# sand for spiders



## zeke (Sep 21, 2007)

hi im just wondering if you can use sand with spiders without casing any harm to them


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## Inkslinger (Sep 21, 2007)

Unless it is their natural substrate in the wild NO


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## zeke (Sep 21, 2007)

so for bird eating spiders i shouldent use sand or if i do what will happen to it


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## hornet (Sep 21, 2007)

if you wish to use sand use it mixed with coco peat but pure cocpeat is alot better.


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## zeke (Sep 21, 2007)

so the exoterra desert sand i just got to use for my spider is not good for it
can it harm it or not


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## hornet (Sep 21, 2007)

wont do it any good, will shorten life span, what species? For selenotypus and selenotholus they are good in a sand/coco peat mix but for seleenocosia/phlogius coco peat is the way to go.


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## Inkslinger (Sep 21, 2007)

zeke said:


> so the exoterra desert sand i just got to use for my spider is not good for it
> can it harm it or not



Yes it can harm them
there is a goo care sheet on Bylo's site


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## GAZ-ROBOT (Sep 21, 2007)

I use desert sand with my selenotypus's but like hornet said mixed it with coco peat and a little bit of peat moss.....


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## GAZ-ROBOT (Sep 21, 2007)

and I should say don't use sand on phlogius or phlogiellus sp.


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## Moreliaman (Sep 22, 2007)

Personally i can't see how using sand will harm a spider, the only bad thing i can see is it not being able to retain any moisture which could bring on humidity problems (esp when shedding) 
Like most have said already unless the insect evolved in a dry sandy desert enviroment i'd be inclined to mix soil/peat with sand.
I have a solifugid here which must have sand because it comes from an extremley dry enviroment, humidity levels must be kept around 30% which would be detrimental to 99% of other spiders.
What specie's do you keep ?


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## zeke (Sep 22, 2007)

im not sure what specie's t is the pet shop never told me


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## Inkslinger (Sep 22, 2007)

Post a pic someone may be able to help


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## hornet (Sep 22, 2007)

best to keep it on peat or sand/peat mix


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## zeke (Sep 22, 2007)

ok i just took a couple of pics and will post them soon


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## Australis (Sep 22, 2007)

Ive found "Aussie T" holes in sandy soils, for what its worth.

I couldnt tell you what species was residing within it though.


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## Moreliaman (Sep 23, 2007)

zeke said:


> im not sure what specie's t is the pet shop never told me


 
Ok thats confusing.... if you dont know what specie it is then how would you know the correct care for it ? :? & what a pants shop for not having something labled up & not telling the customer what specie it is.

Get that pic up zeke....im sure theres someone on here that can give you the info that the pet shop should have told you.




Australis said:


> Ive found "Aussie T" holes in sandy soils, for what its worth.
> I couldnt tell you what species was residing within it though.


errrr whats "Aussie T" ? I would have thought theres quite a few australian spiders that live in or on sand, i dont think the sands the problem, just the moisture it struggles to hold,,, in the wild this wouldnt be a problem, but in captivity when the moisture is controlled by the amount and frequency added by the keeper !!


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## zeke (Sep 23, 2007)

*hears the pic*

hears the picure i took it is te best one there was i hope someone can tell me what species it is


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## Morgangray (Sep 23, 2007)

bird eating spider looks like


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## GAZ-ROBOT (Sep 23, 2007)

Hi Moreliaman , Aussie T = Aussie Tarantula
Sorry zeke I can't see your T at all, I have realy bad eyesight and the picture's way to small....


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## hornet (Sep 23, 2007)

Morgangray said:


> bird eating spider looks like



we know that but there are 20-30 species it could be

My guess is a selenotholus and a sand/peat mix would be fine.


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## Inkslinger (Sep 24, 2007)

bigger pic needed


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## zeke (Sep 24, 2007)

ok this one should be big enough


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## GAZ-ROBOT (Sep 26, 2007)

ok I asked if it would be ok to use sand for phlogius or Phlogiellus sp's on The Australian Tarantula Association Forum and this is the answer I got from Brendan stent the guy who discovered the Stents Birdeater.

Brendan :"I do not see why not, I have collected Stent's Birdeater from very sandy river banks not far from the coast. If the sand is well washed and they have somewhere to hide there should be no problem......"

and I also noticed he keeps his pseudocrassipes as well as his Stents Birdeaters on sand to, so I guess you can keep phlogius or Phlogiellus sp's on sand....


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## Inkslinger (Sep 26, 2007)

Isn't that just saying keep them on what would be their natural / localty substrate ?


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## Moreliaman (Sep 26, 2007)

I'd also ask Brendan if he's recorded any humidity & temperature readings from the places he's collected spiders , esp from inside the burrows.

perhaps brendan could also identify the spider ?


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