HUGE box of goodies

[Austin S.]

I was almost more excited after opening this box vs opening a box with tarantulas in it!
15 lbs of 100%, grade A, cork!

You open a box like this and your mind goes absolutely crazy with ideas for it.

 

[lalberts9310]

I wish *sigh* :unhappy:

 

[Austin S.]

I wish *sigh* :unhappy:

Can you find any drift wood or anything over there?
BTW, hows the irminia?

 

[lalberts9310]

Yeah we have a lot of driftwood, but they are prone to get mouldy.. the irminia is looking good, still hides, doesn't come out, got a bit fatter.. I'm just waiting in anticipation for her to lay her eggs already GAH

 

[cold blood]

Yeah we have a lot of driftwood, but they are prone to get mouldy

Really??? Most of the best, most preferred wood I use, is driftwood...I've never had a molding issue to date with it.

Oh yeah, nice wood Austin:wink:

 

[lalberts9310]

Really??? Most of the best, most preferred wood I use, is driftwood...I've never had a molding issue to date with it.

yeah the parts submerged in moist substrate usually molds, but then again, could be maybe because my husbandry wasn't up to par back then (maybe the lack in ventilation? Especially the T enclosures available here has only one vent a the top), I used it a long time ago.. maybe should try it out again when I set up new enclosures for the slings when they get bigger, since I construct my own enclosures as of now and all of them has adequate cross-ventilation

 

[Austin S.]

yeah the parts submerged in moist substrate usually molds, but then again, could be maybe because my husbandry wasn't up to par back then (maybe the lack in ventilation? Especially the T enclosures available here has only one vent a the top), I used it a long time ago.. maybe should try it out again when I set up new enclosures for the slings when they get bigger, since I construct my own enclosures as of now and all of them has adequate cross-ventilation

Ventilation will be the #1 factor there. The enclosures made there are made out of glass correct? I'd suggest drilling extra holes, or even drilling a few extra vents in there, but if it is glass, that may be more difficult. You can always soak the moist end of the drift wood in boiling water for an hour or so, or you can even bake it at 350 for an hour, if you want.

 

[sdsnybny]

I wish *sigh* :unhappy:

You don't have access to cork in SA??

 

[lalberts9310]

Ventilation will be the #1 factor there. The enclosures made there are made out of glass correct? I'd suggest drilling extra holes, or even drilling a few extra vents in there, but if it is glass, that may be more difficult. You can always soak the moist end of the drift wood in boiling water for an hour or so, or you can even bake it at 350 for an hour, if you want.

yep, I know about the baking and the boiling part, but never knew it helped for mould though

Yeah the enclosures are made of glass, buuuuuut I don't use them (I used to untill the ventilation part bugged me), I make my own ones out of cast acrylic and add cross-ventilation.. the manufactured ones also open at the top, which I don't like, it's always difficult to get it closed again fast enough when you have a bolting spider, so the plexi enclosures all has their doors at the front... waaaaaaay easier

How the enclosures look like:



---------- Post added 06-08-2015 at 09:57 PM ----------

You don't have access to cork in SA??

Nope, haven't seen any, nor heard of any suppliers... sucks hey?

 

[cold blood]

yep, I know about the baking and the boiling part, but never knew it helped for mould though

It will kill any residual mold, but it won't prevent it in the future, that's up to husbandry as you know.

 

[lalberts9310]

It will kill any residual mold, but it won't prevent it in the future, that's up to husbandry as you know.

Yep like I said, I don't think my husbandry was up to par when I used driftwood, as I had enclosures with bad ventilation.. and haven't tried it again, so I'll add driftwood to my new enclosures in the future as I know how adequate ventilation looks like (thanx to AB and the awesome members here), so hopefully I'll have more luck

 

[miss moxie]

Yep like I said, I don't think my husbandry was up to par when I used driftwood, as I had enclosures with bad ventilation.. and haven't tried it again, so I'll add driftwood to my new enclosures in the future as I know how adequate ventilation looks like (thanx to AB and the awesome members here), so hopefully I'll have more luck

Perhaps a friendly American or Not-American could ship some to you? I don't know about cork importation laws-- if such a thing exists. Not sure if it would be worth the shipping fee though. Perhaps a box as big as a car so you'll never need cork again.

 

[cold blood]

Its best to position the wood so that it stays relatively dry most of the time. If I have a big piece for a pokie for example, I will look to see which end has the smallest area, and that goes down, with the larger area elevated....maximum usage up top, and minimal amount in position to soak up moisture from the substrate or water dish.

 

[Sana]

I use a lot of driftwood and branches and bark from the trees around here. The only time that I boiled them I ended up with mold issues. I've been baking them ever since and been fine.

 

[cold blood]

I use a lot of driftwood and branches and bark from the trees around here. The only time that I boiled them I ended up with mold issues. I've been baking them ever since and been fine.

Boiling just allows for more water to penetrate the wood, so even when it looks dry, the inside might not be. This "hidden" moisture within the wood would be like mold fertilizer.

 

[ARACHNO-SMACK48]

You know your a tarantula hobbyist when...... you get excited about a box of bark...

 

[Storm76]

You know your a tarantula hobbyist when...... you get excited about a box of bark...

That would be true

 

[Hellemose]

im not sure how T's would react to it, if they react at all, but you could soak driftwood in a VirkonS or F10 solution and let it dry up, its anti fungal and bacterial solutions used on farms and vets, might just have to test how spiders reacts to it.

 

[lalberts9310]

Perhaps a friendly American or Not-American could ship some to you? I don't know about cork importation laws-- if such a thing exists. Not sure if it would be worth the shipping fee though. Perhaps a box as big as a car so you'll never need cork again.

I'm not entirely sure about importing, I have thought about it though.. well, looks like I'm going to so some digging around on the internet today

---------- Post added 06-09-2015 at 10:48 AM ----------

im not sure how T's would react to it, if they react at all, but you could soak driftwood in a VirkonS or F10 solution and let it dry up, its anti fungal and bacterial solutions used on farms and vets, might just have to test how spiders reacts to it.

I don't know about that though.. I'm quite sceptical using anti-fungal solutions for my enclosure decor...

 

[Sam_Peanuts]

Jelinek has south africa in their list of countries they ship to so I doubt there's a restriction on it: http://www.corkstore.com/Products/Virgin-Cork-Bark