Eight legged can-openers

[mandipants]

Being that you have multiple spiders of multiple species doing this, I would nix the screen completely and find another method of ventilation/housing.

 

[Loudog760]

So is it better to use the metal type of mesh or the stuff like for windows screens?

 

[ghordy]

So is it better to use the metal type of mesh or the stuff like for windows screens?

In the TKG it has a pic of a window screen type lid all chewed up in one corner. The author said it took the T a couple hours to do it.

 

[Loudog760]

In the TKG it has a pic of a window screen type lid all chewed up in one corner. The author said it took the T a couple hours to do it.

Thought so, I need to get my self a cope of both the TKG's.

 

[edesign]

i know you are joking... but if you could catch them doing it every time i think that might actually work... provided the spider hates getting sprayed. i'm not saying it would be a good choice for reals, but *if* one could catch them in the act and give them a negative stimulus every time they did it i think you could train them out of it

My 7" L. parahybana climbs up to the roof of her tank and tries to pry the screen off. It's heavier gauge than what Anastasia is using and she can't really mangle it but boy can she deflect (i.e., bend) it from it's natural state! She's quite noisy when she does it so if I'm in the same room I hear her.

Anyway, I've misted her with a spray bottle...blown on her...tickled her toe claws/tapped the screen...she will get down but she's never stopped doing it and that's been going on for at least two years now. It's not a daily occurence afaik, seems to come in spurts for the most part but there's nothing noticeably different about her tank when she does it. *shrugs*

Crazy T's...

 

[edesign]

So is it better to use the metal type of mesh or the stuff like for windows screens?

I'd go with the metal mesh if it's more than ~2" or so or do as Caco suggested and go with smaller screen-covered vents but more of them. I bought mine from Petco...go to the pet store and check out the lids they sell to see how thick the screen is if you want an idea of what to use.

 

[edesign]

Electrifying it might do the trick, lol.

Works for milking their venom...

I would suggest coating the lid with Budweiser or an equivalent excuse for beer...if I were a T I wouldn't touch it :}

 

[BiologicalJewels]

Anastasia,

You may want to go to the hardware store and purchase the aluminum skink drain strainer type discs. With a hole saw, cut a hole about the same size and epoxy the disc onto the enclosure. They will provide great ventilation and there are no chances for the T's to "break" those open

 

[GartenSpinnen]

This post is seriously freaking me out... I have housed plenty of large T's (a P. rufilata right now) in enclosures with screen that is similar. My pokie is around 7" now, and you all are talking about 2" T's....Eek!

And to think I always got a chuckle when peeps keep pedes in KK's... guess the chuckle is on me, time to reinforce some screen!

 

[burmish101]

Works for milking their venom...

I would suggest coating the lid with Budweiser or an equivalent excuse for beer...if I were a T I wouldn't touch it :}

I agree, get some good beer like sam adams or almost anything foreign lol. Hoping their taste is the same as ours, in that case I need to up the insect intake in my diet.

 

[zonbonzovi]

Personally, I absolutely hate mesh of any kind as I've had similar experiences, although I do like your idea with the drain, balam.

This might be too labor intensive for what I assume to be a massive collection, Anastasia, but:

I bought large sheets of acrylic from the local plastic supplier and and cut them to fit each tank. If the pieces aren't too thick(I prefer 1/8"), they can easily be drilled with a glass borer(forgive me I have the tool name wrong: it has a heart shaped tip). They are relatively cheap and come in a lot of different sizes, depending on the size of the spider and prey, of course. Heavy duty velcro is a nice option for keeping the spider from opening the lid, although I'd be nervous about using *only* velcro on arboreal tanks.

 

[shypoet]

maybe as soon as you have the money, order from tarantulacages.com? I've wanted one for Suzie for a long time now, but at the moment, my husband and I do not have $85 (the one I want to get her is $85) so for the time being, she's stuck with her screen top lid. So far, she hasn't had any problems, but with all these stories of escape, I want to change her to a different cage soon.

 

[Draychen]

I think those Ts are just dying for some attention! (sarcastic). My A. Metallica Female ~6" would go to the top of the habitat and do much the same after the 2nd day of having her. It was harder for her to get her teeth through the holes and around the screen.. but the few times I did see her do it, I took her out of the cage. After those two times, I had never seen her do it again. However, she would constantly hang upside down on the screen and when I saw her hang like that for a time, I'd take her out.

 

[GartenSpinnen]

Anastasia,
Have you ever had any issues with your gargantuan Heterometrus sp. you have messing up the screen? When I used to keep them, they were quite the climbers; used to really like to tear into the screen any chance they would get.

 

[Anastasia]

Nate,
oh yes he is constantly walking upside down keep checking for weak spots to escape
I rewire whole lid, just to make sure that lobster looking thing is not gona show up in my bed one of them nights
or fish em out of my slipper attached to mah toe

 

[GartenSpinnen]

Nate,
oh yes he is constantly walking upside down keep checking for weak spots to escape
I rewire whole lid, just to make sure that lobster looking thing is not gona show up in my bed one of them nights
or fish em out of my slipper attached to mah toe

Awww... no Heterometrus cuticle cutters?

It is amazing how strong some invertebrates are. I think out of what I have kept the worst was a large S. subspinipes that I had. That first night I remember laying on my couch and throughout my whole entire apartment I heard this God awful racket... BANG BANG CRUNCH...

Go into the spider room to see what it is, my S. subspinipes is just nawing like hell on the screen. Scared the hell out of me, ended up taking duct tape to the terrarium. I just could not sleep, kept having the thought of waking up with that thing on my face.

The last time I attempted pedes the S. heros arizonensis stripped the silicone out of the corner of the terrarium! I couldn't believe it! Might be able to pull that pic up if I can find it. No more pedes... no more. Ever.

 

[spydrhunter1]

I've had large land hermit crabs that have torn through screen cage covers. It is amazing how strong arthropods can be when they want out.

 

[mhill]

I had an adult female P. murinus that chewed through a screen mesh top once, luckily I caught her before she made a full fledged escape...but talk about not sleeping easily that night. Next day I rehoused her into a KK, even then she would attempt to chew her way out by hanging upside down and sticking her fangs through the slits in the lid...made one hell of a racket doin it also.
I also had an adult female G. rosea that was a screen chewer, but she never actually was able to break any of the mesh strands.

 

[scar is my t]

I had a 1/2" A versicolor chew through screen (luckily the hole the screen was over was just a bit to small for her/him to get out. But I did have an A seemani 1" sling take a walk about for a day after ripping a hole through the screen on his/her enclosure. They aren't as stupid as some people make them out to be. And I'm from the school of thought that tarantulas can learn.

I was always led to believe that they are stupid animals driven only by instinct. So your saying IF someone could catch them in the act of doing wrong they could be trained like a dog almost besides the rolling and so on?

 

[joncro55]

You guys are using the wrong type of mesh! Mesh can be such a useful tool when it comes to cages and its a shame to hear you guys giving up so easy. You need to use a stronger mesh with a larger wire diameter and you will be living stress free. Check this out for more details on mesh:

http://www.bwire.com/measure_wire_cloth.htm

Specifically, note the part that is labeled "wire diameter". If you use a thicker wire, there will be absolutely no chance anything can find a weak spot and slip through.