A. Avic my first arboreal

[viper69]

I thought you were insinuating that the container was oriented in a horizontal fashion. I understand. If I were to place the lid on the bottom how would you access the container for cleaning and feeding?

Hmm that's odd, as horizontal is not inverted If you invert the container you lift it up, take off the cap and drop some crickets in. Avics are incredibly nimble, being arboreal. IME they are not stressed out by the occassional feeding. As for cleaning, it's going to poop all over the place ultimately. Inverted or right-side up, you are going to have to remove the T and clean it without anything inside.

I'll be honest, I bought these containers thinking they'd be pretty decent for Ts. I find them to be useless, primarily because their geometry inside is not perfectly square. The handle on the side pushes the walls inside, making it narrow at that wall. I don't like their interior geometry at all.

I stopped using them completely.

 

[cold blood]

I wouldn't use one simply because the lid doesn't allow for easy access.

I've used this type before, also thinking it would be great, I do not use them any longer.

 

[viper69]

I wouldn't use one simply because the lid doesn't allow for easy access.

I've used this type before, also thinking it would be great, I do not use them any longer.

Oh I felt the same way about the lid too. I don't like screw-on lids as the main access point.

 

[cold blood]

especially ones that are bottlenecked in any way

 

[Bugmom]

And I'll be the odd one out and say I have never had any issue with these containers. Or rather, what others consider an issue, I simply don't.

 

[viper69]

And I'll be the odd one out and say I have never had any issue with these containers. Or rather, what others consider an issue, I simply don't.

You're also, and I quote you "the only person who has not seen horrible care practices in my Petco and Petsmarts" evidently. :wideyed:

 

[Bugmom]

You're also, and I quote you "the only person who has not seen horrible care practices in my Petco and Petsmarts" evidently. :wideyed:

Someone always has to be the odd one out, right?

 

[mistertim]

Someone always has to be the odd one out, right?

Weirdo. lol

Fortunately my local pet stores don't have Ts so I was a bit worried about that before I went there to get some crickets.

 

[Poec54]

Oh I felt the same way about the lid too. I don't like screw-on lids as the main access point.

Right. I have a lot of arboreals and screw-on lids with them is a poor idea. Too easy for the to dart around and get their feet caught when the lid is being screwed on.

 

[Haksilence]

Yeah it was my concern when getting it as well. But I was short on options. Lps and Walmart didn't have anything suitable with the height needed for an arboreal and proper access. This was the best I could get without purchasing some absurd expensive "tarantula terrarium"

I'm not very worried about it darting out. It's very sluggish and behaves almost like my b. Smithi as far as not like moving much. And I'm not concerned about his leg getting crushed, virtually impossible since I don't screw it down all the way and because I have eyes. So if I see he's too close for comfort I'd give home a little nudge to move to a saver area while I replace the lid.

If I choose to inver the container how do you access it for feeding? Do you just not have any substrate? There is something I'm missing in this thought process.

 

[cold blood]

post #21, sentence #2

 

[Bugmom]

post #21, sentence #2

That didn't say anything about substrate. Do you just put none in there at all? What about a water dish? Is the corkbark or whatever you use glued to the inside? Wouldn't it be top-heavy and tip over?

I want to see a picture of what you're talking about because frankly, I don't see how that is better for the tarantula or easier for the keeper.

I don't see myself doing it because I do not like being forced to hold the enclosure while doing feeding or maintenance, because that is how every single tarantula has ended up on me - I had one hand on the enclosure and they ran out of the enclosure and onto me. Now I get that it's not really a big deal for an Avic to crawl on you, but I personally prefer to avoid that to begin with, because I'd rather just avoid a spider-in-the-shirt or "I've been bit" scenario altogether.

I've never had a spider get a leg caught in a screw-on lid in the, oh, thousand or so times I've screwed those lids back on. And it's not as if a leg can't get caught in every lid, ever. All lids close, which means all lids have a chance for a spider to get in your way while you are shutting it. That just seems like a really nitpicky thing to be concerned about.

If you don't like these Mainstay enclosures, don't use them, but there really is no point in arguing against something that has worked for countless tarantula keepers so far simply because YOU don't like it. Can you propose a readily available (e.g. I can get it locally, no shipping costs) alternative that costs $3 and takes up the same amount of space? Maybe you are rich and can spend any amount of money you want on tarantulas, but there's a lot of keepers out there who are making due with what they have. I could buy the more expensive cubed whatevers, but I choose not to, because I have other hobbies I'd like to spend money on too, and frankly, I honestly do not think the tarantulas care at all if their enclosure is square, round, or triangle, so long as they have access to food, water, shelter, adequate airflow, room to molt, and aren't freezing or roasting.

 

[cold blood]

If you invert the container you lift it up, take off the cap and drop some crickets in.

This tells him how to feed crickets...I thought it pretty obvious that there should be sub in the lid, as its now the base.

 

[leaveittoweaver]

I tried the inverted thing...did not work for me with my A.Purpurea or A.Versicolor. Here was my solution which I took from someone else(not sure who honestly but I believe it was posted on here).

I soldered a water bottle cap to the side that I can take on and off. So I can now feed from the top or the side, thus not disrupting the spider or risking escape.

 

[Haksilence]

This tells him how to feed crickets...I thought it pretty obvious that there should be sub in the lid, as its now the base.

Lol this is a ridiculous thing to imagine. So we are talking about a quarter inch of sub that will go everywhere every time you feed and get in the way of the threading. I respect everyone's experience since I'm fairly new to tarantula keeping. But as an engineer this concept actually made me laugh

 

[Haksilence]

I tried the inverted thing...did not work for me with my A.Purpurea or A.Versicolor. Here was my solution which I took from someone else(not sure who honestly but I believe it was posted on here).

I soldered a water bottle cap to the side that I can take on and off. So I can now feed from the top or the side, thus not disrupting the spider or risking escape.

Very nice. Perhaps when it comes around time to rehouse I'll modify my container in such a way. For now I'll just live on the edge and toss and turn at night with the thought that the tarantula might get his leg pinched in the lid.

 

[cold blood]

Lol this is a ridiculous thing to imagine. So we are talking about a quarter inch of sub that will go everywhere every time you feed and get in the way of the threading. I respect everyone's experience since I'm fairly new to tarantula keeping. But as an engineer this concept actually made me laugh

1. Avics do not require much substrate.

2. I do NOT keep like this, I was merely the messenger. Lots of people, viper included, have had success doing this...like you said, you're new to ts. It doesn't work for me, but I'm not telling others it works for and has for a long time, that its ridiculous. I mean its as simple as lifting the enclosure with your left hand and unscrewing with your right, unless you only have one arm, its completely feasible.

 

[Haksilence]

1. Avics do not require much substrate.

2. I do NOT keep like this, I was merely the messenger. Lots of people, viper included, have had success doing this...like you said, you're new to ts. It doesn't work for me, but I'm not telling others it works for and has for a long time, that its ridiculous. I mean its as simple as lifting the enclosure with your left hand and unscrewing with your right, unless you only have one arm, its completely feasible.

I agree, I see how it would be done and understand why it would be done. But something being ridiculous doesn't mean it's not feasible.

 

[cold blood]

I agree, I see how it would be done and understand why it would be done. But something being ridiculous doesn't mean it's not feasible.

Thank god for the ignore user option

 

[Bugmom]

If posters don't want to clarify what they mean when they give advice, then they probably shouldn't get offended (if any taken) when other users don't understand what they are trying to illustrate.

A picture would work well to explain this to those of us who are having trouble imagining how it works better to invert a container that would then have a shallower, narrower base than it would if used the way it was intended to.

The "my experiences trump yours" attitude that is coming across from some people on discussions around here since I returned is really not something I'm enjoying seeing, and it seems worse than when I was an active poster previously. I don't feel that sort of attitude contributes to dialogue that helps new or seasoned keepers. Questioning is how we learn, after all.

The worst teachers are those that only lecture