggcrates, i keep it completely dry, unlike my attempt at a breeding colony which i keep naturalistic with slightly mist soil, wooden-bords and leaves

edit: ignore my last messages i somehow replied to the wrong thread here

 

[RezonantVoid]

Can’t help but wonder where @RezonantVoid went to when Australian keepers have questions.He was the go to expert on Aussie T,s.
But,I find it a lot easier to heat up a cold T,than cool down a over heated animal.

I'm a few days late but I'll chime in shortly!

 

[LoneWolf4]

I have friends here in Australia that instead of spraying room temperature water in the enclosure, place an ice cube in the corner of the tarantula enclosure to add some moisture and reduce the temp in the enclosure. I've seen photos of their tarantulas occasionally on top of the actual ice cube keeping cool. I've tried this myself and when checking the temps with a digital thermometer, it definitely reduces enclosure temps. But you can't use this trick every day during hot weather. Try moving the enclosures into the coolest place in your house, usually the bathroom or similar.

Most Australian wild tarantulas burrow deeper during hot or cold weather as the ground temperature deeper is usually a constant temperature. Similarly in captivity if you give them a deeper substrate, say around 6 inches deep or more, they will burrow deep to the bottom and occupy whatever level the micro-temperature suits them under the current circumstances. Most keepers have the substrate way too shallow for species that burrow especially Selenotypus and Selenotholus. But most Phlogius species will burrow down too when given the opportunity.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

I have friends here in Australia that instead of spraying room temperature water in the enclosure, place an ice cube in the corner of the tarantula enclosure to add some moisture and reduce the temp in the enclosure. I've seen photos of their tarantulas occasionally on top of the actual ice cube keeping cool. I've tried this myself and when checking the temps with a digital thermometer, it definitely reduces enclosure temps. But you can't use this trick every day during hot weather. Try moving the enclosures into the coolest place in your house, usually the bathroom or similar.

Is air conditioning not used often there?

 

[LoneWolf4]

Is air conditioning not used often there?

Yes I definitely use an air conditioner especially during hot weather myself, as do most other keepers. But in the opening post of this thread the poster mentions he's dreading his electricity bill, so I was giving some alternate methods to keep your tarantulas cool with or without using air conditioning. As for heating many people including myself use an oil heater in the room to raise the temperature to suitable levels.

 

[Tbone192]

That's a good idea, thanks I'll try it! I do have AC, but i use it only when necessary because SA has some of the highest energy prices in the world. The joys of having a massive grid and a tiny population I suppose. I'm mostly looking for cheaper ways to cool a room, and any advice on how hot is too hot. The care sheet from the breeder I got my tarantulas from said that higher temps make them grow faster, then other people say that higher temps will kill them... I know there's probably no hard and fast rule, but any advice is appreciated!

For a cheap way to cool a room I wet a towel and hang it in front of an open window. The air coming into the room from the window cools as it passes through the towel. Adding a fan to the mix adds to the cooling effect. I live in Alberta, Canada so the temps range from 40°C in the summer to -40°C in the winters. A few summers back I was in living in a flat and during the heat wave, towels and fans definitely saved me from getting heat stroke.