Cheap Hide Idea

[MetalheadRAM]

I've found a way to replicate the hides you would find at your LPS, but for way less $$. I've been using one with my T for a few months now and it works great. I originally thought about finding fallen tree parts to make hides from, but that just seemed so unsafe in terms of mites and other living things, so I kept thinking and came up with this :

First, you take a dowel rod (Small - 1/2 in. Diameter. Medium - 3/4 in. Large - 1 in. ) and mark it off into even sections with a ruler/measuring tape. The one I made here is 1/2 in. in diameter and I marked it off at 4 inches. Once its marked off you can cut it with a small saw like the one pictured.

Once you've cut the dowel rod, make sure you sand the edges of the pieces you cut so they cant cut your T.

Now is where size comes into play. The size of your hide will determine how many dowel rod pieces you need. My hide is rather small and i used eight 4 inch pieces (32 inch dowel rod). I have also made a larger hide out of 3/4 inch dowel rod using the same length and number. Once you have your pieces together, rubberband them to a bottle/can in an arch. The bottle I used for the 1/2 dowel rod is around two inches in diameter. A larger bottle will result in a wider, lower hide, and vice versa.

Take glue (Not just any kind, because many are toxic to Tarantulas. I use Non-Toxic Wood Glue, but I have heard of people using silicone before) and seal the spaces between each rod. You may want to do a prettier job than i did, and with wood glue you can even sand it down to make it look even better.

Make sure its completely dry before putting it in with your tarantula. When its finished it should look something like this :

1/2 in.

3/4 in.

I like they way they look, their functionality, and the fact that dowel rods cost about 50 cents. If anyone has any other cool ways to make hides I'd love to see em. Thanks for reading my post

 

[Ictinike]

Nice ingenuity and if I may ask what type of wood is the dowel?

I ask this only because I could see softer woods drawing in the moisture and molding up over time. I would see after awhile and to what extent it may draw up moisture and of course this depends on the type of enclosure where a more humid/moist would do it quicker.

It's a great DIY hide though

 

[Anastasia]

Nice, but quite a time and work consuming
I use whole or half of clay flower pots
half simply place on substrate or whole buried half in to substrate

 

[whitewolf]

Doesn't look bad. Only advice I can give is to seal it somehow. Only reason I mention that is on a dry environment they work great but in really humid ones if it can't dry out regularly they will mildew, but of course most things will if it's not ventilated well enough and allowed some drying time. Learned it the hard way with them on a Green Tree Python.

 

[MetalheadRAM]

Nice ingenuity and if I may ask what type of wood is the dowel?

I ask this only because I could see softer woods drawing in the moisture and molding up over time. I would see after awhile and to what extent it may draw up moisture and of course this depends on the type of enclosure where a more humid/moist would do it quicker.

It's a great DIY hide though

Thanks

I didnt think of mold, probably because the only Ts that I have live in dry terrariums, but I see how that could be an issue in a more humid environment. Like I said ive had one in my B. Albo's tank for a few months and its worked really good. Someone else here mentioned sealing the wood. If it can be done in a non-toxic way then that sounds like it would work, but then it would be a really drawn out process lol. The flower pot idea is great, but one of the things I like about making mine out of wood is that i can make them as long, tall, or wide as I see fit for my T and its enclosure.

 

[curiousme]

Thanks

I didnt think of mold, probably because the only Ts that I have live in dry terrariums, but I see how that could be an issue in a more humid environment. Like I said ive had one in my B. Albo's tank for a few months and its worked really good. Someone else here mentioned sealing the wood. If it can be done in a non-toxic way then that sounds like it would work, but then it would be a really drawn out process lol. The flower pot idea is great, but one of the things I like about making mine out of wood is that i can make them as long, tall, or wide as I see fit for my T and its enclosure.

Shellac is an all natural/ edible product that should be able to seal them. (it is even on the outside of Skittles!) We have used a simple white spray paint to seal dowels used in making acrylic sling enclosures, with no problems as well.

If the dowels are to be in a humid enclosure, the probability of them molding is pretty high, so sealing them would be prudent.