Lantern enclosure for A. merianae

[Dovey]

One other consideration was I found that my Psalmopoeus cambridgei required a lot of additional moisture. I live in New River, Arizona, which of course has very dry air all the time. Even in a lantern set up, I had to mist his setup just about every day and top off the water. One time I was gone for just 3 days, and when I got back I set a cube of cantaloupe inside his lantern for his free-ranging dubias. When I came back with the water to top off his bowl, he was actually sucking on the cantaloupe for moisture! Those guys do not like to get too dry, so make sure lantern habitats have as much substrate as possible to hold moisture for that species and other humidity lovers if you live in a dry environment.

 

[Thekla]

Honestly a pretty cool idea, I think it would look great if you have a T that it would be appropriate for.

Thanks! And I already have a T for which it'd be appropiate:

It just has to grow into it.

Well, waterproofing was the secondary thought. My bigger concern was that, since they weren't designed to hold inverts, the stuff they used to coat/make the lantern might be toxic to them over time. It's probably not a big deal but I'm a worry wart

I appreciate your concerns, but IMO there's no big risk. I think if it would've been coated with something harmful, I could probably smell it. And it's sitting here for almost 2 weeks now, and I don't smell anything.

My only concern is you don't have more Avics That will work it's a small species.

Hey, I'm only starting with arboreals. Just let me get the hang of it, then we'll see.

Hey, sorry, I've been off for a couple of days. No, I do not seal the bottoms. I let them leak through so that they never get soggy. I only use these for arboreals and only have about half an inch to an inch of substrate underneath a layer of moss, so I want to be able to really soak the substrate when I top off the water bowls. Dripping through is ideal for me... I just make sure they are sitting in a sink or over a water impervious surface. The most successful setup I have had involved hanging a lantern on a hook so that water dripping out with land on a fern below it, which really appreciated the moisture!

Also, when I use screen to cover up gaps that were too wide in decorative areas, I just hot glued them. I've never had a spider mess with cooled hot glue.

And finally, I have found that the Avicularia, Tapenachenius, Psalmopoeus, and Carabina species were perfectly happy to make their nests behind half corks that came up to just below the top of the window, rather than at the top. This was perfect, because I could check on them in the back occasionally and make sure all was well. Weirdly, the most successful Lantern setup has been one that was only about 4 inches deep but 10 inches wide and high. My Versi made a lovely nest with a "cala lily" lip and he would climb out and sit on the lip where I could see him really well. He would often come out and watch me working at the desk where that lantern sat. Just sent him off for breeding. I'm going to miss that guy! Hoping to replace him with a braunshauseni that's getting to be the right size for that lantern. It would have been a bad setup for the more hyper species like the Psalmies and Taps, though, who would have bolted out the front door every time they felt a breeze. Got to match the house to the occupant, of course!

Those are beautiful lamps, by the way. Keep it simple. Just let the water run through. And make sure you use a flexible plastic on the front so that the door will close if the wet substrate bulges. I really have found the plastic used on disposable food containers to be ideal. Very tough and long-lasting.

Thanks for the info. That helps a lot.
I was a bit worried, when you didn't reply... I thought your OBT might have eaten you or something. How's your hunt going?

 

[NukaMedia Exotics]

Thanks! And I already have a T for which it'd be appropiate:
View attachment 271184
It just has to grow into it.


I appreciate your concerns, but IMO there's no big risk. I think if it would've been coated with something harmful, I could probably smell it. And it's sitting here for almost 2 weeks now, and I don't smell anything.


Hey, I'm only starting with arboreals. Just let me get the hang of it, then we'll see.


Thanks for the info. That helps a lot.
I was a bit worried, when you didn't reply... I thought your OBT might have eaten you or something. How's your hunt going?

I'm thinking its not a good idea to assume that humans would be able to smell anything & everything (that could be harmful to our Ts) on field-collected decorations.

 

[Dovey]

Oh, he's still out there someplace. I've gotten very philosophical about it. I put water down for him, and I hear the girl drumming ever so often. Sooner or later I'll find him.

 

[Mirandarachnid]

I appreciate your concerns, but IMO there's no big risk. I think if it would've been coated with something harmful, I could probably smell it. And it's sitting here for almost 2 weeks now, and I don't smell anything.

It's sometimes hard to tell if there is any "off-gassing" from paints (or whatever) when the object is out in the open. I'd suggest you put it in a plastic tub and seal it up real good for a week or so (especially since you're not in a rush to use the enclosure) Then open it up and see if you smell anything. If no smells have built up in a sealed environment by then, I imagine it would be totally safe

 

[Thekla]

It's sometimes hard to tell if there is any "off-gassing" from paints (or whatever) when the object is out in the open. I'd suggest you put it in a plastic tub and seal it up real good for a week or so (especially since you're not in a rush to use the enclosure) Then open it up and see if you smell anything. If no smells have built up in a sealed environment by then, I imagine it would be totally safe

I did that. No smell whatsoever. I also showered it off thoroughly with steaming hot water and left if outside for a few days to dry off, having removed the glass beforehand. I think I'm good to go.

And so I finished the three side walls and the upper cover today. Just wanted to check with you guys, if there'll be enough ventilation. What do you think?

 

[Thekla]

Well, after her (still hoping) last moult I think my A. merianae is ready to move into her forever home.

This morning I started to build the interior of my lantern enclosure. Everything else I fixed already a couple of months ago. Now, what do you say? Is it suitable? Is there enough leaf clutter for her to build her web tunnels? Obviously, there'll be dry substrate and a second water dish on the ground.

Front: Side: Back:

 

[beccadarling]

Sounds like a cool idea! It would definitely take some finagling though. As far as ventilation goes, i think that whatever you do on top should be plenty. I'd probably recommend keeping a species that likes dryer environments if you opt not to add any side ventilation simply because the risk of growing mold would be a bit higher.

 

[Thekla]

Sounds like a cool idea!

Thanks.

It would definitely take some finagling though. As far as ventilation goes, i think that whatever you do on top should be plenty. I'd probably recommend keeping a species that likes dryer environments if you opt not to add any side ventilation simply because the risk of growing mold would be a bit higher.

Like I said I'll be housing my Avicularia merianae in that enclosure, so yes, it'll be dry in there.
As for ventilation... when you have a look at the picture I posted before, you can see that there's is plenty of ventilation on three sides and the top of the enclosure. I don't think I have to worry about mould.