Aboreal Tarantula

ZombieGal

Arachnopeon
Joined
Oct 8, 2010
Messages
38
I have never owned an aboreal tarantula, and am getting one rather soon. i've read on how to take care of them and such, but what do most of you guys use to make enclosures for aboreal slings? Just looking for some ideas, and pics would be great too!
 

smallara98

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 30, 2009
Messages
430
Go to Michaels . They have a great selection of cube enclosures . Well they did for my that is .
 

smallara98

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 30, 2009
Messages
430
oooh. what sizes did they have? I'll have o checkthat out.
Well the one you would normaly find is about 4" in height , 2 inches in width , and is pretty thin . I got about 7 of them , and they were each .75 {D
 

WhiskyTrekker

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 10, 2007
Messages
15
Have spaghetti for dinner and buy a jar of parmesan cheese (the powdery kind in the shakeer jar)...easy feed lid, easy to clean, cheap and dual purpose! I use parmesan and spice jars exclusively for arborials...about as cheap and easy as it gets and when clean (no label) look as good as anything you can get at Micheals!
 

Offkillter

Arachnosquire
Joined
Jun 18, 2010
Messages
149
Have spaghetti for dinner and buy a jar of parmesan cheese (the powdery kind in the shakeer jar)...easy feed lid, easy to clean, cheap and dual purpose! I use parmesan and spice jars exclusively for arborials...about as cheap and easy as it gets and when clean (no label) look as good as anything you can get at Micheals!
Agreed! Anything will do the T's don't care.When they near adulthood then you shell out some dough to put them in some sweet digs until then use what you got.
 

hassman789

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 2, 2009
Messages
576
I just got my first arboreal sling yesterday. I have a pink toe adult that doesn't web for me and sits in the same spot allllll the time (a strange one) and I keep my new baby versicolor in a vial with some eco earth and i took one of those long things of fake plants snapped a little end off. Its perfect, the right height and the right amount of leaves. I popped it into the dirt and put a little terrarium moss in and it has already made a tube web!
 

2oCHEVYo0

Arachnosquire
Joined
Aug 29, 2010
Messages
67
Go to your local Target. They sell OXO containers that have the "air tight" sealing lid. They work spectacular and look about as clean and professional as you can get for a sling! Trust me, you'll buy them once you see there potential ;) Best thing is, they come in multiple sizes and will for great for just about any other sling or subadult you decide to purchase! Here are a few of mine before I got the cork bark put in:





Of course, I would only use these on anthing larger than 1" because the vials they are shipped in work great on anything smaller
 

ZombieGal

Arachnopeon
Joined
Oct 8, 2010
Messages
38
Have spaghetti for dinner and buy a jar of parmesan cheese (the powdery kind in the shakeer jar)...easy feed lid, easy to clean, cheap and dual purpose! I use parmesan and spice jars exclusively for arborials...about as cheap and easy as it gets and when clean (no label) look as good as anything you can get at Micheals!
Haha, i'll have to check out michaels! My slings i ordered a while ago, that i told you about, are finally about to come in! :p

I just got my first arboreal sling yesterday. I have a pink toe adult that doesn't web for me and sits in the same spot allllll the time (a strange one) and I keep my new baby versicolor in a vial with some eco earth and i took one of those long things of fake plants snapped a little end off. Its perfect, the right height and the right amount of leaves. I popped it into the dirt and put a little terrarium moss in and it has already made a tube web!
Awesome! I'll have to get some of those fake plants as well, good luck with your new slings! :)

Go to your local Target. They sell OXO containers that have the "air tight" sealing lid. They work spectacular and look about as clean and professional as you can get for a sling! Trust me, you'll buy them once you see there potential ;) Best thing is, they come in multiple sizes and will for great for just about any other sling or subadult you decide to purchase! Here are a few of mine before I got the cork bark put in
You've got a really pretty set up going on, i like how it all matches. :p
I'll have to go check that out, i love how they look. Is the plastic thin enough to do the whole "heat a safety pin and poke holes" deal?
 

2oCHEVYo0

Arachnosquire
Joined
Aug 29, 2010
Messages
67
Thank you for the comment, I do like them ALOT! but no, the plastic is quite thick and strong... I found it very easy to drill the holes though. Just get a drill and basically let the weight of the drill push through the plastic so it doesn't crack it. But they are well worth the time! If you do decide to get them and want to know how to get the hole so even, I could post it up for you as I have to make a few more for my growing T's :D
 

ZombieGal

Arachnopeon
Joined
Oct 8, 2010
Messages
38
Thank you for the comment, I do like them ALOT! but no, the plastic is quite thick and strong... I found it very easy to drill the holes though. Just get a drill and basically let the weight of the drill push through the plastic so it doesn't crack it. But they are well worth the time! If you do decide to get them and want to know how to get the hole so even, I could post it up for you as I have to make a few more for my growing T's :D
That'd be really great if you could post that! I'm running to the store today to see if they have them, which i'm sure they will. All targets have the same products i think!
 

2oCHEVYo0

Arachnosquire
Joined
Aug 29, 2010
Messages
67
Alright, just got em done tonight! I'll go through the step by step for ya on what I do to make the holes look so even.

1-Get the containers (Duh) {D

2-Take a piece of tape and wrape it around the ring at the top as evenly as you can. You will see a pic later showing since I deleted this one by mistake

3-Use a nice straight board (3/4"-1" would be ideal) and lay the container on its side to mark the outside lines with a pencil.



4-Measure 1-1/4" down for the first line of holes and 1-3/4" down for the second line of holes. Should look similar to this.



5-Measure exactly in between the outside lines for the center holes.



6-Measure exactly in between the centerline and outside lines for next holes. If you want to go with more or less, just measure them evenly and they will be fine.
 

2oCHEVYo0

Arachnosquire
Joined
Aug 29, 2010
Messages
67
7-Once all of the hole centers are marked, START DRILLING!!! I use a bit somewhere around .125 or 1/8" for the larger cages and somewhere between 1/15" and 1/8" for the smaller ones. Make sure to not push on the drill and let the weight of it do the cutting because if you push, it could crack a little do to the strain of the plastic.



8-After all the holes are drilled you can stop there, but I like to make sure to get all of the burs off of the holes. I take a deburrer (counter sink) and do about 5-10 turns on both sides of each hole to get rid of them.



After that, just take it to the sink and wash them out with hot soapy water to get all of the plastic chunks out and dry them with towel. After that, just set them up and insert your lovely sling :D



(Maybe put a fancy label on the lid to, just so everyone knows what they're looking at)
 

ZombieGal

Arachnopeon
Joined
Oct 8, 2010
Messages
38
:D I just picked them up yesterday, so i'll deffinetly start drillin later today.
Thanks for the awesome tutorial! :D

I like that it looks REALLY neat, rather than pill bottles and tubaware and such. I get picky about how my room looks >.>
 

captmarga

Arachnobaron
Joined
Mar 31, 2010
Messages
339
Rather than a drill, I have a small electric dremel tool (I love my rechargeable one but have to get a new battery for it). There is a huge assortment of bits for the dremel, and I have four or five tiny pointed bits. They drill perfect holes in the acrylic cubes from the craft stores. I have five slings in such containers at the moment, and am using another for the pinhead crickets at the moment.

Marga
 

2oCHEVYo0

Arachnosquire
Joined
Aug 29, 2010
Messages
67
No problem, glad I could help you out! I'm also quite picky when it comes to a clean looking setup. If you have any further questions, let me know I'd be more than happy to help. Also, POST SOME PICS!!! I'd like to see how you set them up for your little ones :) I was so psyched last night because when I went to move my fasciata, I found out after much digging that it had molted and was looking very good at around 3 inches!!! My very first pokie molt as of yet

I got a dremel too, but I would rather use the drill for some reason... I can't wait till I get my first Exo-Terra enclosure tomorrow, the dremel will come in VERY VERY handy for the custom background I plan on doing for it! Gunna be awhile though since my biggest T at the moment is only around 3.5" (L. Violaceopes).
 
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2oCHEVYo0

Arachnosquire
Joined
Aug 29, 2010
Messages
67
Oh there was something else I wanted to add but forgot... I normally do the same thing on all sides, but I've also done some that have them just on the two opposite sides. I do the same thing on top and do another tape off anywhere between 3"-3.5" above the bottom of the container. Then just repeat the steps earlier stated. That is for cross air ventilation. It keeps the substrate more dry that way, but I use the other method more because alot of mine prefer a more moist climate.

To battle mold and all that stuff I just go outside and hunt for Isopods (Rollie Pollies, Pill Bugs, Minipedes) whatever it is you know them buy. They are amazing when it comes to keeping the enclosure clean. The T's sometimes eat em but thats alright, just get more :D

Sorry for the ramble, just thought I'd give you some more info that had been forgotten in previous messages. Oh, and the board I use is a long piece that measures 3/4"x3/4"
 

ZombieGal

Arachnopeon
Joined
Oct 8, 2010
Messages
38
I'll deffinetly post pics soon! That's awesome that the little bug molted! I think my g. pulchripes sling might molt soon, he hasn't been eating much at all. Didn't eat yesterday either!
 

robc

Arachnoemperor
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 10, 2007
Messages
3,824
I would just take a 2" hole saw and install a 2" vent on both sides.
 
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