Avicularia versicolor frappuccino!

[Mavet]

Hi all, anyone tried the new arachnid-flavoured frappuccino from Starbucks yet?

LOL, just kidding...!

I've seen some pretty neat ideas for sling/juvie containers that various board members have posted, and came up with a fun (and also free!) solution in a similar vein. My two A. versicolor slings (~3-4cm/1-1.5") were a little cramped in their vials after their last moult, so I wanted to upgrade them into a larger container, but I felt that the tall deli-containers I had stashed away for them were still a bit big for their current size. So I had a bright idea as I was going by the Starbucks on campus one day and the barista was nice enough to give me a couple containers with lids! (Kinda happy she didn't ask me what they were for though!)

Anywho, so I re-homed my little guys a couple days ago, along with their isopod buddies (I love the isopods! Haven't seen a single mite since they started rooming with my versis!), and they seem to be doing pretty well. This pic was taken not long after the initial re-house, but the very next day I spent about 45min or so just watching this guy/girl construct a lovely tube web just beneath the bamboo skewers on one side. So cool to see in action!



So what do you guys think? Anyone else have arachnids living in beverage cups or other unusual containers? (I think I remember someone mentioning they had some slings living in a McD sunday cup...?
:big grin:

BTW, the little hole in the lid for the straws was blocked off using circles of duct tape (Aww yeah, Canada!) applied to both the inside and outside.

 

[d3v1n96]

At first I thought the top of the container was a mesh vent, but i guess duct tape is cool too. I like your cheap solution to a T enclosure but I personally would never do it, I like things to be as ascetically pleasing as possible.

 

[Mavet]

LOL, yeah mesh would have been ideal, but not having a mode of transport other than public transit available to me here at uni, I figured I'd best work with what I had on hand. And there are plenty of ventilation holes in the container sides and lid.

Aesthetics are something I'll worry about once they get large enough for me to transfer them into a permanent adult enclosure. Until then, I don't want to sink a lot of resources into a lovely enclosure, only to have to replace it a matter of months on down the road as my spiders grow.

I do have plans for an old eMac desktop computer that's sitting in my basement: one day I'm going to completely gut it and seal up all the necessary ports so that I can use it as a terrarium. When it's all said and done, I think it will make a really neat enclosure, especially once I landscape the interior and maybe add some live plants. Depending on how much internal space I'm left with after all the modifications, I'm thinking of housing either my GBB or my L. parahybana in there!

 

[viper69]

How does one get mites to begin with? I've never encountered this with my Ts, is this common? I had mites once with a snake that came off a mouse, but that's is.

 

[Mavet]

Well, I'm not 100% sure that they're mites... don't know where they might have been picked up, but mites are everywhere, so contact is inevitable at some point. All I know is that I saw tiny, tiny little white things moving around in the substrate and went and found a bunch of isopods in the woods just to play it safe. The isopods eat the leftover boluses and the Ts don't bother them, and I haven't seen any white squiggly things since, so I'm not about to look a gift horse in the mouth!

I've seen mites on snakes and other reptiles, and these don't look like them, btw... There are a shiteload of types of mites out there, and a lot of them are species (or at least general group) specific, so I don't know that the same mites that parasitize reptiles would also parasitize spiders...

My avics are the only Ts I have isopods in with, though; I keep it dry enough in my other enclosures so that mites shouldn't be an issue, and I've never seen anything mite-like in with my terrestrials. But I've only been keeping Ts personally since September, so I can't speak as to how common, or not, this is.

 

[viper69]

Well, I'm not 100% sure that they're mites... don't know where they might have been picked up, but mites are everywhere, so contact is inevitable at some point. All I know is that I saw tiny, tiny little white things moving around in the substrate and went and found a bunch of isopods in the woods just to play it safe. The isopods eat the leftover boluses and the Ts don't bother them, and I haven't seen any white squiggly things since, so I'm not about to look a gift horse in the mouth!

I've seen mites on snakes and other reptiles, and these don't look like them, btw... There are a shiteload of types of mites out there, and a lot of them are species (or at least general group) specific, so I don't know that the same mites that parasitize reptiles would also parasitize spiders...

My avics are the only Ts I have isopods in with, though; I keep it dry enough in my other enclosures so that mites shouldn't be an issue, and I've never seen anything mite-like in with my terrestrials. But I've only been keeping Ts personally since September, so I can't speak as to how common, or not, this is.

Wow, I've never seen little tiny white guys in my Ts homes before. No I didn't mean to suggest snake mites were what you were observing haha. Those mites are def. not white. I meant mites in general, not any particular species of mites.

 

[Osmo]

the little tiny white guys were probably springtails which are a positive prescience.

 

[viper69]

the little tiny white guys were probably springtails which are a positive prescience.

That's the only thing I could think of myself. I remember seeing them via a Dart Frog vendor, man those guys are TINY!!!! At first they looked like white dust! IF the OP has springtails, how does one end up with springtails in their Ts substrates?

Isopods eat springtails? I was under the impression they eat non-living organic matter, ie not other insects. Maybe the arthropods are a type of lice? I really don't know much about forest microfauna other than they exist and many serve as food, or as cleanup crew or both hahaha.

 

[Jelllo]

That is so awesome, might do this myself !

 

[PlaidJaguar]

I've got one of my slings in a Sea Monkey jar. I The Sea Monkeys didn't make it, but at least I got some use of the container.

 

[viper69]

I've got one of my slings in a Sea Monkey jar. I The Sea Monkeys didn't make it, but at least I got some use of the container.
View attachment 122183

That's a cool idea. What is the plastic box on the left, looks interesting. At the LPS I saw a triangle shaped beta tank, would be good for young Ts, fits in a corner. Though the top would need to be locked down in some way.

 

[cantthinkofone]

I love the creativity and simplicity of this. Very nice! Very nice indeed. I also enjoy the sea monkey cage.

 

[Eresin]

I'd love to see other creative ideas (I like the old eMac idea) , come on people, show us your stuff

 

[PlaidJaguar]

That's a cool idea. What is the plastic box on the left, looks interesting. At the LPS I saw a triangle shaped beta tank, would be good for young Ts, fits in a corner. Though the top would need to be locked down in some way.

The plastic box is a Container Store find, tipped sideways. I use adhesive hanging hooks and tiny rubber hair bands for latches. I used a soldering pen to add air holes and melt down the lip in the lid where the latches connect, and hot glued in some cork to hold the substrate in.
Here's some closer pics:

 

[Roktman]

Hi Mavet,
I rather like it. Not too big on the logos, but I like the shape - sorta retro looking. I also like the idea of the bamboo skewer. IMHO it gives it a little Japanese look. :wink: Anyway, enuff rambling - thumbs up from me.

 

[viper69]

The plastic box is a Container Store find, tipped sideways. I use adhesive hanging hooks and tiny rubber hair bands for latches. I used a soldering pen to add air holes and melt down the lip in the lid where the latches connect, and hot glued in some cork to hold the substrate in.
Here's some closer pics:
View attachment 122199 View attachment 122200

Thanks that's pretty clever. Ah cork board, good idea as a substrate dam. Have you ever had the adhesive hooks come off? I'm always worried about adhesives giving way, and having to replace them over and over.

---------- Post added 11-21-2013 at 04:01 PM ----------

I'd love to see other creative ideas (I like the old eMac idea) , come on people, show us your stuff

eMac idea?

 

[PlaidJaguar]

Thanks that's pretty clever. Ah cork board, good idea as a substrate dam. Have you ever had the adhesive hooks come off? I'm always worried about adhesives giving way, and having to replace them over and over.

---------- Post added 11-21-2013 at 04:01 PM ----------



eMac idea?

No, they're very secure. I cleaned both surfaces with alcohol before applying, and tugged on them pretty hard to make sure they were really stuck tight.

I don't think I'd trust this system with a full sized T though--they might be strong enough to stretch the rubber bands. Works great for little ones though.

 

[Mavet]

I'm totally going to make use of the cork board substrate dam method! Most of the substrate dams I've seen people construct are usually plexi-glass/acrylic based, but seeing as I don't have the means to work directly with that, I've been looking for a good alternative, and I think that cork would be awesome!

Viper 69: the eMac idea was one that I've been thinking about for use when my Ts get big enough for a permanent adult enclosure, as I have an old, busted eMac in my basement that is a perfect size to be junk-cycled into an enclosure of some kind (see one of my first posts on the previous page).