Need some cleaning info/help...

[Kreepy]

Greetings,

I'm not entirely sure how important it is to find and remove the cricket remains. Obviously I'd take out a dead but uneaten crick, as that would rot into a mess, but what about the discarded exoskeletons? How bad are they for attracting mites?

I ask because I throw in a cricket (three so far), they run around, then go down the hole into his burrow and never come back up again. I know he eats them down there because I have a little peek window and saw one impaled on his fang once, but i can't see any remains whatsoever and it seems stressful to poke and prod him out of his burrow every time I feed so that I can access the cricket remains.

Does anybody use isopods in their setups? Does this eliminate the need to remove the leftover cricket parts??

any and all opinions most appreciated.

cheers,

 

[looseyfur]

isopods

Thought about isopods wondered about them getting stuck in webbing... I guess I over thought it ...heh

as far as cleaning... mold in the borrow would really suck but cleaning after EVERY feeding? that hardly seems neccessary to me ... unless its damp as hell in the enclosure.

your pal-
looseyfur

 

[Immortal_sin]

here's an opinion from someone that NEVER cleans up remains LOL!
I used to be really really paranoid. I'd clean up anything that even resembled a bolus (usually it was a wad of peat moss!)
Now, I don't care. (unless is a vert bolus ugh!)
I change out the entire substrate about once every 9-12 months, and that's IT.
The only exception to this rule is slings. I take uneaten prey out after 24 hours, and clean up anything that looks suspicious.
Then again, I keep my enclosures really dry, with a large waterbowl. This goes for everything I have, except H gigas, and H lividum (which I just sent away)
all other species do just fine with a large waterbowl, vermiculite or peat moss as substrate, and no cleaning.

 

[Kreepy]

Thanks...

I am trying to resist the urge to be paranoid , but i still worry as I'm so new to the hobby I can't tell yet what's normal behaviour. That, and some part of my subconscious still can't deal with the fact that I like this spider and I'd feel sad if I lost him to any cause, but esp. because of my own stupidity or lack of experience.

I did figure I'd leave him alone, though. Seems to me it would do more harm than good to force him out of his burrow just to pick out a pair of legs.

Besides, he needs some peace since the first 2 weeks I had him, I kept poking his abdomen with a paint brush convinced he'd died on me since he never, ever moved no matter how long I sat staring at him

cheers

 

[minax]

One thing...........

I have not heard this mentioned ..........have you ever noticed in the species cages we have that web alot? There is NEVER any mold or fungus in their webs, in my experiance. I had a mold problem when I was new to the hobby, as I heard to keep H.minax very damp. I noticed the mold always stopped at the web, or entrance to the burrow. There may be exceptions...........but I believe from observing, that the t's web has really great anti- mold and anti- fungal properties. Great protection for the T.

 

[Immortal_sin]

Kreepy...
you know..the ONLY solution to your problem is to GET MORE INVERTS.... =D
That way, you won't 'overfocus' on one!
Luckily for me...I figured it out, and now with 145 spiders..I don't have time to zone in on one particular spider for too long

 

[MrFeexit]

Good call!

 

[sunnymarcie]

you know..the ONLY solution to your problem is to GET MORE INVERTS....

I'll have to agree with this statement, it worked for me;P

Most of my T's leave very little to pick up. I only find myself
cleaning the sling vials most of the time. If you don't you will
end up with lots of mold, YUCK!
My larger T's are on dry substrate with a large water dish.
No mold issues or cleaning problems there.

The "Usambara" are really good at house keeping
I've NEVER had to clean up after them. They use their web
like a trash can. If you had to, you can just reach in (with tongs)
and pull out the bolus. I do not know what the other T's do with their left overs, I can never find anything.
:?

 

[SpiderTwin]

I will agree with the above for the drier substrate T's. I usually don't worry about cleaning up the cricket remains since they just dry up. If I see them while feeding/watering, I'll pick them out, but I certainly wouldn't disturb the T's burrow to get them out.

When it comes to my slings and Avic set ups, I make a point of picking out all the remains I can find since I keep the substrate slightly moist. With a moist substrate, the remains can attract mites and I don't want that.

 

[Charlie]

I also hardley ever clean remains.

Half laziness and half I just dont think it's needed.

Somebody probably allready asked this but...has anyone ever thought of keeping those giant pillbugs with a T?

Not the backyard kind but the Madagascar giant kind.

Just curios.

-Charlie

 

[MrFeexit]

I think they would get eaten...Maybe...dunno for sure.

 

[Mendi]

I've heard of people using the everyday backyard kind but most with the giant Madagascar kind have trouble keeping them alive for very long, or so I've heard. They apparently are rather picky eaters and "we" haven't figured out just what they like to eat. I've heard that the little gray ones seem to live peacefully with the T for the most part, or maybe they just don't taste that good... I'd prolly keep a giant one somewhere other than with you T though. I believe I've read somewhere recently that there has been some success keeping them by feeding them with fungi though?