- Joined
- Aug 16, 2002
- Messages
- 2,929
I have used rocks in the water bowl for about ten years now, and found it to be an effective way to reduce the drowned crickets in the bowl (talk about a potential bacteria problem). They still drown sometimes, but not as often. The rock also helps weigh down the plastic deli cups I use as bowls so the don't get tipped as easily.
It's true that crickets can probably crawl easily from a shallow bowl, but if I went that route I'd be doing little more with my time than constantly refilling bowls as the water evaporates. Also, shallow bowls will spill easily if not kept nearly level all the time, and even small amounts of substrate over the edge can cause the contents to wick out of the bowl and into the substrate. Too much work for me, I'll take a big bowl (8 oz deli with rock for terrestrials, 16 oz for aboreals) over a shallow one any day. Just a matter of personal preferance.
As an alternative to tubes, I use two cork slabs, arranged so the concave sides face one annother, which creates a nice space in between for the spider to adapt for a retreat.
Wade
It's true that crickets can probably crawl easily from a shallow bowl, but if I went that route I'd be doing little more with my time than constantly refilling bowls as the water evaporates. Also, shallow bowls will spill easily if not kept nearly level all the time, and even small amounts of substrate over the edge can cause the contents to wick out of the bowl and into the substrate. Too much work for me, I'll take a big bowl (8 oz deli with rock for terrestrials, 16 oz for aboreals) over a shallow one any day. Just a matter of personal preferance.
As an alternative to tubes, I use two cork slabs, arranged so the concave sides face one annother, which creates a nice space in between for the spider to adapt for a retreat.
Wade
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