A. versicolor sling housing questions

Stella Maris

Arachnoknight
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I'm looking to rehouse my newly acquired, 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch DLS Caribena (Avicularia) versicolor sling and am wondering if the cross ventilation holes on the 32 oz deli container are too much or not sufficient?

From what I have been reading use at least 1 inch of substrate, place a water bowl (or bottle cap in my case) on bottom, and do not mist?

Regarding using a hot glue gun, how long do I need to wait for the glue to dry before I rehouse the sling in his new home?
 

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Adenovirus19

Arachnopeon
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24 hours on the glue gun should be adequate. The air holes look fine--but consider an upside down enclosure. You may be disturbing your slings webbing by taking off the top of the deli cup lid. Good luck. Congratulations on your new arboreal sling!
 

Venom1080

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looks good. its not a set rule of substrate. just enough to cushion a possible fall and to keep decor in place. be sure to provide plenty of things near the top of the cage.

ive waited hours before on hot glue.
@Adenovirus19 ?
 
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Stella Maris

Arachnoknight
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looks good. its not a set rule of substrate. just enough to cushion a possible fall and to keep decor in place. be sure to provide plenty of things near the top of the cage.

ive waited hours before on hot glue.

Is cork bark the only hide used for arboreal slings or can other things be substituted for cork bark hides? I was thinking of hot gluing two 1/2 inch PVC pipe pieces together and using that in substitute for cork bark, but I'm not sure if it's "safe" for the sling?

And then hot gluing some fake leaves to the outside of the pvc hide as well as fake plants glued maybe against the walls of the enclosure?
 

Stella Maris

Arachnoknight
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Is the DIY hide I made for my sling acceptable or is it a horrible idea? I didn't do a very good job hot gluing it but is something like what I did ok to use as a hide for my sling?
 

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Trenor

Arachnoprince
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I prefer inverted enclosure for C.visicolor Ts personally though a top opening one works as well. If you use a top opening enclosure put plenty of leaf clutter near the middle of the enclosure to encourage the sling to web there over webbing up the lid.

Here is my inverted enclosure note how I used the hot glue on the walls to anchor some fake leaves to give the T a lot of places to web. You can do the same with the deli cup but take care not to melt the softer plastic of the walls.

Here is a deli for a Asian arboreal T. You can do a similar one for your C.versicolor and just add more clutter on the bark etc.


I would try to use some wood for the base and glue off of it. The problem I see with the tube is it will be hard to deal with when the sling uses the hollow center for it's hide. It will most likely use the hollow as it is the most secure part of the enclosure and you don't want that. You'll run into trouble later getting it out or keeping an eye on it while it's fragile.

Hot glue takes practice and can be tricky when working with softer plastics. Sometimes I will put it on the leaf and let it cool slightly before sticking it to softer plastic to prevent it from melting. I've found a little goes a long ways and it's best to glue a spot and wait for it to set before trying to glue more. If I try going too fast it gets messy.

Best of luck.
 

Venom1080

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Is cork bark the only hide used for arboreal slings or can other things be substituted for cork bark hides? I was thinking of hot gluing two 1/2 inch PVC pipe pieces together and using that in substitute for cork bark, but I'm not sure if it's "safe" for the sling?

And then hot gluing some fake leaves to the outside of the pvc hide as well as fake plants glued maybe against the walls of the enclosure?
looks fine. ive used just plastic plants for hides.
 

Stella Maris

Arachnoknight
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I prefer inverted enclosure for C.visicolor Ts personally though a top opening one works as well. If you use a top opening enclosure put plenty of leaf clutter near the middle of the enclosure to encourage the sling to web there over webbing up the lid.

Here is my inverted enclosure note how I used the hot glue on the walls to anchor some fake leaves to give the T a lot of places to web. You can do the same with the deli cup but take care not to melt the softer plastic of the walls.

Here is a deli for a Asian arboreal T. You can do a similar one for your C.versicolor and just add more clutter on the bark etc.


I would try to use some wood for the base and glue off of it. The problem I see with the tube is it will be hard to deal with when the sling uses the hollow center for it's hide. It will most likely use the hollow as it is the most secure part of the enclosure and you don't want that. You'll run into trouble later getting it out or keeping an eye on it while it's fragile.

Hot glue takes practice and can be tricky when working with softer plastics. Sometimes I will put it on the leaf and let it cool slightly before sticking it to softer plastic to prevent it from melting. I've found a little goes a long ways and it's best to glue a spot and wait for it to set before trying to glue more. If I try going too fast it gets messy.

Best of luck.

For the DIY hide I made could I add some substrate inside so the sling could be closer towards the top of the hide? I'm not sure that Avics burrow?

What about the placement of my ventilation holes? I watched a video by Sturmy76 on youtube about caring for avic slings and I tried to copy his placement of ventilation holes on my 32 oz. deli container.
 

Trenor

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For the DIY hide I made could I add some substrate inside so the sling could be closer towards the top of the hide? I'm not sure that Avics burrow?

What about the placement of my ventilation holes? I watched a video by Sturmy76 on youtube about caring for avic slings and I tried to copy his placement of ventilation holes on my 32 oz. deli container.
The holes are fine. I'd use hot glue and a cut piece of plastic to cover the top and bottom of the tube. That would likely work better than filling it with dirt.
 

Stella Maris

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The holes are fine. I'd use hot glue and a cut piece of plastic to cover the top and bottom of the tube. That would likely work better than filling it with dirt.
That's an idea I haven't thought of, treating the pvc pipe as a branch to rest on rather than a log to hide in. I'll add more fake leaves near the tops of the enclosure to act as anchor points and hiding places.
 

cold blood

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ok, im gonna save you a lot of time and effort....in a deli cup, because its top opening, you should NOT be gluing anything...thats what you would want to do with the inverted enclosure trenor uses. Just lean a piece of wood and surround it with plants...add a water dish and you are done.

Ive never once had an issue with top opening delis...the top is pliable, so you never need to remove the lid, just peel back an area and do what you need to do...delis are all i use.

The only thing i would alter is to get a new top and put fewer holes in it...i have 4 or 5 holes in my lids, just to prevent condensation.
 

viper69

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I do both inverted AMAC boxes, and 32 oz deli cups. Each have pro's and con's. For cleaning, the deli cup is the best. I will admit I like the inverted look of the boxes, but deli's are equally as clear I think. The only part of the AMACs I like better is I can fit more in the same space and I like to see the Avics come down and hunt or drink.

But over all ease of use (including modding), the deli wins hands down. Even though most of mine are in AMACs.

And they are much cheaper, often free at the supermarket.

The vent you have set up looks fine.

For glue: you SHOULD wait until you can't smell the hot glue anymore. I often wait many days for that to happen.

Don't forget a water bowl.


 

Stella Maris

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I managed to find some cork bark and am going to add it to JubJub's new enclosure, as well as some fake plants.

Does cork bark mold at all?
 

cold blood

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I managed to find some cork bark and am going to add it to JubJub's new enclosure, as well as some fake plants.

Does cork bark mold at all?
Since you should be keeping things relatively dry and well ventilated, mold shouldn't be an issue.
 

Trenor

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It looks good. Just make sure you are able to fill the water dish ones it starts webbing things up.
 

Adenovirus19

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Agree with Trenor. Nice set up. Your sling/Juvi should love it. The water dish can be an issue. A nice pair of tongs should help.
 

Kingsmedic

Arachnopeon
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I prefer inverted enclosure for C.visicolor Ts personally though a top opening one works as well. If you use a top opening enclosure put plenty of leaf clutter near the middle of the enclosure to encourage the sling to web there over webbing up the lid.

Here is my inverted enclosure note how I used the hot glue on the walls to anchor some fake leaves to give the T a lot of places to web. You can do the same with the deli cup but take care not to melt the softer plastic of the walls.
This looks well thought out! My thoughts would be to cut the corkboard and glue the matching piece to the back of the lid so it seamlessly matches up with the top piece, and maybe a neutral color water dish.
 
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