cold blood

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While its true that screens tend to be more dangerous for terrestrials, arboreals aren't in the clear....in fact we just had a thread where someone's Avic was stuck on the top mesh and was trying to molt....had she not freed this t and it molted like this, it would have fallen to the bottom and could have easily been fatal...not worth the risk IMO.
 

Ungoliant

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While its true that screens tend to be more dangerous for terrestrials, arboreals aren't in the clear....in fact we just had a thread where someone's Avic was stuck on the top mesh and was trying to molt....had she not freed this t and it molted like this, it would have fallen to the bottom and could have easily been fatal...not worth the risk IMO.
When I moved my first Avic into an Exo Terra Small/Tall, she would sometimes climb on the ceiling. While she never got stuck that I saw, it looked like it took some effort to lift each foot from the screen. When she fell into her water dish, that was enough of a warning for me. I covered the inside of the screen with a loosely draped sheet of cotton, and that discouraged further exploration of the ceiling.
 

mazzzz

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I would add a few more leaves, but otherwise it looks fine. (Make sure the sling can't fit through the ventilation holes.)
When you say a few more leaves should I just add some more at the bottom or should i hot glue a few more too the cork bark? Thanks for all your help.
 

cold blood

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When you say a few more leaves should I just add some more at the bottom or should i hot glue a few more too the cork bark? Thanks for all your help.
Plants need to be elevated, preferably right on the top half of the wood. The ground should be relatively clear of any clutter as it will just give prey places to hide.
 

edesign

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While its true that screens tend to be more dangerous for terrestrials, arboreals aren't in the clear....in fact we just had a thread where someone's Avic was stuck on the top mesh and was trying to molt....had she not freed this t and it molted like this, it would have fallen to the bottom and could have easily been fatal...not worth the risk IMO.
Helicopter parents ;)

That's an extremely rare and specific predicament. More spiders die due to bad molts for other reasons and incompetent keepers than screen lids have come close to killing.

Only screen incident I've had since 2004 was when my Lp, after SIX years managed to get a fang stuck trying to tear thick screen mesh open. Still in the same style tank with the same style lid, SEVEN years later and no other problems.

Just like there's no reason to get rid of bicycles because a few kids hurts themselves or get run over and killed (well, some would say we should, they also thought Buckyballs should be banned because a dozen kids or so ingested a few and hurt/killed themselves...despite being for adult use only...so yes, those kinds of people exist) I and many others will continue to be fine with screen lids.

What you're saying can easily be extrapolated to say that anything with a chance of harming the inhabitant, no matter how remote, should be avoided. I'm all for a safe environment but screens ARE perfectly fine ~99% of the time with arboreals.

I had an A avicularia try to molt in a fake plant in a terrible position that pretty much guaranteed she would've got stuck and died had I not found her and moved her. Gonna have to remove all my decor for that 1:10,000 chance a spider picks a bad spot to molt /s :)

My only real concern with them is a large spider chewing through and escaping. I've not seen an arboreal yet have difficulty with the screens. My carpet, when I take various species out for rehousing/photoshoots, poses a bigger challenge to them than any screen lid.
 

cold blood

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well i certainly dont agree with your asessment. kids dont fall off bikes and die...theyre vastly more resiliant than an invert.

Yes its not overly common, but the example i gave is far from an isolated one....it happens....it doesnt happen with drilled acrylic or plexi....ever.
 

edesign

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Kids do fall off bikes and die just like people die from hitting their heads slipping on ice or getting punched. Probably more rare now that helmets are required in many areas. Rare but it happens...just like Ts and screens but I'm not going to repeat myself.

https://www.bing.com/search?q=child+falls+off+bike+hits+head+dies

(Laugh at Bing if you want, don't care, my phone default options are Google, Yahoo, and Bing...I use Yahoo never, Google as a last resort, prefer DDG but I'm too lazy to go to their home page to use it on my phone haha so I'm stuck with Bing which actually is not bad).

Do what you feel is right for your Ts. I'll continue to use screens with arboreals and not worry. If I ever have an issue (most of my collection is arboreal) I'll try to remember to find this thread and let everyone know. Yes, my memory works that well sometimes ;)

Tangent...
Moderating the FB group is interesting but when I disagree with a logically thought out post I don't react with an angry or sad face aka "dislike" just because I disagree. Or even when I wasn't a moderator. CB did it right, thanks dude :)

Those who voted to "disagree" with it didn't even bother to try and dissect my post so I'll not bother explaining my points in depth in the future. It appears to have flown over some heads despite taking the time to carefully make my points. I try to reserve those "disagree" votes for the most terrible of posts like blatantly incorrect comments ("Keep your balfouri moist!" or "You can't accurately sex ventrally, you need a molt to be 100% sure." For example...and even then I don't bother, just explain why it's wrong). If this was such bad husbandry there wouldn't be as many keepers using screens for arboreals with zero problems over the long term.

Experience counts and my experience along with many, many others is that screen injuries (much less actual death) to arboreals are quite rare. Oddly enough a lot of people agree with my assessment including some other respected keepers that we all know. *shrugs* I guarantee if they said it there would be questions or conversation ala CB rather than a simple "disagree" vote haha.
 

Ungoliant

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Those who voted to "disagree" with it didn't even bother to try and dissect my post so I'll not bother explaining my points in depth in the future. It appears to have flown over some heads despite taking the time to carefully make my points.
You assume too much when you say that people who use a disagree rating without replying "didn't even bother to try and dissect" your post or that it just flew over their heads. In most cases, this is done because the person using the rating either had already explained the basis for their disagreement, or someone else had, and they felt an additional reply would be redundant. (The same applies to agree ratings.)

I think you are overreacting when you say, "I'll not bother explaining my points in depth in the future," because someone used a disagree rating. Try not to take it personally. "Disagree" doesn't mean anything more than what it says on the tin, which is that someone didn't agree with something you said. It doesn't necessarily mean that you're a bad keeper or that you didn't adequately explain your position.

As to why I disagreed without posting a follow-up reply, it was because I had already explained the basis for my disagreement in two previous posts, in which I described my experience and linked to a recent thread about an Avic whose claws got stuck in a screen lid:
Although not everyone agrees that that screen/mesh lids are hazardous for arboreals, replacing it is a good plan.
When I moved my first Avic into an Exo Terra Small/Tall, she would sometimes climb on the ceiling. While she never got stuck that I saw, it looked like it took some effort to lift each foot from the screen. When she fell into her water dish, that was enough of a warning for me. I covered the inside of the screen with a loosely draped sheet of cotton, and that discouraged further exploration of the ceiling.
I also considered your comparison between not using a screen lid with "helicopter parents" who would "get rid of bicycles because a few kids hurts themselves" to be hyperbolic and therefore not worth specifically rebutting.

Lastly, @cold blood had already posted a reply by the time I read your post.


Experience counts and my experience along with many, many others is that screen injuries (much less actual death) to arboreals are quite rare. Oddly enough a lot of people agree with my assessment including some other respected keepers that we all know.
In the end, it is up to you to evaluate the risk and decide whether it's worth mitigating. However, based on my own experience and pictures I have seen, I will continue to recommend the low-effort safety measure of replacing or covering the screen.
 

mazzzz

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Thank you!!
Okay so my new little girl (well hopefully girl) is an amazing eater!! Only thing is I'm pretty sure she has been depositing her boluses or boli or whatever the plural is in her web. Should I be worried about that and try to clean them out at the risk of destroying her web or should I just leave them be??
 

Venom1080

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Okay so my new little girl (well hopefully girl) is an amazing eater!! Only thing is I'm pretty sure she has been depositing her boluses or boli or whatever the plural is in her web. Should I be worried about that and try to clean them out at the risk of destroying her web or should I just leave them be??
I'd remove them if they're just sitting there. Webs can be rebuilt pretty easily.
 

mazzzz

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I'd remove them if they're just sitting there. Webs can be rebuilt pretty easily.
Alright thank you.

Okay so there is a very small Dubai somewhere in my avics enclosure and I can’t find it I know for a fact she didn’t eat it should I be worried??
 
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Nightstalker47

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Okay so there is a very small Dubai somewhere in my avics enclosure and I can’t find it I know for a fact she didn’t eat it should I be worried??
Just remove the feeder, there shouldn't be any prey at large in the enclosure for more then a day.
 

cold blood

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Okay so there is a very small Dubai somewhere in my avics enclosure and I can’t find it I know for a fact she didn’t eat it should I be worried??
No.

Avics not only molt at elevated positions, but also within webbing....a roach running around is of little consequence.
 

Nightstalker47

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Avics not only molt at elevated positions, but also within webbing....a roach running around is of little consequence.
What about that famous versi of yours that got munched...didn't that happen while it was molting?

No point risking it IMO, feeders shouldn't be around long term anyway. If the spider isn't interested, remove and try another day.
 

mazzzz

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No.

Avics not only molt at elevated positions, but also within webbing....a roach running around is of little consequence.
Alright thanks that's a relief I plan on getting it out as soon as I see it I just can't really find it right now.
 

Nightstalker47

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Explain...what you describe absolutely, positively, NEVER happened.
My post could have been worded better there, my bad. Not trying to be condescending lol.

I thought I remembered seeing one of your pics showing two superworm beetles munching your versi?
 

cold blood

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My post could have been worded better there, my bad. Not trying to be condescending lol.

I thought I remembered seeing one of your pics showing two superworm beetles munching your versi?
Ahhh...you're close, but waaaay off, as Homer Simpson would say...lol.

First, it is a GBB adult female. Secondly, it was a pic sent to me by a local keeper in panic...I saved the pic to use as an educational tool. I've never lost any t to a feeder personally, but I don't leave that to chance.
Avics are literally the only genus I don't worry about due to the reasons I listed.

btw, I didn't think you were being condescending, I just couldn't figure out what you meant....but I get the misunderstanding now.
 
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