Help me pimp my P. murinus

[smof]

Hey all.

So my most neurotic/cranky T, 'the orange thing' aka Hannibal, moulted a few weeks ago. Looks lovely and bright with a shiny golden abdomen but is definitely in need of new accomadation. I didn't see him moult (not sure if it's actually male) but I'm thinking it was an Incredible Hulk style bursting as his old skin is in shreds (that's why I'm not sure ) and he made a huge mess of his tank.

He's currently in a 3" x 6" x 4" plastic KK job and I'm planning to move him into the same kind of thing measuring 6" x 10" x 6", or a 9" cube, depending on what the store has and how much they are.

Getting this beastie in its tank when I bought him was... an interesting experience, and once I move him I'm planning for it to be the last time. So I want to make his new tank as nice to look at and for the spider to live in as possible.

Anyone got any ideas on decor? As you can see from the pics below he's a bit of a web junkie. The whole time he's been in this tank he's lived in a web tunnel under the substrate, which it destroyed when moulting. If possible I'd like to 'persuade' him to make some interesting expanded web structure so even if he's hiding I have something cool to look at.

Also, any tips on moving these guys? Last time didn't go very smoothly. Unfortunately it's not going to be easy to cup him as he's kind of webbed himself into a new tunnel. No doubt when I open the tank it will break all his web and get him nicely pee'd off with me.

Finally, out of curiosity, do these spiders hide less as they get bigger? I got him at 2.5" and he has been VERY shy. I keep him in my wardrobe while all my other T's are out on shelves just because he hates the light and will try to hide as soon as I disturb him. Since he last moulted (now around 4" I'm guessing) he's been visible a lot more but I don't know if that's just because he has nowhere to go now after making such a mess of his tunnel.

Anyway that was really long. Thanks for reading it if you did, now go about your day

check out his housekeeping talents:

Believe it or not, the best pic I've ever gotten of this guy

 

[Midnightrdr456]

Looks gorgeous. I would jsut do a small hide, and a little branch with a couple sticks on it, something nice to web to. Then let him do the rest of the work, the nicest looks are sometimes the simplest. Although there are some gorgeous realistic enclosures if your up to the challenge, personally im horrible at making things like that.

 

[Talkenlate04]

You dont have to upgrade if you dont want to, he/she is going to move things around a bit and do some more webbing now that its bigger, I like keeping mine like that, they treat the whole container like a hide and you get to see them a lot. They will get bigger if you have a female, though I have never owned one over 5.5". every one I have had was between 5 and 5.5". And if it is a female then a slightly bigger container will do the trick.

Just keep in mind if you move him to a bigger container expect him to pick a corner and stay there...... Thats what all mine do, there is such a thing as waste of space. But if you dont have a lot of Ts and want a nice tank go for it!

Have fun with that transfer if you do move him........ I have had a few that I had no trouble with and would let crawl on me when doing cage maint, and I have had a few that were spawns of the devil, ither way good luck!

 

[Hamburglar]

Yeah I made the mistake of putting mine in a 5 gallon... :wall: Now I have no idea how to get it out.. I would like to put it in something smaller and use the 5 for a bigger T... It has a burrow behind its hide with several escape tunnels starting in its favorite corner where its tube web is... In fact the last time a threw a cricket in I missed its web and it was walking around. The T popped out of the 'strate almost in the middle of the tank to snatch it up.... surprising to say the least...

 

[smof]

You dont have to upgrade if you dont want to, he/she is going to move things around a bit and do some more webbing now that its bigger, I like keeping mine like that, they treat the whole container like a hide and you get to see them a lot. They will get bigger if you have a female, though I have never owned one over 5.5". every one I have had was between 5 and 5.5". And if it is a female then a slightly bigger container will do the trick.

Hmm, interesting point. I'd quite like to give him a new tank just cos this one looks a mess now. I'd like to give him some more substrate and a bit of decoration so it looks nicer. And a tank with only a small opening in the lid would be good, so I don't destroy all his webbing every time I feed/water him. But I'll keep what you said in mind and maybe go for something a similar size to this. It is pretty cool seeing him web up the entire thing

 

[IdahoBiteyThing]

great webbing

Occasionally these T's will get a little arboreal, so you might include something where it can web up high too. I've got a plastic vine w/ leaves in my OBT's tank and he spends almost all of his time up there, and is really visible, as long as he's got a leaf or two for some cover. Rarely even touches the ground except for water. Here's a lousy pic, but you can get the general idea. I used hot glue to attach it to the tank in several places so it would support his weight. Hope this helps. They're way cool T's.