What do tarantulas drink

The dish containing the water should not be too deep, but it should be large enough that your tarantula can submerge its Chelicera and fangs to drink from the it. Things like sponges, paper towels, cotton, or cricket gel should never be considered as an alternative to water dishes. Not only do they potentially more likely to harbor harmful bacteria in large quantities, it gets dirty and mouldy and that certainly does not provide the moisture your tarantula needs.

Always provide clean tap water, fresh water should also be provided daily. However, any shallow water dish would work just fine, one thing to note is that it has to be shallow. Lids off empty jars can work as long as they fulfill the requirements. This is because crickets and other insects can drown in very minimal water.

Never spray the spider directly and take care to not create overly damp conditions this can be fatal if swampy like conditions are present.

Arboreal tarantulas have no problem finding a water dish that is placed on the substrate. A thirsty spider will readily come down to drink on the cage floor. The only reason that I sometimes use elevated water dishes for my arboreal species is because it is more convenient for me.

The ledges have removable cups that can be washed or replaced as necessary, and they do a great job of keeping the water easily accessible to me during maintenance. I put the bowl on the substrate when I use front opening cages. Otherwise, there will be a buildup of bacteria that may be harmful to your tarantula. Although arboreal tarantulas are not known for covering their dishes with substrate, they will still foul it often by dropping a bolus in the water or spraying poop in the general direction of the ledge.

This is where the removable cup-in-a-cup system comes in handy. Sometimes, I will make my own magnetic water dishes using bottle caps or tattoo ink cups for my smaller spiders. It keeps the water easy to fill, and the arboreal slings seem to like using them as an added anchor point for webbing. Tarantulas do not require a sponge in their water dish. This is completely unnecessary, and potentially harmful to the spider. Adding a sponge is a poor husbandry practice and should be avoided even though you may encounter pet stores advocating for it.

Sponges have many crevices that will harbor bacteria. Juvenile and adult tarantulas will not drown in a water dish. Slings are also highly unlikely to have any issues with a dish. I provide one for all my babies as long as they have room in their container.

I use a clump of sphagnum moss in lieu of a water dish in sling containers that are really small. Sphagnum moss misted with water still provides the babies with an opportunity to drink.

As soon as they move into a larger container, I make sure they get a water dish, though. Unfortunately, those are just unavoidable aspects of providing water dishes to spiders. You will have to clean them and replace the water pretty often. This will only make maintenance much harder than it needs to be, because you will need to remove the bowl to clean it. Tarantulas do willingly drink out of a water dish, and for this reason, I offer them to most of my collection.

That being said, if you offer a small bowl or water bottle cap to a tarantula the likelihood of it getting flipped, buried under substrate, or filled with disgusting things like cricket boluses are high — so just be prepared to clean and replace them as necessary. Skip to content There are many opposing viewpoints on the topic of giving a water dish to pet tarantulas, which can create confusion for new people entering the hobby.

How Do Spiders Drink Water? When a spider feels thirsty, it will approach the water and put its legs and pedipalps near or in the water bowl. It will put its front parts where the mouth is down the chelicerae and fangs and proceed to drink the water.

Spiders drink water by using their muscles to suck the fluid. This is a sign of under feeding and dehydration. The dish containing the water should not be too deep, but it should be large enough that your tarantula can submerge its Chelicera and fangs to drink from the it. A mildly dehydrated tarantula may have a shruken abdomen and become inactive.

A more severely dehydrated tarantula will have its legs curled underneath it to some degree. Once a tarantula becomes dehydrated it requires the most basic form of tarantula first aid—the ICU cup. In addition to food, you need to provide fresh water for your spider.

You can use a plastic bottle cap as a water bowl if you have a small spider in a small cage. If you have room, give your spider a small bowl of water. Spiders will also drink the water off of damp webbing. Tarantulas are able to tolerate cool and cold a lot better than excessive heat. Yes, spiders do drink water.