How important are air holes?

[Ozzfreak]

I built an enclosure today, and it didn't occur to me to put air holes in til I already had the glass cut for what I think is a good idea for a lid. I made it where the lid is 2 seperate pieces, and one is a large lid for cleaning, and whatever, and the smaller lid is for feeding and that sort of thing. I will be putting in a G. Aureostriata in it, and would it absolutely need air holes of somesort? Or would opening it up daily suffice? Or even leaving a small space between the lids to have air go in that. Here is a pic of it, not the best pic, but you can get an idea. The measurements are 10x14 and 8 inches high. The bottom you can see where I messed up, I cut my first piece going the wrond direction on my sheet, so it messed up my other plans, so I had to piece it on the bottom. Anyway, please help my hurting head. Thanks.

 

[Midnightrdr456]

im gonna have to say air holes are important. go to a hardware store and get a glass drill bit, they are like $15 and work wonders.

 

[Kriegan]

I built an enclosure today, and it didn't occur to me to put air holes in til I already had the glass cut for what I think is a good idea for a lid. I made it where the lid is 2 seperate pieces, and one is a large lid for cleaning, and whatever, and the smaller lid is for feeding and that sort of thing. I will be putting in a G. Aureostriata in it, and would it absolutely need air holes of somesort? Or would opening it up daily suffice? Or even leaving a small space between the lids to have air go in that. Here is a pic of it, not the best pic, but you can get an idea. The measurements are 10x14 and 8 inches high. The bottom you can see where I messed up, I cut my first piece going the wrond direction on my sheet, so it messed up my other plans, so I had to piece it on the bottom. Anyway, please help my hurting head. Thanks.

Would it absolutely need air holes of some sort?? Or would opening daily suffice? My friend your G. Aurestriata is a LIVING animal! It NEEDS to be able to breathe air, not to mention that without proper ventilation in an enclosure you are more vulnerable to getting mold, fungus and mites. I would put some small holes in the top and the middle to have the proper ventilation my T needs, I did mine with a soldering gun without any problems. Please do a search in the boards on ventilation holes and I'm sure you can find some pics and ideas on custom made holes people have made in their enclosures.

 

[Ozzfreak]

Oh it's a living animal? of course it is, i'm not going to seal the thing shut, but I figured that the small space between the lids may be enough. Like maybe an 1/8th inch or so space. I could always just use a piece of acrylic for the lids and drill the holes in that, but I'd like to try to keep it all glass if possible.

 

[Brian S]

Hello there Arkansawer

Better give it some airholes. Its the right thing to do

BTW, I dont live too far from you. I'm close to Springfield, MO

 

[Ozzfreak]

Ahh cool, I go up to the Lampe area almost daily, working just outside of branson right now, oh how i hate branson, lol.

 

[Brian S]

hahaha I also hate Branson and havent been there in years even though I live just 45 minutes from there. Look me up sometime, I can show you some Wild Tarantulas sometime.

If I was you, I would make the top out of plexiglass so you can drill some holes unless you have a super industrial strenght drill that can cut glass lol. You might even use a screen type top.

Take Care

 

[cacoseraph]

ok, here is the deal

the air holes are not, in fact, important to supplying a tarantula with oxygen. opening a cage that size that *was* air tight about once a week would provide all the oxygen even a large tarantula needs. spiders are HUGELY different than mammals when it comes to respirating. their oxygen requirements are significantly less than even just their smaller size would indicate. when a spider is at rest it barely uses any oxygen at all. i've kept tarantulas in sealed tupperware for ~10 days before and absolutely nothing happened to them. when i ship them i have recently taken to sealing them into plastic bags, as in the "european method".

BUT!!!!!!!
having good ventilation isn't really about supplying the spider with o2. good ventilation is about keeping fresh air circulating to reduce the amount of molt that grows and to help keep a strong like, humidity cycle going. some of my tarantulas and most of my centipedes have considerably less ventilation than that lid already provides and have been doing fine for years. i just have to watch their cages as they are much more likely to mold up quickly, it seems


so, in conclusion you could easily use the cage as is, but you would have to keep an extra eye on it and probably do more spot cleanign in there. to good news is that all indications are that mold is no big deal (you should see some of the nasty filth bugs live in, in the wild) and spot cleaning it out of the tank is more than adequate as far as health/safety issues go

 

[Ozzfreak]

Thank you for the detailed reply. I think what I'm going to do, is use this lid, but not completely install it, just until I can get me a piece of acrylic to take it's place. It may look good still if I use a thicker piece of acrylic so it won't be so flimsy. And the nearest place around here that I know of to get any is about 35 miles away, and I won't be able to get that til next weekend at the earliest. What you said makes a lot more sense about plenty of air, just needs air movement. Thanks.

 

[Nerri1029]

I think putting "bumps" of hot glue about an inch apart all the way around the top so the lid never rests flat on the walls would supply plenty of air.
probably even more than holes.
Make these bumps at least 1/8th inch thick.

 

[Crotalus]

Just cut one top piece off a few inches and put aluminium mesh there instead.

 

[Ozzfreak]

I think putting "bumps" of hot glue about an inch apart all the way around the top so the lid never rests flat on the walls would supply plenty of air.
probably even more than holes.
Make these bumps at least 1/8th inch thick.

Hmm, I really like this idea. and you are right, probably more air than a few holes would, actually no doubt in that. Now if I can just remember where I put my hot glue gun, lol, off to the shed to look for it now. Thanks

 

[Ozzfreak]

I ended up buying something called a "bumper value pack". It's the little raised bumpers, rubber and clear ones, that you can stick on the bottom of things, like a paperweight or something. It worked really well, and I think it probably would look better than the glue, but the glue gave me the idea. So if anyone ever has this problem, here is your solution, thanks for the help.

 

[Nerri1029]

I ended up buying something called a "bumper value pack". It's the little raised bumpers, rubber and clear ones, that you can stick on the bottom of things, like a paperweight or something. It worked really well, and I think it probably would look better than the glue, but the glue gave me the idea. So if anyone ever has this problem, here is your solution, thanks for the help.

That was actually my orignial idea.. but I wanted to keep it simple and cheap.
It's VERY easy to go nuts at the hardware store and spend loads of money on enclosures. * speaking from experience*

 

[Windchaser]

I ended up buying something called a "bumper value pack". It's the little raised bumpers, rubber and clear ones, that you can stick on the bottom of things, like a paperweight or something. It worked really well, and I think it probably would look better than the glue, but the glue gave me the idea. So if anyone ever has this problem, here is your solution, thanks for the help.

Just keep an eye on them. When disturbed often they tend to start falling off. You may want to consider gluing them on with something stronger then the self adhesive they come with.

 

[Scott C.]

Just keep an eye on them. When disturbed often they tend to start falling off. You may want to consider gluing them on with something stronger then the self adhesive they come with.

Yeah. A small dot of crazy glue, and some time to air out, will make them near permanent. Otherwise it's just a matter of time.

 

[Nerri1029]

well..

I would hope there's more holding the lid down than it's own weight?

a hasp? velcro?

 

[spid142]

weight

yes, I hope its being held down too, or the T will go exploring

 

[elyanalyous]

i was thinking the same thing... a tank that size is for adults....and adults could lift lids like that no problem...i'm sensing an escapee in the near future

 

[Ozzfreak]

no need to worry, hehe, i have couple of books on the lid now to hold it down. I am thinking of getting one of these to help keep the lids shut.........

http://www.tapplastics.com/shop/product.php?pid=128&PHPSESSID=200610031923541038936628

What do yall think? And you say you can glue stuff to glass with superglue?