# New Cage Setup?



## annex (Dec 17, 2003)

Ok soooo got an A. seemanni the other day... and bought it in the rather not happy looking pet store cage! (they sold it to me for UBER cheap cuz the girl didn't wanna touch the T lol... which is fine it's be a good place for a small T in the future)

anyhoo!! the critter cage thing my buddy gave me to use is displayed in another of my posts... 
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?threadid=18633

now i know i've read a fair bit on this, and there's a debate between potting soil/vermiculite etc

but anyhoo i HAVE potting soil in the old garage, that says 'naturally blended' etc..... but doesn't list ingrediants or anything, and i'm wondering can i use it safely?? i'm not using it tonight anyway as it's too cold (it was in the garage) so i'm warming it in the house for the night..... but is there a way i can tell it's safe??

beyond that.. i basically just put it into the tank in a moist sorta way.. maybe...1/3 - 1/2 of that tank?  then a water dish of some sort???  and that's ABOUT it???  (aside from terrain which i'll add later as i don't have much yet... but i'll put in the lil ceramic water bowl that the pet store gamme for it to hide behind)

will that pretty much do it for a basic setup??
(i'll add some rocks or something later, lol)


any tips on this would be hugely apreciated


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## PapaSmurf (Dec 17, 2003)

a mix of soil/virmic. peat. is always great.

Josh


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## annex (Dec 17, 2003)

so strait soil won't do huh???

and.. what do you guys think as far as the 'naturally blended'

think that means no additives?


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## PapaSmurf (Dec 17, 2003)

yes it will, it is great i keep my A.seemanis on just potting soil as a matter of fact but like my burrowers i keep them on a mix so they can burrow easy so i'd say yes it is fine. no deaths nor unhappy A.Seemani's yet and i got 3 .

Josh


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## annex (Dec 18, 2003)

OK!
moved it into it's new home

put a lil water in the soil when i was packing it in there, figure that might help humidity (wish i had a scale for that of some sort) 
hehe

ummm Oh also you can see a heating pad under, cuz i thought the dirt might still be a bit cold, so i put that under for a while to help it even out temperature wise.. also figure can use it if it gets chilly etc.... sorta indirect but raises the temp a bit in there 

ummmm anyhoo the lil waterdish is sorta makeshift, and a bit dirty from my messing with those plant things, lol!
and put in the water 'dish' (more like a freaking cup) that the pet store gamme upside down as something to hide behind... i dunno....

hopefully looks otay? lol

Ummm any recomendations for handling? like not too eager to, but i heard it's good to give em a wee bit of human contact daily or whatever??? maybe that was a crazy wild misconception, lol.. like should i pet her a bit here n there? 


OH!! the name at the moment... is Heidi...

(lol i wasn't sure i was THINKING bobo, but my mom keeps calling her heidi.. and i think it's sticking)


so i did a lil montage of 4 pics to show it all up a bit... umm yeah!! anyhoo anyone with any newbie advice/recomendations would be apreciated, i've read alot, but y'know, always nice to hear things first hand that ppl might recomend 


Oh, and it's A. seemanni  (best i could figure) hehe
and PRETTY sure female, could be mistaken though!!


SO look like a happy home??


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## BaltimoreBoy (Dec 18, 2003)

thats a newbie home, why vines/flowers... no hide spot?


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## annex (Dec 18, 2003)

lol didn't really HAVE anything
the lame cage i got it in had the one vine flowery thing so i was like, ah what the hell, and then my buddy gamme that other one (for fish tanks i'm sure) lol and again 'ah what the hell'

hehe i figured it oucld hide behind that upside down ceramic dealy 

you say 'newbie home' which it is, lol sooo what do i do to up the ante a bit, n make it a sexeh home?


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## BaltimoreBoy (Dec 18, 2003)

first of all take those vines out, they are just for your looks or to take pictures with hopefully... you should make oyur own burrow by taking a couple of rocks as walls and then another flat rock as a roof then covering it with dirt and letting your tarantula (if it is a burrowing species) dig its own home outso u can see down in there with a flash light...    what i wanna know is if a flashlight hurts the T's eyes


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## annex (Dec 18, 2003)

sadly it's winter, dunno where imma find rocks 

yeah i just put the vines in cuz i figured, i have nothing else, n it prolly likes having.. y'know.. STUFF in there to.. crawl around n stuff, lol

hence the corks as well, lol!
yes.. corks.. *sigh*

i had nothing literally 
i tried to like, make the dirt an obvious area for a burrow near the upturned ceramic, dug it a bit high in that corner n made a depression there, figured it might take the hint, lol
if i can get some rocks i'll set em up like ya said 
thanx!


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## metzgerzoo (Dec 18, 2003)

Looks ok to me, but I do agree, all of the "interior design" isn't necessary and could cause problems for your T if it gets stuck or tangled in all those vines.  Your T will most likely dig it's borrow where ever it decides but yes, giving it a bit of a head start can be helpfull.  When you go to look for rocks, make sure they are smooth and do not have any sharp edges...T's will climb sometimes, even if they aren't arborel (sp) and if they fal on a rock, even if it doesn't look or feel sharp to our fingers, it could puncture  a T.  I personally don't put any rocks in my tanks for the simple reason that they make for a potentially hard landing either way and could harm my Ts.  One last thing...keep in mind when decorating your T's enclousures, the more "stuff" you have in there, the more places you provide for crickets to escape and hide from your T.  One of my T's will "slap" the leaves of a fake bush I have in her tank to knock crickets off of it and will "swipe" her legs behind her water dish to chase them out but not all T's will go so far to catch dinner.


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## annex (Dec 18, 2003)

metzgerzoo, that's awesome thank you for the advice! 

yeah i might wait on rocks or see if there's somewhere you can buy rocks for cheap or something so i can be sure to get some reasonable smooth ones etc.... i don't wanna make anything too hardcore int here *shrugs*
but yeah, i'll get the plants out
just don't want it to be TOO boring in there for it
seems to like crawling in behind the plant things.. i dunno *shrugs* 


hehe anyhoo thank you much for the advice!!
dunno the cricket problem yet, hehe
gonna feed her this weekend


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## Bearskin10 (Dec 18, 2003)

I would say split the tank in two sections add couple pieces of cork bark and you are set for two T's. Here is my setup like what I just explained. Greg
 Houses two 5+" G. Roseas


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## Bearskin10 (Dec 18, 2003)

And then here is a setup I am working on right now 29T split in 4 sections each with its own opening, Should be a pretty sweet aboreal hideout. Just need to sand and stain the oak.   Oh yeah and add the T's  Greg


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## annex (Dec 18, 2003)

holy crap the project your working on now looks INSANE!!
eager to see it done and full o T's!!! *GRINS*


i like yer other setups as well! 
nice to know you think i can split, cuz.... man.. that' dbe kinda handy! 

hehe
already eager for more T's

and i've barely settled this one in! 

lol

cork bark, pet stores prolly have that or something????


also what are the recomendations for water??? like.. shallow, n wide? or... like what? 
stuff in em or?


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## metzgerzoo (Dec 18, 2003)

You should be able to find cork bark at speciality shops/pet stores.  I have half logs (bought at the local pet store)  that I sue for my average size T's (5 inches or so).  They can be pricey sometimes but they come all decked out with wooden "plant life" on them.   Yes, you'll want a wide, shallow dish for water.  For s'lings, a bottle cap works well, for larger T's I usually use a shallow plastic leftover type container.  You don't want your water dish too deep as you don't want your T's to get any water in their book lungs...say bye bye to the T if it does.  Also, you'll want to put a small rock or piece of slate in it so crickets don't drown in the dish.
One more thing, DON'T put a sponge or cotton balls in your T's water dishes!!!  Those things collect all sorts of nasties that could make your T sick.  Contrary to what some say, a T CAN drink straight water and doesn't need the aid of sponges etc. to help it out.  If there is cricket "poo" in the water dish, take the dish  out, clean it with mild soap and rince well in hot water.  Some don't really see the necessity of washing T dishes, but me personally, I don't drink from dirty glasses so why should my pets?


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## BBlack (Dec 18, 2003)

I notice you have what looks like a temp sensor right uptop of the tank. Having it so high doesn't really give an accurate reading of the temp at T level. (all the heat rises to the top)

Although most T's are ok at a temp you'd feel comfortable in it may be something you might need to watch as I gather it can get a pretty cold in Canada.

I'd also agree with  metzgerzoo and avoid the use of hard surfaces. I have a Hide for my T and always makesure it's away from the side of the tank incase she falls after climbing the walls.


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## metzgerzoo (Dec 18, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Bearskin10 _
> *And then here is a setup I am working on right now 29T split in 4 sections each with its own opening, Should be a pretty sweet aboreal hideout. Just need to sand and stain the oak.   Oh yeah and add the T's  Greg *


Just wondering...you are planning on staining that with a water based stain and not oil based, right?


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## BaltimoreBoy (Dec 18, 2003)

what i meant by putting rocks in there is making the sides of the dirt, and the rocks on each side hold up the "roof rock"  then you bury it under substrate and leave a little entrance like a cave, if it falls on the substrate it will be ok because the rocks are buried  as the cave entrance


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## Bearskin10 (Dec 19, 2003)

> _Originally posted by metzgerzoo _
> *Just wondering...you are planning on staining that with a water based stain and not oil based, right? *


The stain I use is a gel stain so yes it does have oil in it. But I am not stupid (I think ) I will put a coat of polyurethane on it so no oils will get out and harm the T's if that is what your point is, also I will let it air out for sometime also. Thanks for the concern though.   Greg


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## metzgerzoo (Dec 19, 2003)

> _Originally posted by BaltimoreBoy _
> *what i meant by putting rocks in there...
> Which is a good idea.  My caution as to the use of rocks was for decorative purposes.  Using them as a foundation, imo is a good idea.*


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## annex (Dec 19, 2003)

wee awesome i'm packed full of snazzy advice *happy*

lol i'm kinda afraid of this T i gotta tell ya, seems pretty edgy

my guess is due to pet store, it go all y'know.. abused 

OH! that temp guage is just part of the critter cage *shrugs*
i can't move it

and yeah it can be pretty chilly up here in Canada 
but i mean in the house it's not too bad
i put that heating pad under the whole thing originally to be sure the soil was warm enough.... but like i figure in the future if it gets a bit cold i can use that to even things out a little 

anyhoo!!
thanks again everyone


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## metzgerzoo (Dec 19, 2003)

What kind of T is it again?   Don't worry if it's edgy, it'll calm down when it's gotten use to it's new home.  Don't be afraid ot it though just sit there for hours on end like I do and admire it.   Give it a few weeks and some time to get it's belly full and it will settle in just fine once it realizes that it's not going to have strange "things" tapping on it's tank all the time ooohing and ahhhing at it and that it will have places to hide when it wants to and a free buffet!


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## vulpina (Dec 19, 2003)

I would say buy cork bark as a hide or they sell the half hollow logs at our pet stores, they work well.

Andy


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## Bearskin10 (Dec 19, 2003)

> _Originally posted by annex _
> *lol i'm kinda afraid of this T i gotta tell ya, seems pretty edgy
> 
> my guess is due to pet store, it go all y'know.. abused
> *


If you remember the post I made in your other thread when you where thinking of getting it, I told you that Seemanis can be very skittish and unpredictable. Not to say these are not a pretty cool T to have, Just don't know why they are concidered such great starter T's?  Greg


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