Stan Schultz wrote:

Splurge wrote: I've been doing alot of research on misting and water for tarantulas. I came to the conclusion that I fail and would like some input from fellow T lovers.

1. Tap water
2. Bought water (Still water like Bonaqua)
3. Tap water boiled and cooled.

What's the best for water/misting?

MISTING? SOMEBODY IS STILL MISTING? :ohmy:

That is soooo last century.

We have a better system now. You cover the open parts of the cage to restrict ventilation. The water evaporates slowly from the water dish and maintains an even, moderate humidity without getting anything wet or annoying the tarantula. And, you don't have to fuss with it once or five times daily.

Besides, if you don't use distilled water (or the equivalent), the mineral buildup on the decorations and sides of the cage will soon make them unusable. Instead of paying a lot of money for distilled water, stop misting and buy another tarantula. (That's called getting your priorities straight!)

It's a spider! Not a fern!

Enjoy your little, 8-legged, philodendron. Misting? Egad!

oooops..... (runs quickly to dispose of the misting bottle)

behavior adjustment made !!

Creator wrote: Uncle Stan, would you suggest the same with Avicularia?

No misting only a water bowl?

Kept 'em and bred 'em for years. In Canada. When it was -40° outdoors. (Of course, we were all indoors, huddled next to the furnace!)

Used city water, too. Came from the Ghost Reservoir upstream from Calgary on the Bow River. Mostly melted glacial runoff water, but all kinds of fish and wildlife peed in it too. No one ever thought about it or cared except for one Filipino girl I knew who was thoroughly disgusted at the thought, and drank only bottled spring water. Of course, in most places in the Philippines that attitude was probably a survival trait.

All this makes me wonder if our standards for drinking water aren't too high. I admit there are limits to the level of impurities and microorganisms in drinking water, but they're based on entirely bureaucratic standards highly biased by a bunch of stuffed shirts' prejudices, and a profound fear they'll never hold their jobs long enough to retire.

I would like to see what the water standards would look like if they were solely founded on such considerations as how much of an impurity we'd really have to drink, or how polluted the water would really have to get before it actually did us harm. I'm sure the result would shock you all!

A side issue for you all to think about: The world will not come to an end because we're about to run out of fossil fuels. There is an overabundance of petroleum and coal in our planet, and all we need do is figure a way to get it. It's a technical problem.

Our civilization will almost surely end because we run out of water! There is only a fixed amount of fresh water available on the planet. And it can be replaced only at a fixed rate. And, we have less fresh water than petroleum! When our numbers become so great that our water consumption exceeds its production, it's only a matter of time before all the stories about the Apocalypse, the End of Days, and Armageddon will come true.

(Have any of you seen the post-Apocalyptic movie The Road ? I couldn't bear to watch it all at once. It took me three tries to finally get through it. I didn't sleep for two nights! It was just too !@#$%! real! But, that's a subject for a different forum, no?)

Not only does our worldwide population continue to increase (exceeding 7,000,000,000 now), but our per capita water consumption is also increasing. We're on a runaway train on a very limited, finite track. Mind if I borrow your crash helmet?

Now, doesn't that make all your concerns about tarantula water seem a bit trivial? Even silly?

:tongue:

:happy:

Hi Stan

I do share your views on the water issue, both for the the fact that there are limits but also that most of civilization is overly cautious on the "purity" of their water. I know many people that only drink bottled water. Their response is always the same: "Have you seen what is in our water?". My response is, "No, I don't have eyes being able to see microscopic organisms, and I highly doubt you have either". My point being that there is a market for filters, bottled water, etc. So people will sell them by any means necessary. The test where they make tap water brown is a ridiculous method of testing, they add iron compounds to the water which in effect rusts, which turns the water brown. There is a book about this pseudo-science BS. But let's not go there and step on toes.
For those interested, www.ted.com/talks/ben_goldacre_battling_bad_science.html , www.badscience.net/ , www.amazon.com/Bad-Science-Quacks-Pharma-Flacks/dp/1452635897 .

With regards to population growth. There is a very interesting video that explains why in all likely hood we will max out at around 9/10 billion. Especially with education, family planning and health care being introduced to as much of the world as possible. The guy talks a lot of sense, so I currently follow this train of thought as well. www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_on_global_population_growth.html

Anyway I will go and face another ridiculously cold morning (by South African standards).

Stan Schultz wrote:

Creator wrote: Uncle Stan, would you suggest the same with Avicularia?

No misting only a water bowl?

Kept 'em and bred 'em for years. In Canada. When it was -40° outdoors. (Of course, we were all indoors, huddled next to the furnace!)

Used city water, too. Came from the Ghost Reservoir upstream from Calgary on the Bow River. Mostly melted glacial runoff water, but all kinds of fish and wildlife peed in it too. No one ever thought about it or cared except for one Filipino girl I knew who was thoroughly disgusted at the thought, and drank only bottled spring water. Of course, in most places in the Philippines that attitude was probably a survival trait.

All this makes me wonder if our standards for drinking water aren't too high. I admit there are limits to the level of impurities and microorganisms in drinking water, but they're based on entirely bureaucratic standards highly biased by a bunch of stuffed shirts' prejudices, and a profound fear they'll never hold their jobs long enough to retire.

I would like to see what the water standards would look like if they were solely founded on such considerations as how much of an impurity we'd really have to drink, or how polluted the water would really have to get before it actually did us harm. I'm sure the result would shock you all!

A side issue for you all to think about: The world will not come to an end because we're about to run out of fossil fuels. There is an overabundance of petroleum and coal in our planet, and all we need do is figure a way to get it. It's a technical problem.

Our civilization will almost surely end because we run out of water! There is only a fixed amount of fresh water available on the planet. And it can be replaced only at a fixed rate. And, we have less fresh water than petroleum! When our numbers become so great that our water consumption exceeds its production, it's only a matter of time before all the stories about the Apocalypse, the End of Days, and Armageddon will come true.

(Have any of you seen the post-Apocalyptic movie The Road ? I couldn't bear to watch it all at once. It took me three tries to finally get through it. I didn't sleep for two nights! It was just too !@#$%! real! But, that's a subject for a different forum, no?)

Not only does our worldwide population continue to increase (exceeding 7,000,000,000 now), but our per capita water consumption is also increasing. We're on a runaway train on a very limited, finite track. Mind if I borrow your crash helmet?

Now, doesn't that make all your concerns about tarantula water seem a bit trivial? Even silly?

:tongue:

:happy:

Thanks Stan

But what I actually meant was... to only use a water bowl with Avicularia and no misting?

SynergyZA wrote: Hi Stan

I do share your views on the water issue, both for the the fact that there are limits but also that most of civilization is overly cautious on the "purity" of their water..

Unfortunately marketing has found many ways to "present" perfectly normal and healthy water characteristics so as to create the illusion of bad bad bad, like for example the electrodes in the water test you are referring to. In this case much of what you see is in fact perfectly normal minerals that we actually want in our water.
If our drinking water were to be 100% free of impurities (distilled water or similar) it would end up absorbing whatever minerals we happen to have in our bodies and that is not what we want either.

But back to the T's....
I get what Stanley explained on the misting and that will save me some time and effort. Thanks! However for the little guys (less than 3cm or so) I've read that a water bowl may not be the best idea. I don't actually "mist" but just drop a few drops of TAP water from my fingertips around the one side of the tank. Don't think it troubles the T too much that way. It would've had to deal with rain out in the real world, no?

Just fixed some really bad grammar and spelling. Only noticed after posting. :blush: Sorry

Seems my stupid little question got some excellent responses and thanks to everyone who gave their views and everything.

I now have a much better understanding of watering/misting

Cheers