P metallica enclosure too big?

[Kada]

funny, total opposite experiences...when I collect, I stay away from the woods and do all my collection from beaches to get driftwood...never had a single issue with driftwood...never a spot of mold. The sand gets really hot in summer here, both keeping the wood dry and clear of pests.

Probably to do with varying climates. Beach wood tends to be salty, even after soaking, and all river/beach wood is at least somewhat sandblasted. The outer parts of the sap wood and inner parts of the bark being the most fungi friendly parts of a log usually for many species. Its how many fungi species evolve to get the best sugars and nutrients whilst having the best fruiting opportunities and protection.

I use both forest and river/beach wood. My climate is humid as anything so I keep my substrate drier than, say, folks in Arizona. Like cold blood, I also dry thoroughly. However, one issue with baking wood is you "case dry" the wood. This is an issue in the lumber trade, which we can learn from. Too high a temperature/too low a humidity causes the outside wood to harden (carbonized to harden wood is sort of similar in concept). Basically drying too fast. Once the outer cells harden it acts as a shell, making the inner wood extremely slow to dry out. This is a far bigger problem with green wood than dead wood. Which is an important distinction. Green wood has cells with turgor, filled with liquid and still alive. They need to die (cells are fixed) and then dry (get rid of water). Dead wood has already had all their cells harden and they simply need to lose water, not actually go through massive structural and chemical changes. I prefer to sun dry in the hot sun, after steaming (steaming is more for bugs than anything else, but the inevitable cell wall damage it creates will promote more fungal growth in the beginning). Baking will, in a way, seal in some moisture for a long time. It makes it less permeable, as with carbonized wood.

I normally avoid wood with bark because of fungal growth. Unless it's a dry species [of critter] and the wood won't be buried (due to my hot and wet climate). I prefer hard heart wood with sapwood either rotten off (forest) or eroded off (river/ocean) and cleaned appropriately. If there is a choice, roots of many species tend to be far harder, more heart to sapwood ratio given their natural stress. Even tobacco pipes tend to go this direction, partially for this reason. Certain groups, such as the fabaceae are particularly prone to fungal growth, so I avoid them as well. Ultra soft woods like ficus I also avoid as they get eaten by everything once dead.

I am far less experienced with spiders than all of you, but that's my take on wood from my industry in agriculture and forestry where we care a lot about this for things like growing mushrooms, making compost etc.

Edited to add. When I am using proper wood, it's heavier than cork. I always wore them to the enclosure and place foam on the bottom between the glass and the wood to prevent breakage and movement. We have a lot of earthquakes. But it's good practice regardless, even if just moving enclosures around etc.

Second edit for typos and clarity.

 

[Wolfram1]

Good points

Alright so maybe the difference lies in the state of wood/bark at time of collection, as well as the type of tree it comes from.

I personally always try to go for oak and in the forest i frequent there are a number of old oaks that have been dead for quite a while, some fallen some not and as fungui and other destruents work they slowly soften the barrier between the outer bark and the trunk of the tree, allowing me to pry the pieces i need off with my bare hands...

or alternatively there is some logging going on and there are always some stacks of drying treetrunks around, here the machines sometimes rip off pieces of bark in the process of stacking them, these will be laying around the piles

due to this i only collect bark that has already undergone excessive weathering and has remained firm in this process, this is the type that will not easily mold or rot despite moisture beeing present and most if not all niutrients in the outer layers will have already been stripped at the time of collection

it can be used directly from the forest or stored and then used, however i have noticed that pieces that have been dry for a very long time are more succeptible to mold than pieces used directly

it could however also be related to how our enclosures are ventilated or the moisture we use in them

i for my part have some moisture in all my enclosures so when i water the bark will inevidably get wet on occasion and if used directly from the forest it has not molded in a noticable/problematic way for me yet

 

[Dry Desert]

She's weirdly calm with me tbh doesn't really care about being moved or touched or anything so I think I'm quite lucky


Ok any ideas for a better hide?? Trying to think of what would be good for her

Try and place the cork bark tight against the side of the enclosure.

Put plenty of artificial plants in, doesn't have to be trailing ones, tall ones will work.

As you're in the UK try feeding small locust, they climb well and should keep your pockie entertained.