# Tarantula cage idea thread



## Venom1080 (Mar 25, 2018)

Title says it all. Post pics of various tarantula enclosures of yours so I and others get a feel for whats working well out in the hobby.

This isn't to show off your fancy bioactive set ups, but I shall allow it if it's really really nice. 


One gallon jars from Walmart. Use them for every arboreal and fossorial I've raised since I found out about them. Great life time home for spiders up to ~5.5". This ones for a A variegata. 
	

		
			
		

		
	



Ex of a Asian "arboreal" set up using these.


Glass tanks on their side work great. This particular brand has a sliding lid so no mods beyond a barrier are required. This particular set up will work for arboreals up to 10". Unfortunately, I don't think any get there.. 


35 dollar acrylic cage off Amazon. 7.5x8x12. (LWH) reasonable vent, still works for avics though. Will warp a little. 


Normal glass tanks. Believe it or not, a Theraphosa can live comfortably with no cross vent. 

Feel free to exchange more ideas of enclosures, or show off if you must.

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## Bigme213 (Mar 25, 2018)

Juvenile female t stirmi setup

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## Bigme213 (Mar 25, 2018)

Bigme213 said:


> Juvenile female t stirmi setup

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## Aedan547 (Mar 25, 2018)

CD Case Enclosure for slings/juveniles. Been working great for my rose hair.

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## Aedan547 (Mar 25, 2018)

Also housing a Acanthogonatus Francki in one.

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## Sergic (Mar 25, 2018)

Snap lid containers from a bargain store



Container with flexible lid from the container store


Acrylic container that came with a spider from Craigslist


Multiple medium and large critter keepers for arid terrestrials



And of course deli cups in various sizes. Some with more poop on the sides than others

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## Dave Jay (Mar 25, 2018)

Aedan547 said:


> CD Case Enclosure for slings/juveniles. Been working great for my rose hair.


There's one I hadn't thought of when searching on eBay and in shops. Nice!

Reactions: Funny 1


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## MotherofSpiders (Mar 26, 2018)

For younger arboreals and smaller MMs, I use the upright plastic storage containers with ring of holes top and bottom.  Just thought I would share what I do with the tall container enclosures as they can be a challenge to maintain.   Some keepers told me they don't bother with a water dish because they just fill them with dirt.   I started to glue in a "shelf" to elevate water dishes, for reason mentioned.  But the Ts wanted to use the shelves to lounge around on and even molt on so now I hang a 1 oz. portion cup with a loop of 20 gauge wire from one of the vent holes.   Water dish stays clean, the cup holds a lot more water so it never goes dry and is accessible to both T and myself.  Over all much less maintenance.   The t gets a nice horizontal place to stretch out on, which arboreals seem to really appreciate.

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## Wolfspidurguy (Mar 26, 2018)

Venom1080 said:


> Title says it all. Post pics of various tarantula enclosures of yours so I and others get a feel for whats working well out in the hobby.
> 
> This isn't to show off your fancy bioactive set ups, but I shall allow it if it's really really nice.
> View attachment 270646
> ...


Not my enclosure but tarantula Jesus turned whisky into an enclosure

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## Andrea82 (Mar 26, 2018)

Old fashioned glass enclosures with guillotine opening fronts:



With occupant:

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## The Grym Reaper (Mar 26, 2018)

Wham box sling enclosure.



Lock & Lock arboreal sling enclosures (330ml and 700ml)



Juvenile arboreal enclosures (4L & 1.9L)



3L RUB (@EulersK has a tutorial on how to mod the lids but I think they're fine as is tbh)


Small and mini faunariums


Medium flat faunarium and X-large Ferplast KK


Two modded aquariums (not sure how many gallons, they're 18"x10"x10")

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## Venom1080 (Mar 26, 2018)

Wolfspidurguy said:


> Not my enclosure but tarantula Jesus turned whisky into an enclosure


Is that what people call him now..

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## Aedan547 (Mar 26, 2018)

Dave Jay said:


> There's one I hadn't thought of when searching on eBay and in shops. Nice!


All you need is 6 CD cases some hot glue and a Dremmel  I just made one thats 2 stacked ontop of eachother for one of my Arboreals and shes loving it

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## Aedan547 (Mar 26, 2018)

Dave Jay said:


> There's one I hadn't thought of when searching on eBay and in shops. Nice!



There are also many tutorials with different ways on approaching the actual build, check them out!

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## Venom1080 (Mar 26, 2018)

I wonder if @cold blood  could share some pics.. curious how you set things up.


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## cold blood (Mar 26, 2018)

Grym reaper does thinks a lot like I do.












avic housing-adult



__ cold blood
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standard avic set up



__ cold blood
__ Dec 6, 2017


















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__ cold blood
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__ cold blood
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						terrestrial set up
					
















Deli Cup Setup for Terrestrial Slings 1-3"



__ cold blood
__ Mar 13, 2017
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enclosure




						Deli cup set up for terrestrial slings 1-3"
					
















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__ cold blood
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__ cold blood
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						darlingi AF

"hello"
					
















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__ cold blood
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						Making a hide out of a flat piece of wood.
					
















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__ cold blood
__ Mar 24, 2016
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						AF P. cam enclosure

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## Dave Jay (Mar 27, 2018)

Aedan547 said:


> All you need is 6 CD cases some hot glue and a Dremmel  I just made one thats 2 stacked ontop of eachother for one of my Arboreals and shes loving it


Ah, I see. Looking at your picture I initially thought it was a pre-made case designed to hold multiple cds. Great idea, I'll have give it a go.  
I haven't got around to watching the build video yet, but I get the idea now. I modified a little fish tank the other day, and rather than glue the extra doors shut and glue plastic over the holes for power cords etc, I used a soldering iron to plastic weld , that would work with cd cases too I imagine.

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## Dave Jay (Mar 27, 2018)

Here are some of the enclosures I'm using for slings/juvies. I use self cleaning fish tanks for most of my scorpions and I have some left so I've used them for the larger slings. They have what is essentially a pre-made false bottom so I use them as such, no water is added to the top of the substrate, just to the bottom via the inbuilt tube. With my desert scorpions the top of the substrate is completely dry but there is moisture in their burrows, this will be good for my Selenotypus species as they too are arid burrowers. The next size are betta tanks I bought from eBay to sell in scorpion kits but they didn't come with the clear vented lids that were shown in the advert so I've just had them sitting around. This is the advert picture, but in reality, no clear lid and the white lid doesn't fit as a base, you can't even stack them! Total rip off at $11 ea($16 now!) but with ventilation added they are serviceable as sling enclosures, just as well because I bought 15 of them!


	

		
			
		

		
	
The other containers are from the craft section of a cheap imports store, they are ultra clear and BPA free. They have screw lids and they stack with the lids and base locking together. I set some up for an order of slings but the slings were tiny so I bought the small ones, unfortunately the size in between the two are sold out. The larger ones were $3 for a pack of 3, the small ones  $3 for a pack of 6. I will upload pictures of the completed enclosures soon.


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## CyclingSam (Mar 27, 2018)

HOBBY LOBBY!!!

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## Dave Jay (Mar 27, 2018)

I wish Hobby Lobby was in Australia, I can't even think what the equivalent would be.


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## Aedan547 (Mar 27, 2018)

Dave Jay said:


> I wish Hobby Lobby was in Australia, I can't even think what the equivalent would be.


 Michaels Crafts store sells the same ones just a few more dollars than at Hobby Lobby,
Hope this helped!

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## viper69 (Apr 7, 2018)

CyclingSam said:


> HOBBY LOBBY!!!
> 
> 
> 
> ...



What DLS does that Avic on the left have, and container size?


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## CyclingSam (Apr 8, 2018)

viper69 said:


> What DLS does that Avic on the left have, and container size?


The container is about 8.5H x 4W x 4L. The Avic. avic. is about 4"DLS. When this picture was taken, she had just molted. I transferred her to the larger one on the right. The one on the right is about 17H x 7W x 7L. She is still in that enclosure.

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## AnimalNewbie (Apr 8, 2018)

l


CyclingSam said:


> HOBBY LOBBY!!!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


What are they labeled as in the hobby lobby store, I can’t find them.


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## viper69 (Apr 8, 2018)

AnimalNewbie said:


> l
> 
> What are they labeled as in the hobby lobby store, I can’t find them.


In the section as display cases, usually for model cars.


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## CyclingSam (Apr 8, 2018)

AnimalNewbie said:


> l
> 
> What are they labeled as in the hobby lobby store, I can’t find them.


They are all the ones in the light blue and dark blue packaging:

https://www.hobbylobby.com/search/?text=display+cases


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## crystalfreakkk (Apr 9, 2018)

Okay! I’m pretty proud of this. I just got three C. Versicolor slings and for their enclosures I bought amac containers from the containerstore and I figured since they web up the top I glued everything to the top. I think it turned out great. I’ve only done two out of three and they both look so good and unique. I swear I’m obsessed.

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## Dave Jay (Apr 9, 2018)

crystalfreakkk said:


> View attachment 271965
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They look great!

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## boina (Apr 9, 2018)

crystalfreakkk said:


> View attachment 271965
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They look great but they are very much too wet. Stop misting. C. versicolor do much better when kept dry. You can get away with some moisture but this is dripping wet.

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## ahimoto (Apr 9, 2018)

of course , they are small now... but how you will feed them when they will star do webinds...you will lift with that lid

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## Andrea82 (Apr 9, 2018)

crystalfreakkk said:


> View attachment 271965
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It looks great but ehm...you might want to switch them around since C.versicolor webs at the top of an enclosure. That short part which is now the lid should be the bottom. If you're going to use it like it is now, you'll be tearing its web everytime you're opening it like @ahimoto mentioned and potentially have a runner.


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## crystalfreakkk (Apr 9, 2018)

boina said:


> C. versicolor do much better when kept dry


I had just made it so I wet the moss, it’s dryer now. I like to have some moisture in there for them since they don’t have a water dish. 



Andrea82 said:


> It looks great but ehm...you might want to switch them around since C.versicolor webs at the top of an enclosure. That short part which is now the lid should be the bottom. If you're going to use it like it is now, you'll be tearing its web everytime you're opening it like @ahimoto mentioned and potentially have a runner.


Now that you say that I realize you’re probably right... it’s not a problem right now since they’re webbing about the lid. When they grow more though that may become an issue. I’ll have to rehouse them eventually since these enclosures are for slings. I guess I’ll just have an opportunity to make new enclosures then.

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## Andrea82 (Apr 9, 2018)

crystalfreakkk said:


> I had just made it so I wet the moss, it’s dryer now. I like to have some moisture in there for them since they don’t have a water dish.
> 
> 
> 
> Now that you say that I realize you’re probably right... it’s not a problem right now since they’re webbing about the lid. When they grow more though that may become an issue. I’ll have to rehouse them eventually since these enclosures are for slings. I guess I’ll just have an opportunity to make new enclosures then.


I'm a big fan of giving them waterdishes, however small. Just a bottle cap or something works great. I find it gives me more control about the climate in the enclosure. Misting gets everything wet, but dries up within hours. I see my Avic drinking fairly often.

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## crystalfreakkk (Apr 9, 2018)

Andrea82 said:


> I'm a big fan of giving them waterdishes, however small. Just a bottle cap or something works great. I find it gives me more control about the climate in the enclosure. Misting gets everything wet, but dries up within hours. I see my Avic drinking fairly often.


I put a bunch of moss in there and I think that that is helping, I haven't sprayed directly on the slings. Just keeping the substrate damp-ish. They seem to be doing well, when they get bigger I'll give them a dish. My A. Avic has a dish and never drinks from it but I've seen my C. Versicolor drink from the side of their enclosures. I would just be nervous that they would drown, they're very small.

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## Andrea82 (Apr 9, 2018)

crystalfreakkk said:


> I put a bunch of moss in there and I think that that is helping, I haven't sprayed directly on the slings. Just keeping the substrate damp-ish. They seem to be doing well, when they get bigger I'll give them a dish. My A. Avic has a dish and never drinks from it but I've seen my C. Versicolor drink from the side of their enclosures. I would just be nervous that they would drown, they're very small.


Theraphosidae can't drown, they float and even walk on water 
If a spider drowns, it's because it was already injured or fell in during a molt. 
See:


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## Dave Jay (Apr 10, 2018)

crystalfreakkk said:


> I put a bunch of moss in there and I think that that is helping, I haven't sprayed directly on the slings. Just keeping the substrate damp-ish. They seem to be doing well, when they get bigger I'll give them a dish. My A. Avic has a dish and never drinks from it but I've seen my C. Versicolor drink from the side of their enclosures. I would just be nervous that they would drown, they're very small.


They won't drown because their 'hair' traps air effectively encasing them in a bubble, the only thing that would effect that would be remnants of detergent in the dish which would reduce the surface tension of the water. Something to be careful of. I agree that drinking droplets of water is possibly a more natural behaviour, mimicking rain or dew. I usually spray a wall and some decor for new arrivals so they can find water instantly, but a dish is a much more reliable source of water , their thirst may not always coincide with you spraying . You could add a small stainless steel screw to the dish for peace of mind, but it's not really needed. 
That said, I've seen lots of how to keep slings videos by experienced keepers that don't include a water dish, so the method you're using is not unusual. 

Btw, never use any copper, brass or any other metals containing copper in an inverts tank as copper is toxic to inverts in very small doses. Even tapwater can contain enough copper to kill inverts, it could be in the supply itself , but the most danger comes from copper pipes and copper water heaters.

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## boina (Apr 10, 2018)

Dave Jay said:


> Btw, never use any copper, brass or any other metals containing copper in an inverts tank as copper is toxic to inverts in very small doses. Even tapwater can contain enough copper to kill inverts, it could be in the supply itself , but the most danger comes from copper pipes and copper water heaters.


Not really. I've found this somewhat surprising so I looked it up. Invertebrates actually need copper in their diet. It is part of their blood (hemocyanin), so without it they can't breath and will die. Larger amounts, however, may be toxic. As usual it's the dose that makes the toxin. In aquatic animals high amounts of copper in the water can be a real problem as it damages the gills first and later kills the animal. Even crabs living in high copper concentrations have mechanisms to detoxify copper and get rid of it, though. Dietary copper get's sequestered in the midgut. Source. 

Arachnids don't usually live in coppery water where they are surrounded by it and can't avoid it. Their only way to take up copper is via their diet or their water - and they need it, at least in small quantities. Without it their hemocyanin won't work. I'd imagine it is rather hard to feed a spider enough copper for it to become toxic.

(@Ungoliant )

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## Dave Jay (Apr 10, 2018)

boina said:


> Not really. I've found this somewhat surprising so I looked it up. Invertebrates actually need copper in their diet. It is part of their blood (hemocyanin), so without it they can't breath and will die. Larger amounts, however, may be toxic. As usual it's the dose that makes the toxin. In aquatic animals high amounts of copper in the water can be a real problem as it damages the gills first and later kills the animal. Even crabs living in high copper concentrations have mechanisms to detoxify copper and get rid of it, though. Dietary copper get's sequestered in the midgut. Source.
> 
> Arachnids don't usually live in coppery water where they are surrounded by it and can't avoid it. Their only way to take up copper is via their diet or their water - and they need it, at least in small quantities. Without it their hemocyanin won't work. I'd imagine it is rather hard to feed a spider enough copper for it to become toxic.
> 
> (@Ungoliant )


Thanks for that bit of light breakfast reading! It took me the better part of an hour to get through it, it's tedious reading papers on my phone! I do appreciate you providing the link though, I'm always interested in learning. 

It's a shame it deals mainly with marine molluscs and crustaceans, it would be good to know more about how arachnids deal with excess copper, whether they store it, if dietary copper is sequestered in the midgut and whether moulting is tied to copper levels as with crustaceans. There may well be a paper out there dealing with copper and arachnids but I'll wait until I can use my pc.

It does state however "Copper is an essential trace element for all animals but the
optimal range of environmental concentrations that avoids deficiency and toxicity can be rather narrow."

We don't really know how much copper spiders need, whether they store it, how they deal with excess and at what level it becomes toxic to them. You would have to assume a spiders requirements are met through their prey and to some extent the water they drink. The level at which copper becomes lethal to spiders may be known due to copper being a common component of pesticides, although they are mainly pesticides aimed at aquatic invertebrates.
I found it interesting that some inverts will increase the copper in their "blood" when they have parasites, presumably because the smaller parasitic invert has a lower tolerance to copper than the host, but that's just speculation on my part. An interesting paper I think.
Being that low level toxicity mainly effects gills, land inverts can probably tolerate much higher levels of copper before suffering any toxic effects, something I have discussed with Mark Newton in regards to scorpions. I still feel that it may be possible that there may be an accumulative effect with toxic levels being reached over months or years given the low exposure and low metabolisms involved.

I know for sure that copper in tap water can kill aquatic inverts in an aquarium, the most common way toxic levels of copper in tap water are reached is through prolonged contact with copper piping or copper storage type water heaters. Hot water is not used with tarantulas of course, but I would run the tap before filling a water dish, we don't know what levels of copper may be in the water and we don't know what a spiders tolerance to copper is. Personally I err on the side of caution and treat any tap water used with inverts, removing chlorine and "detoxifying" ammonia and heavy metals. I use bottled spring water as drinking water, which I'm sure has some copper present, as well as other metals and minerals, but only in trace amounts. I assume that this is better than using distilled water as pure water would provide nothing but hydration.

So yes, I should have said once an inverts tolerance to copper is exceeded it becomes toxic to them. That is true of most substances in relation to most organisms though. Perhaps better to say that most invertebrates are more sensitive to copper levels than most vertebrates? Until I get better information on the tolerances of land invertebrates I am still going to be wary of copper toxicity, I can't say spiders aren't sensitive to copper in relatively low concentrations.Gardeners have long used copper as a deterrent against terrestrial inverts for years, copper nails through soil to deter pests from root crops and copper mesh as a physical/chemical barrier around/under plants or covering the drainage holes in pots are a few that spring to mind. 

But back to the reason I mentioned copper in the first place, I wouldn't put a brass or copper screw in their drinking water if I were to put one in, I would use stainless steel as brass or copper screws MAY raise copper levels in the water to a toxic amount.
I know the tarantula won't drown, but crickets do, in my frog tanks I have driftwood in the bowls so crickets and roaches can climb out, a screw will serve the same purpose in a small water dish.
I only mentioned it at all because it would serve to give the OP peace of mind knowing that there is absolutely no chance of her slings drowning.

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## TreMul (Mar 27, 2020)

I've been using these for juvies. It's a lettuce keeper for those who don't recognize it.  They have a divider, so you can house two at a time, and they have 
	

		
			
		

		
	



	

		
			
		

		
	
a vent. Of course I put more holes in but you get the idea:


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## Andrea82 (Mar 27, 2020)

TreMul said:


> I've been using these for juvies. It's a lettuce keeper for those who don't recognize it.  They have a divider, so you can house two at a time, and they have
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Two at a time....that does not sound good. Is the lid divided too?


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## TreMul (Mar 28, 2020)

Andrea82 said:


> Two at a time....that does not sound good. Is the lid divided too?


No it isn't...but the divider goes all the way against the lid, so they can't get into each other's space. Is that why you ask?


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## Andrea82 (Mar 28, 2020)

TreMul said:


> No it isn't...but the divider goes all the way against the lid, so they can't get into each other's space. Is that why you ask?


Yes. I would be better if the lid was divided as well. Now you need to open two spaces when you need to feed or water one, which is incredibly risky. Spiders are faster than we are, in short bursts. It wouldn't be the first time a divided enclosure went wrong. How do you feed/water?

Reactions: Agree 1


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## TreMul (Mar 31, 2020)

Andrea82 said:


> Yes. I would be better if the lid was divided as well. Now you need to open two spaces when you need to feed or water one, which is incredibly risky. Spiders are faster than we are, in short bursts. It wouldn't be the first time a divided enclosure went wrong. How do you feed/water?


That's a very good point. Luckily it hasn't happened. Water is a tiny dish that I overfill, and food is just a small cricket


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