About six weeks ago I gave my ~3 inch LPs water bowls (bottle caps) for the first time. I've observed both of them drinking out of them on occasion. LP #1 molted last week and since then has filled up his bottle cap with substrate twice. The first time it looked as though it was an accident, knocked substrate off its corkbark 'bridge' into the cap. So I cleaned it out, refilled, repositioned the cap. Now it appears that it was deliberate. Should I just I go back to dampening one corner of the enclosure and forget the water bowl?

Joyce they do that to keep us entertained and to have things to post about. I empty and refill the water bowls and depending on the species also dampen an area of substrate. I usually dampen below the surface so reduces risk of mold, undesirable mites etc.

Sometimes if I have a T that is absolutely insistent on burying the water dish or the like, I'll add a second dish in a different part of the enclosure if space allows. Of course, every once in a while I'll have a T that takes every dish I give them and turns it into a new piece of furniture, so I resort to much the same procedure as JB - dump and refill the dish and add a little water just below the substrate's surface.

Jen

Troll once had tarantulas which would bang their water dishes against the wall when they were empty.

I have both types of animals, those who bury and those who don't.

Oh, they definitely keep me entertained! When I got in from work last night, this particular spider had its mouth pressed down into its substrate filled bowl as though it were trying to suck moisture out of the coconut fibre. I'll try adding another bowl...

I have many that consistently fill their water bowls, so I just pour the water on top of the filled in bowl and let it run over a little. In my tarantula infancy I had some T's with 3 water dishes. I finally began to let THEM decide if they wanted one or not.
Di

Many of my tarantulas kick substrate into their water "bowls". Some bury them outright, and still others web over them to the point where I can no longer pour water into them or remove them without damaging webs. But at the moment my worst offenders in this activity (burying water containers) are a couple centipedes. They cruise the subterranean realms of their cages all night long like underground snow plows, pushing all that is underneath to the surface above the water containers.

Well, this morning when I tried to add water to the substrate filled cap of this particular T, it attacked the stream of water, repeatedly. Being an LP, it is always hungry, but has eaten within the past 5 days, so I know it isn't starving. Probably just reactive.

June, pre-water bowl, I would stick a syringe into the substrate and 'water' from the bottom up. Then they could arrange either damp or dry substrate to their liking. Guess I'll go back to that with this one.

Bill, I think my centipede had 3 or 4 'bowls' in with it. I would just add water to whichever one was topside, if any...