babyfood jar sling setup question

[kosh]

for those of you who keep your slings in babyfood jars....(i got the idea from someone here but i couldnt find the post) i got some babyfood jars and some of that plastic mesh for hobbies that i want to hot glue into the lid for ventilation....what did you use to cut the tops/holes out of the metal babyfood jar lid without cutting a finger off??:? :?

 

[MrT]

Kosh,
Keep the mesh , loose the baby food jars. Then go to your local fish store and ask for some betta cups with lids. You can cut the tops with a razor knife and hot glue the mesh, and keep your fingers. By the way betta cups are super clear plastic, for seeing your babys.

Ernie

 

[Botar]

MrT,

Funny you should mention that. I just acquired about 30 of those cups from a local pet store. They are a perfect size for slings.

Botar

 

[kosh]

yeah beta cups are a good idea...i havent got the slings yet so i dont know their exact size....i was leaning towards babyfood jars because they are glass and have more weight and i think therefore would be more stable and the glass is thicker than the plastic for less temperature variation....heck, i dont know.....it sounded good at the time.....ill ask the pet store lady about the beta cups next time im in there to buy some crickets for the slings...i guess beta cups would give them more room to grow.....if the slings grow fast they will outgrow babyfood jars quickly...i also considered some of those little condiment cups like you get at fast food restaraunts (i think Paul Day posted some pics in this thread To Newbies... Spiderling Setups )

 

[Code Monkey]

I just use a good pair of metal shears to cut a hole in the lids and then fold any edges down with a pair of pliars. Then, when you glue the mesh down, put the mesh on the underside where it covers the folded edges. Voila, no sharp edges and looks nice.

 

[Rookie]

Don't rule out the jar

Hey Kosh,
I keep my first and only s'ling in a baby food jar. You may have gotten the idea from me, but I got it from my T supplier.
I was going to go with your mesh idea, but I ended up making several holes in the lid using a finishing nail. You can get a handful of these from a hardware store, and they'll probably give them to you for free.
I like the babyfood jar because the lid is very secure (there's a safety seal of some sort for the babies ), and also I know that he can't get out through the holes I made. He's small..but he's not that small.
In my opinion, though, CM's idea is a better one, I just didn't have the pliars for it.
Paul

 

[kellygirl]

Originally posted by kosh
i also considered some of those little condiment cups like you get at fast food restaraunts (i think Paul Day posted some pics in this thread To Newbies... Spiderling Setups )

i went by a japanese fast food place and got 15 plastic cups with lids--the ones they give you if you ask for extra sauce. i have my curly slings in them and they seem to be quite happy. there is plenty of room to burrow and to run around on the surface. my animal room stays warm so i dont even have a heating source for them. it's easy to keep the humidity up in them as well. obviously it is temporary housing--so why spend money on baby food that you arent going to use? =D

kellygirl

 

[Rookie]

Baby food pros and cons

I never promote my ideas to be the best ones, indeed I'm still very new at this. Kosh, if you find the deli container to be a better way to go for your s'ling, then by all means use that method.
But the babyfood didn't exactly set me back a fortune; I got a jar of it for $.59, and it didn't really go to waste as i was able to convince my friend to eat the strained blueberrys. Plus, the jar seems like it might be a little roomier, but I could easily be wrong there.
Oh well, to each his own. Enjoy your s'ling Kosh
Paul

 

[Immortal_sin]

I like the baby food jar idea, but with over 500 slings, it was not practical
Right now, I'm using the 1oz deli cups with clear lids. I suspect they can stay in that size through at least another molt or two.
Plus, it was the *cheap* way to do it!
However, for the slings I have that are not from the eggsac, I am using a variety of things...from clear plastic vials, to *sippy* cups they make for little kids.
For my arboreals, I use a piece of wine cork (of course!) cut length ways, so it's tall and slender.
For my burrowers, I don't use anything, they just make a burrow.

 

[Rookie]

I forgot

:8o
I fogot that some people probably keep more than one s'ling, as I do. Lol, I've seen the pictures that you have of your happy moms and all of their babies. I guess 500+ babyfood jars at $.59 a pop would become costly.
That's why I have the name.
Cheers,
The Rookie

 

[kellygirl]

nothing wrong with that rookie. i wasnt saying that your way was bad. i just personally have no use for baby food at this point. of course, one day, if i become a mommy, i might have happen to have a large supply of those, in which case it would be practical to use them. i'm all up for recycling!

i have recently started saving up jars of all sizes. my 17 year old brother plows through those huge jars of pretzel sticks and i have already acquired 6 of them for my curlies to live in when they get bigger. they are wide and deep so i figure they'll be perfect! i have my a. avic in one of the pretzel jars with a water dish, a fake plant, and potting soil about 2 inches high. she has a lot of height and she has begun a lovely little web. i've also been collecting peanut butter jars which i believe should be a good home for a juvenile T.

i tried the little medicine bottles but the ones i have are orange-tinted and it's hard to see the little guys. opted to move to the deli cups because they are more spacious and easier to get a good look at my babies.

what else have you all found to be good recycled homes for your Ts?

kellygirl

 

[kellygirl]

P.S.

BTW, rookie....how long do you think you'll make it with just one T? i made it about a year with only my rosie before i went to an exotic animal show this past august and came home with 4 more. then i started exploring the online world of Ts and realized what i was missing! i added 14 curly slings to my collection last week. this weekend one had her first molt! i doubt that you'll be able to resist getting more if you hang around this crowd...

you guys are such a bad influence on me! =D:}

kellygirl

 

[Rookie]

Homes and S'lings

I found your post pretty funny on recycled T enclosures because whenever I go to a grocery store or a pharmacy, I just look at random containers, and say: "Yeah..that would make a pretty good home for my T when it gets a little bigger." I look at everything now through a Tarantula keeper's eyes. I went to the pet store a while back and saw these golfball-sized mice, and i thought "that would be cool prey for my T when he gets a little bigger".
As for practical homes, I have one word: rubbermaid. They have clear plastic containers of every size you can imagine that is perfect for both aboreal and terrestrial Ts. Of course, I know you're looking for recycled things to use..and rubbermaid doesn't really qulifiy. A pringles can would be perfect for an aboreal, i think, but they're not see-thru . Just look at everything the way I do, and you'll start to see things at a convenience store that will make for a great T home! I know that Code Monkey uses salsa jars when he's going for a cheaper alternative (see post "terrestrial setups")
And as for having just one T, I've already admitted to myself that Peso won't be the last. I'm going to wait perhaps until next year before I get another, but I know I will eventually own multiple Ts. They're too awesome to pass up!
Sorry, this post was huge.
Paul

 

[Immortal_sin]

too funny...I look at all containers and think 'now, how would a T do in that?'
I do the same thing with jar lids
I go through quite a bit of salad dressing, and I'm using Litehouse, since they make a beautiful round jar (great for arboreal juvies) and a perfect lid for a water dish!
I have one arboreal in a sun tea jar, and one of my GBBs is in a flower vase. Kinda like the ship in the bottle though, she molted, and is now too large....however, she doesn't think so, and refuses to come out!
I also have plastic shoeboxes with plexi glass lids set on end, with a base attached.
Rubbermaid containers work great, the only thing I hate about them is the plastic is not clear
Some of them even have clear lids too.
I am quite innovative...unfortunately, a little too much so, since I have lost spiders with my 'creative' housing.

 

[kosh]

i got my baby food jars (the bigger babyfood jars, not the regular small ones) in the discount section at a local grocery store for $0.39 each.....all they had was pears though....i thought i would eat the food for desert or something but it tasted like watered down pear sauce....but for $0.39 each it wasn't too bad.....i even thought about fabricating a little door in the plastic mesh for tossing in crickets and other food without having to disturb the jar by picking it up and unscrewing the lid....but im not sure i will go that route...(the little food door may also turn out to be an exit for the babies)....the big sheet of plastic mesh (i got the smallest holes i could find) was only $0.37 at walmart.....and i still have tons of vermiculite because the only vericulite i could find locally was at the farmers co-op and the bag was huge!!! (ive got enough vermiculite for quite a few 10 gallon setups and if i decided to mix with peat then i have enough for even more!!).....so all-in-all i only have a couple of bucks invested in my sling setups.....ill take some pics and post 'em once the little buggers arrive...

 

[conipto]

Aside from making new lids..

I found some beanie baby display cases, hard acrylic, for a quarter each. They would be better for arboreals, since the opening is on the small section of the case, but with a dremel tool, and some patience, they seem to work great.

Bill

 

[MrT]

Whats funny is how, "I'm only goin to have a couple T's "turns into 20 in no time at all.:}

Ernie

 

[conipto]

yeah, I noticed that. 'I'll just find the one that's right for me and that'll be it.' two weeks later, I'm on #2. at this rate, in a few months, I'll be in big trouble with my roommate before long.

Bill

 

[kosh]

oh well....i spent about an hour cutting holes in the lids (used my jigsaw) and filing the sharp edges down...i tried 2 lids with hot glue and the plastic mesh glued to the inside of the lid......its NOT going to work!!! the thickness of the plastic makes it so that the threads will not catch to allow the lid to be screwed down snugly!!
this is a real bummer cause the jars i think would have been perfect....oh well i may have to go get some beta cups in the morning....the slings should arrive tomorrow (i think)......but first i might try using pliers to bend the sharper edges of the lids (babyfood jars) upward and glue the mesh to the outside.....i guess this would have worked if i made the holes smaller but too late now!!! (i tried to make the holes as big as possible).....right now though im drinkin a beer and bummin about it!!!........

 

[Code Monkey]

With hotglue, all things are possible. I have some jars with the mesh on top, others with it on the bottom. Hotglue makes it all work