Myth Busting Humidity explained and how we use it 

Finally someone who can bring up humidity make perfect sense of it and explain it in a way that no one feels stupid or less of a keeper. I myself despite what ppl say to me love my mesh lid enclosures especially for my asian aboreals and have never had humidity problems nor toe claws getting stuck. Live your videos I am sure that by watching you and camera lady I have become a more informed keeper which only makes us better. Thank you Dave👍

I once kept a black widow ... by accident... for a whole summer. We had been cleaning out our carport and she was under a shelving unit. The funny thing was I had mentioned to my now ex-husband how odd it was that we were not finding damp or giant house spiders. I guess she ate them all?. Anyway we accidently found her and I just thought... geez..what a pretty spider. Not knowing what she was. My husband actually freaked out as he is Australian and he is terrified of spiders. Anyway. I grabbed a bowl and caught her. I took a cool whip bowl, put some dirt and a piece of bark in it with some small clover like weeds and moistened it down a bit. Then I removed the centre of the lid and put cling wrap over the top of the container, using the rim of the lid to hold the cling wrap in place. A few holes in the wrap for what I thought would be air and dropped her carefully in. At no time did I see under her abdomen so I had no idea ..the whole time we had her...what she was. The kids and I fed her every few days. Catching house and crane flies. My dad came for a visit and I was showing him our little summer science project and he knew right away what she was. We took her to the local environmental science ministry office and it was confirmed a week later that she was indeed a black widow. Because I didn't know what she was I wasn't afraid of her...bad on me in hindsight... but I've been fascinated by spiders ever since. She was never aggressive with us and my girls... all in their early thirties now... still talk about that summer . It made a huge impression on them. I'm actually afraid of big spiders but I think they are beautiful.

Brilliant advice. This man is a consummate professional

It's the same with versicolors people think they need a lot of humidity and tend to overspray, then they find them dead the next day when in fact a basic bowl full of water and a mist once a week is enough. Misting too much just creates a very stagnant environment which does nothing but encourage mould and fungus growth.

Thanks for the video guys. Always enjoy seeing what you're up to. Learning alot. Cheers!

While traveling in Thailand some weeks ago I noticed seeing your videos has made me notice spiders more. I found a Huntsman, Golden orb web spider, Harvestman spider and a Funnel weaver spider. 🕷🕸 With the exception of the Harvestman they are really scary, but really fascinating.

Thanks for explaining how to keep the humidity in the different containers. More information is great before I get my first spider.

Thanks for the video. An education as always. Found out the hard way my substrate is far too moist. 👍

Good on you for bringing up the point to not chase numbers. Most gauges aren't really accurate anyways. All my Ts (Brachys/Grammos) are given a medium-sized water bowl. Once in a while, I'll overflow the water dish. That's all they get in the way of humidity and they are thriving. Stay safe and thanks for sharing :)

Dave, you are the best educator in the area of keeping creepy crawlers! You are lucky to have a partner in Camera Lady❤️ Thank you both. Hope you are well!❤

Great work Dave. I was really looking forward to this one.👍👍👍 A funny fact is that here in Tyrolean mountains for me its quite the other way around with air humidity impact from outside. In fact my flat has way more air humidity in Summer because the air that comes in is going to cool down and humidity will go up. During winter the air that comes in is mostly very cold and when it warms up inside it will become very very dry. At the moment it is about 30 to 35% in here. That makes air exchange a little bit problematic and i cant go with to much ventilation. But im planing to get a humidistat and a fogger for my spiderroom so i can regulate it to 60 to 65%.

I learned all this the hard way with random insects. It's great to have information like this out there that really *helps*. If you're new you are going to make mistakes and it helps so much running into helpful videos like this.

Love the info it's the best.

I see how temperature And humidity can be very tricky with some understanding about It then it becomes clear.

Hi Dave

When in doubt dry it out.

Thanks for the video clarifying these issues. I've been concerned because the ambient humidity in my house is low (40%) so I worry a bit about the enclosures with 'kritter keeper' style tops. Also its too cute when a tarantula mistakes the water for food. Beauty (B. baumgartenii) will notice water dripping into her bowl and come to strike it, and then get offended that she's gotten wet! She's a perpetually hangry goofball.

I need one of those humidity readers. I know my house is dry. I get shocked all the time from static lol but i make sure my T's have some dampness in a corner or 2 depending on the T

6:21 thats one of the coolest spider enclosures ive ever seen!

Hi, Dave. Screaming arachnophobe here. I just (sort of) watched your video where you transfer 31 juvies into a bigger tank. I still have to look away on the close ups. My idea here is if I learn about spiders, maybe they will scare me less. Now I know that they don't just swarm people, and if they run, they are trying to get away. This is a slow process for me. I appreciate your calm manner. I doubt that I will ever actually like spiders, but you are helping me to understand them, and I appreciate that. Sorry, not ready to sub yet. Maybe I will be brave enough to do that one day.

Over here in Alberta, Canada My Ambient room humidity sits at around 25% in the winter(which is 10 months a year) and I still don't spray that much. Little bit of overfill on the water dish and have a small piece of moss to water once in a while.

I think u just made many spiders wordwide a lot happier and healthier with this video! Every breeder should give this information when selling their animals, i still see too many people posting pictures from their soaked enclosure asking why their tarantula is acting weird. Keep up the good work Dave and camera lady 😁👍🏻

I guess too, if you have a closed container, you could put a couple of extra holes if you want a bit less humidity in it.

What a coincidence, I was just talking today about getting a larger water bowl (or 2), to up the humidity for my centipede. 37 (long) gallon tank so keeping up humidity is tricky, as well as , with it being a really dry winter so far... realized I could use a water dish with more surface area. Edit: I do a small amount of spraying especially now, and or over water the bowl, let it over flow a bit.

Another great informative video. TY. I feel like you would make an excellent teacher, Dave. Perhaps a second career? 😂

I try to manage my humidity without referencing actual percentage numbers. On the outside of my enclosers I label tape, "Keep Dry" and "Keep Moist". I can look into the enclosure and pretty much see how moist or dry the environment is by the soil darkness, etc. I only use very small water dishes. Easy to fill and manage.

A fine mist continuous mister like a barber or hairstylist would use is the best for not over watering. I use them for all my slings and I have no issues with the avics. Much easier to not saturate everything

The video that people need rather than maybe the one they want 👍🏼👍🏼 Brilliant information dave. I always felt the braplast had no decent ventilation in the centre, I’ve always added holes to those lids. I’ll definitely be checking some of my water bowl sizes now.

I like how you broke everything down and really explained humidity. I think most of it is common sense, really. Great vid!

Thank you Dave and camera lady. That was helpful.

That A. genic will eat that humidity gage if you leave it in there overnight. 😄

All makes sense now Dave, thank you. Had to rehouse a juvenile salmon pink as it was in plastic enclosure the same as on your table and even though I only used a lid for water, and it was a bigger container it was always soaking wet on the inside of the lid and the mould came out of nowhere. I think the spider life I use is always a bit to damp to be honest, usually will mix with coco fibre so not as wet but had none on this occasion. Does anyone else have any views on the Spider life substrate ? Kind regards, Joanne 🐺

Thank you for this video Dave 👍

Very informative video dear Dave and Sweet Camera Lady! Have wonderful new week! 👋😊🕷👍❤🥰🤗

Dave, id just like to say your audio is spot on, i know you had a few problems with it a while back, but its now bang on, love your channel too btw

I could not have explained it better myself. awesome little vid guys, will be looking forward to the next one x

It is not carved in stone and if it were I would take a chisel to ii, and you are right about humidity. The way I look at it is rain is 100% humidity (the air is full of water) and half that is 50% humidity (the air if half full of water) and air that is half full of water is like a sauna you can feel the moisture on your skin. At 100% humidity you will be dripping, soaking wet. Babygirl got all excited and kept saying the same thing over and over (assssess) it took a minute to dawn on me what see was saying. Glasses!

Hi Dave! I admire how you practice what you do. I was wondering what size Exo enclosure you use for your typical terrestrial/fossorial adults? Thanks Dave!

Excellent video Dave , I have one question, what do we do if where we live the humanity is high in the summer months ?

Thank you for great video and avsome information. Yes this was the information i needed. Still have few months before i will get few spiders. But this will help me build inclosure's for them. Thanks

Humidity is how much moisture is the air it's self . Think of rain forests or the tropics .Moisture rises into the atmosphere .

very informative! I love your videos!! about to try to make your incubator you showed for some EWLs! Much love from Kuna, Idaho!! keep it up man. many people look to you and other Tkeeping youtubers for help. Cant express how much your time means to us.

Great video guys! Thank you💙💙💙💙

This is a very interesting video. Thank you for taking the time. Even though I don't keep beasties, I like to learn.

I just got a sprayer too .. seems I been doing it generally right .. so proud of myself .. I water my moss he he

Hello great video lots of great information Dave

This was so informative Dave! I live in Florida and my trailer stays pretty humid so I keep most of the enclosures dry for the most part and keep full water dishes. Sometimes slings get a little extra moisture, but for the most part the soil stays on the drier side.

We love your spider work 🙂🙂🙂

This is great stuff! So many people I talk to worry about the exact numbers and keep dumping more and more water in. Even for reptiles too

great info, thanks!

Yes! Finally. This is great. Thank you!

great vid, very informative... thank you

Ah brilliant video Dave, and one that was badly needed for keepers novice and experienced alike, Personally Dave I've never been worried about humidity, I keep all my spiders 🕷 at room temperature,they all have a water dish and touch wood 🪵, I haven't had any problems, if i have any small slings I put some water drops on the side of their sling pots, but once their ready for rehousing, they get a little water 💧 dish, anyway Dave another fantastic job by yourself and camera 📷 lady.

Great video on humidity dave I did panic at one time now I’m not to concerned about it Keep up the good work 🕷️🕷️

Hi dave

Great job!!!

Very interesting alot of people confuse heat and humidity And they are 2 totally different things to me I feel heat as hot and dry air and humidity as hot and sticky/sweaty air if that makes sense 🤔 Really enjoy your educational videos guys 👍😊

Very Intresting Mr Dave 😊

Loving the myth busting episodes

Hi Dave nice video. Very interesting information, about how much humidity levels the different spiders require. ❤🕷🕸Cindy

I would like to learn more about how you actually maintain moisture in your setups. While I totally agree with not worrying about air humidity I still find myself watering enclosures in a way that the top substrate layers stay unnecessarily damp.

Would love to see dave write a book 📖 his knowledge is endless ❤👍

great educational video PROFF., sometimes you need a visual display to have the penny drop. some amazing information for the hobby. great video CAMERA LADY ,well done-magic. many thanks guys and take care.😀😀😀FOR THE OTHERS WHO READ THIS REMEMBER TO HIT THE LIKE BUTTON🕷🕷🕷🕷🕷🕷🤩🤩🤩

I thought the theraphosas liked higher humidity and that it helped particularly at molt time.

Another informative video from Dave excellent!

Uh oh 😅 just triggered 75 percent of arachnoboards… and the other 25 percent by saying you don’t need five feet of substrate in a previous video😂. I don’t know why so many are vehemently against trying new things in their keeping or others working a little differently (like how the water sponge stuck around so long). If it works and you are happy with it, just do it, if someone else does something that works equally effectively or better it’s not worth being upset about. Take a note from most beekeeping associations and borrow what works best. At least we don’t need to treat for parasitic mites, wax beetles and moths, etc…

Nice one Dave, great explanation and video as usual. 😉👍

Thanks, buddy!!!

Nice vid 👍

great DAVE xxxx

Hey Dave, wondering about turning all my enclosures to bioactive. What is your experience with adding false bottom to terrestrials and fossorials? Do they dig up the net and clay balls? Was going to do this for my Accanthoscurria geniculata. Thanks and great video as always!

once again, very nice video, in addition to the previous video about humidity!

Thanks for another great video dave. Cleared a few things up and made a lot of sense. I'm sure this will help lots of people

perfectly explained thanks! im setting up a terrarium for isopods and millipedes and they both like high humidity and i was struggling. i hope i can get it going right soon but this definitely helped

Great video. I'm always concerned about humidity but after watching this I feel alot better. Thanks for the clarification

Thank you so much for this video Dave! I got my first T a few days ago and got very worried about numbers. This helps me so much.

makes perfect sense. Thanks for the upload.

Simplicity. Very informative!

One of the better explanations for humidity I've heard in awhile something about that species I've found they don't tolerate alot of humidity a buddy mine his t room had heat and humidifier wasn't to bad but the Harpactira.pulchripse didn't fair well in there 3 of the 4 he had as slings died but the last he gave to his friend and it thrived once it got out of that room it also affected breeding some ts he never could pokies or the idiothele.mira idk exact numbers what temps and humidity was in there but did cause some issues for him

Very informative vid Dave ...

You have just opened my eyes once again. Thank You for all the knowledge and all the videos, You are just AWESOME. I Wish You and Youre wife all the best.

Very well explained and helpful.

ty i dont like to spray my enclosures i have been spot spraying with dry substrate. The humidifier in the room is 60% for the snakes which helps out the spiders they all have mesh tops. I keep mine like yours and had so many people attack me for my substrate this just helps me understand im doing it right ty.

Great video! Funny you mentioned H. pulchripes, I think my sling is dying, trying to figure out why. It had been acting strange for awhile, not eating, sluggish, so I moved it like 3 days ago. Turns out it was way too dry in there. Saw it drink, it was walking around the enclosure fine for 2 days. Then this morning I find it in a death curl I thought, but it isn't dead it's paralyzed like something bit it almost. It's on it's back now so i can drip water in its mouth every few hours, and it's legs will twitch a little if I touch them or blow on it but that's it. Its legs are pretty much fully outstretched, not tight, but it isn't curling. I can't tell if it's drinking or not but I keep giving it the opportunity. Last thing it was on was an air plant, looked like it fell right off that, ever hear of those causing problems? They do have the white trichomes on them, I did a quick search and couldn't find anything. Perhaps it was still so thirsty it tried a bite I dunno. It's only an inch, so maybe it's just a sling that didn't make it, it doesn't feel good though.

I think it is a great idea to have a gadge in the room and one in the tank like you did, not permanently, but sometimes just to check. Do you need a higher humidity for the spiders to molt?

I think tarantulas are generally less susceptible to mycosis than centipedes. Not sure if that's because of the hair. A lot of time people keep their myriapods under over-humid ambience, resulting in infection.

Love the vid Dave! You have stickers for sale? I'd love to get your logo on a sticker. :)

nice husbandry videos aren't my fav...but still interesting

Love the info Dave. Where do you buy your tubs from?

I live in the southern US and the humidity drops very low in the winter down to around 35%. Would a small room cold air humidifier help with the proper humidity?

Hi Dave. Great video. I have a couple questions if you have the time. I live in New York State and have electric heating. Electric heat dries the air a lot. It’s usually around 40-45% humidity and 70 degrees. I have a Brachypelma Hamorii, Tliltocatl Vagans and a Balfouri. Two of them are in a 10 gallon aquarium with screen lids and the other in an Exo. Is the room humidity of 40% too low? I think it is. How often do think I should spray? I have noticed that the humidity does go up if I cover part of the screen lid on the enclosure that has a gauge. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and everything do for the hobby.

Hello Dave! How about holes in the side of the enclosure (cross ventilation) - is it completely different?

😳😊😳😊😳😊

i wish you were my dad 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Britain is quite a humid country, so it’s not a problem even for tropical spiders, and keeping them warm is easy anyway.

How do you keep the moss carpets alive without spraying them often? Do they not dry up and die off since the moss comes from a damper environment than the enclosure usually is?

I was just wondering if they ever seem to take notice of you and Camera Lady if you are simply standing near their enclosure but not doing anything inside it?

Would this be the same for the common Asian forest scorpion aswel?

Whats the best way to stop mould from appearing in fossorial enclosure? I've put spring tails in there and I don't mist the enclosure. I just fill up water bowl and overflow it once a month

Hi Dave, where can we order the enclouser where is A .Geniculata?