# Can tarantulas actually chew through metal cage wire tops?



## toxic667 (Sep 18, 2011)

I don't remember where I read it but somewhere it said that tarantulas can chew through metal cages/screens. One time my cat came into my room and sat on top of my p.iriminia cage and ripped a hole in the cage while I was sleeping. I woke up to an empty cage and it took me three hours to find her. Never again are cats allowed in my room! Anywho I duct taped the cage lid back together I may post pics later to show it to you. Ever since then I've been paranoid about her chewing on the wire and getting out again? What should I do? Is this a valid reason to be concerned? 

Side note: I recently rehoused her 1 week ago and she's been climbing on the sides and upside down on the top of the cage A LOT. The substrate she had was moldy so I had to do a full clean out got completely new substrate. I'm worried about her slipping or falling since she's about a foot And a half up from the substrate. Yesterday she fell and today she seems absolutely fine. The main question here is how do I make her cage safer and is it possible for her to chew through the screen and get out? I have one of the cages that have the two doors at the front and a top that comes off(which has been repaired with duct tape)


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## captmarga (Sep 18, 2011)

First off - not enough sub.  She should be no more than a legspan above the sub.  18 inches (a foot and a half) is too much.  P irminia tend to burrow, so it means she doesn't have enough to start burrowing.  You can also start a little burrow for her, often they will use that to advantage and continue. 

Yes, they can rip up wire screen on lids.   Duct tape isn't a great idea either, if she starts chewing on that, or gets any hair stuck, she could rip off a leg, or do more injury. 

Put more sub in, put a board over the top until you can get a plexiglass lid made to fit. 

Marga


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## 0siris (Sep 19, 2011)

captmarga said:


> First off - not enough sub.  She should be no more than a legspan above the sub.  18 inches (a foot and a half) is too much.  P irminia tend to burrow, so it means she doesn't have enough to start burrowing.  You can also start a little burrow for her, often they will use that to advantage and continue.
> 
> Yes, they can rip up wire screen on lids.   Duct tape isn't a great idea either, if she starts chewing on that, or gets any hair stuck, she could rip off a leg, or do more injury.
> 
> ...


Not to seem doubtful or unbelieving, but I would like to hear others' input on this. I just can't imagine a tarantula chewing through a metal screen. If you inspect their fangs (from a molt of course) they seem rather brittle.

I know many people who keep tarantulas in critter keepers which have plastic ventilated tops and have had no problems.


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## toxic667 (Sep 19, 2011)

She had a burrow in her dirt (by dirt I mean coco fibre) before the rehousing in the same amount of substrate. If I got anymore dirt in there I wouldn't be able to open the from doors of the cage and dirt would prolly spill out through the tiny cracks between the door. As for the plexiglass lid, how would she breathe? If I replaced the top there wouldn't be a source of air and with the amount of times I mist her cage she needs good ventilation.


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## captmarga (Sep 19, 2011)

Holes drilled in the plexiglass...

Just use the search function, use "Chewing screen" as your keywords.  I pulled up numerous posts about Ts chewing aluminum screen and more. 

Marga


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## Hobo (Sep 19, 2011)

Here's that thread with Ts chewing through metal vents.


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## Formerphobe (Sep 19, 2011)

That's the thread I was looking for, Hobo!  I knew it was something about can openers... 

Yes, they will chew through metal screens.  And there is a thread here somewhere of a OBT getting hung up in duct tape... wasn't pretty.


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## Sweepstakes (Sep 19, 2011)

I have noticed my L. parahybana climbing more than usual recently and he has been sticking his fangs through the gaps in my mesh screen lid. However, I don't think he is trying to chew his was through the top and using his fangs more as an extra set of legs to hold himself on. Each T. is different however.

Edit: My L. parahybana does try to open the top up, however. He is around 9" DLS, so a very similar situation to edesign in the can opener thread. One heavy book solves that issue.


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## kjm (Sep 19, 2011)

Most of my tarantulas climb, and the ones that have screen tops i have never had an issue with them chewing. Kind of weird they would do something like that. But this is an interesting thread, I look forward to what other people's experiences are.


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## jebbewocky (Sep 19, 2011)

P.irminia are primarily an arboreal species, falling is not a concern. Like most non-Avic arboreals, they will burrow as well (especially as slings),so adding more sub from that perspective might be a good idea.


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## toxic667 (Sep 19, 2011)

does anyone have any ideas as to what i should do to "spider proof" the cage lids? I cant really afford to buy a whole new cage and re-housing my iriminia is pretty much impossible because she is so unbelivably fast and hard to catch. with the current setup of the cage theres like no way i can make a plexiglass lid that will securely stay on the top of the cage. i will post pictures here in a second of what the cage looks like, broken lid and all.


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## toxic667 (Sep 19, 2011)

^this is the fixed lid




the cage




the hollowed out log thing that she likes to hide in :biggrin:


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## Shrike (Sep 19, 2011)

captmarga said:


> First off - not enough sub.  She should be no more than a legspan above the sub.  18 inches (a foot and a half) is too much.  P irminia tend to burrow, so it means she doesn't have enough to start burrowing.  You can also start a little burrow for her, often they will use that to advantage and continue.


I'm not disagreeing with your statement about burrowing, but don't most people keep this species in an arboreal set up, with more than a leg span above the substrate?  It seems to me that if the OP provides enough structure for the _irminia_ to climb on and create a hide (a cork bark tube for example), the less time it will spend on the lid and sides of the enclosure.  Judging from the pictures, one of the only things it has to climb on is the enclosure itself.

To the OP:  It sounds like you're unwilling to rehouse, but why not switch to a rubber maid type container and circumvent the screen lid altogether?  This is a popular enclosure choice for arboreals.


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## toxic667 (Sep 19, 2011)

Shrike said:


> I'm not disagreeing with your statement about burrowing, but don't most people keep this species in an arboreal set up, with more than a leg span above the substrate?  It seems to me that if the OP provides enough structure for the _irminia_ to climb on and create a hide (a cork bark tube for example), the less time it will spend on the lid and sides of the enclosure.  Judging from the pictures, one of the only things it has to climb on is the enclosure itself.
> 
> To the OP:  It sounds like you're unwilling to rehouse, but why not switch to a rubber maid type container and circumvent the screen lid altogether?  This is a popular enclosure choice for arboreals.


if i must rehouse i will but the problem is my iriminia is verrrryyy fast. last time i rehoused her i didnt catch her til she was half way across my bedroom. whenever i open the door of the cage she would run super quickly across the cage and my reaction speed is too slow to catch her very easily. rehousing my g.rosea would be no problem because shes calm and fairly slow. i rehoused her last week to the same cage but i took out the styrofoam backdrop because it was moldy and got her a hollow log thing that you see in the picture. Before the rehousing, she would hardly ever be seen during daytime because she always hid in her burrow. if i dont absolutly have to rehouse her then i wont. i must then i have to. its just very stressful for her and i


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## Hobo (Sep 19, 2011)

Give her something to climb on/hide in in that enclosure. As stated, the only reason she is climbing the enclosure is because she has nothing else to climb on.

Add a cork tube/slab that reaches near the top for example, and add a few vines of fake plants to give her some cover. Don't worry too much about the mold; there's no need to keep her overly moist like I see in her pictures. If you got the styrofoam moldy, you must be keeping her crazy wet!

If you give her a good hide, she will always run into her hide instead of everywhere in the enclosure. Although that enclosure should be good enough until she's an adult, Don't think you'll never have to remove her from it in the future!

Also, how large is your irminia?


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## toxic667 (Sep 19, 2011)

Hobo said:


> Give her something to climb on/hide in in that enclosure. As stated, the only reason she is climbing the enclosure is because she has nothing else to climb on.
> 
> Add a cork tube/slab that reaches near the top for example, and add a few vines of fake plants to give her some cover. Don't worry too much about the mold; there's no need to keep her overly moist like I see in her pictures. If you got the styrofoam moldy, you must be keeping her crazy wet!
> 
> ...


i just got her a hollow tree thing thats shown in the pictures above. she loves it. whenever she hides she runs in there, also shes webbed it up quite nicely. shes only had the new tree thing for about 1 week. i also seee her climbing on that fairly often. its almost as if she was not used to the new setup of her cage so she avoided the ground. now shes hidding in there a lot. in the pictures above shes hiding in there lol. 

my iriminia is about 4" legspan. Im not entirely sure im just giving a guess. 

if i could buy her plastic plant or something instead of having to move her againnnnnn then that would be awesome. the only reason that cage looks so wet is because i took the picture right after misting her.

her cage is in my room which is in the basement and when i wake up her humidity says 60% so i try my best to keep it around 70%


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## captmarga (Sep 19, 2011)

Just as a note - none of my Irminia climb... all of them are burrowed, with the exception of one, who sits out part of the time on top of his cork bark slab. 

And OP - when rehousing really fast Ts, try the plastic bag method. Hobo has a great thread on using the bag "relocation" method.  I use it quite successfully with everything from slings to Juvies including OBTs. 

Marga


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## toxic667 (Sep 19, 2011)

captmarga said:


> Just as a note - none of my Irminia climb... all of them are burrowed, with the exception of one, who sits out part of the time on top of his cork bark slab.
> 
> And OP - when rehousing really fast Ts, try the plastic bag method. Hobo has a great thread on using the bag "relocation" method.  I use it quite successfully with everything from slings to Juvies including OBTs.
> 
> Marga


shes not really a climber either, ive had her for about 1.5years now and this was the first time i rehoused her. in her old dirt she had a burrow and stayed in their allll the time and i very very rarely saw her. since i rehoused her last week shes mine alll over the glass. do you think i need more dirt (see pictures above)? or she is just stressed out and is climbing more?


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