Question about humidity/air flow

[Moose618]

I have a terrarium with a completely mesh top that I believe was one of the reasons for one of my Ts to die. It was not able to hold in humidity at all.

So I made a plexiglass top to cover the mesh. My question is, how do I know the ratio between what is good for holding in humidity but still enough to allow adequate breathability?

Here are some pictures of the top. The terrarium itself is solid glass with no vent holes in the sides.

 

[fcat]

So I am curious about the spider that you lost...what was it? What makes you think it was not enough humidity?

What tarantula will be living in here?

This is some heavy reading for you

The Paradoxical Importance of Humidity

Disclaimer: If you're a beginning tarantula hobbyist or an intermediate hobbyist starting with moisture dependent species, looking for specific care information, the theories in this thread aren’t for you. The maxim of "ignore humidity percentages, maintain proper soil moisture and ventilation...

arachnoboards.com

Do you still think it was not enough humidity?


(I'll come back and add another link in a few minutes on air flow)

The Husbandry of Moisture Dependent Slings

DISCLAIMER: This writeup is specifically for the husbandry of moisture dependent slings and I’m going to be talking about the controversial topic of *humidity*. If you would like to argue about the merits of its application or importance in the husbandry of moisture dependent species, please...

arachnoboards.com

Not directed at your species of course because we don't know what you have but it's a nice picture and discusses the importance of ventilation when it comes to moist substrate, namely cross ventilation, but it dabbles a bit on why (because of the moist substrate)

I have a several empty glass containers because of this... Someday when I go to use them I plan to swap the short edges with drilled acrylic, but still finding it easier to drill plastic at this point. You did put the acrylic under the mesh, so the T can get stuck in the mesh, absolutely necessary upgrade even for people that keep Ts bone dry, right?

 

[Moose618]

I had a juvenile male G. Pulcra in there before that died. I know there are a lot of factors that could have gone into it, but I was lead to believe that lack of humidity was the main culprit. I know there were a lot of factors that can play into the death of a T, so I won't stick on the humidity part.

I also have a B. Emilia and a L. Mactans, but they are housed in acrylic enclosures and have continued to do fine.

After a little research, I may need to move this thread because I believe I will go with an Asian forest scorpion instead of another tarantula for this enclosure.

 

[Marcostaco]

I don't think a G. pulchra would die from lack of moisture or humidity in an enclosure. They are actually supposed to be kept dry and are quite hardy. I'm pretty sure there's something else that went on.

 

[cold blood]

Humidity had nothing to do with it...don't measure humidity....its far from critical.....the only effect your humidity will ever have is that it will dictate how much water you need to add and how often.....but for the ts you lost, like pulchra, humidity is absolutely irrelevant, they are simply kept dry with a water dish.

I keep hundreds of species from all over the globe....all winter...really fall through spring, I run a space heater (still running today) and this means my room has basically no humidity....it doesn't effect a single species I keep or breed....for those that are moisture dependent, it just means I need to add more water when I dampen, and because it dries quicker, I need to add water more frequently.......for those kept dry its a total non-issue.

 

[Dorifto]

I don't think a G. pulchra would die from lack of moisture or humidity in an enclosure. They are actually supposed to be kept dry and are quite hardy. I'm pretty sure there's something else that went on.

Well... check where they actually live and you could get a surprise, their climate it's quite humid. "We" keep them dry due to our convenience, not because they came from an arid environment. They tend to like "dry" substrates, not dry conditions, this is something we should start differentiating.

I have a terrarium with a completely mesh top that I believe was one of the reasons for one of my Ts to die. It was not able to hold in humidity at all.

So I made a plexiglass top to cover the mesh. My question is, how do I know the ratio between what is good for holding in humidity but still enough to allow adequate breathability?

Here are some pictures of the top. The terrarium itself is solid glass with no vent holes in the sides. View attachment 470981 View attachment 470983

In large enclosures like this, external humidity can play a huge role, as it can affect greatly how fast the enclosure looses it's moisture, exposing them to overly dry conditions. So, yes, low humidity could be the issue, among others, specially if the soil is kept dry. Keeping the soil moisture at correct levels is they key to prevent unwanted situations, if the enclosure has huge amount of ventilation, always keep a nice spot moist, even if the T sits far from it, it doesn't mean it won't help it, as this spot will provide enough humidity to protect the T from dehydrating faster. This works for terrestrials and arboreals, as it helps keeping the enclosure at optimun humidity levels.

Do not focus on any specific numbers, just focus on how the soil behaves, if it dries fast, then you can add more/or more frequently moisture (this is bettet than addibg more) or just to decrease the ventilation a bit, this last thing only if there is a huge amount of it, as we should always provide them plently of ventilation.

This last suggestion will work regardless of the inhabitant.