Saving money!

[tarcan]

I am not sure if anyone has ever posted on that, so forgive me if it is a repeat.

Everyone knows that Wal Mart and the Local Hardware store is our best friend as far as enclosures, substrate, etc. goes...

One thing I had never found a cheap NATURAL LOOKING replacement to is the good old cork bark piece.

Why would I be looking for a replacement... when you have a few spiders, it is not much of a problem. When you have a lot of them, it becomes very expensive (I buy cork bark by the case and get a better price, but it is still expensive).

This afternoon I came back with four bamboo trunks from my local Reno Depot! (in a mini van of course). They cost me 6$ each! (Canadian money, so that means an American dime!LOL).

I cut one trunk so far and I have enough pieces for 20 adult Poecilotheria spiders!... (the trunks are roughly over 7 feet tall).

So I let you figure out the numbers (I purchased for about 450$ of bark this year only and I just bought more then the equivalent for 30$)... less money on the bark, more money on the spiders!

Of course, it is not as nice looking as cork bark, but it is still a nice natural looking alternative...

The other downside is that it has a tendency to crack, but I managed not to lose any pieces...

Martin

 

[AudreyElizabeth]

Cool that you are saving money AND getting natural looking hides, but I think terra cotta flower pots look pretty neat too! I have a wooden flower pot in my B. albo enclosure, and with the carvings in it it adds a nice touch! Even only having 3 Ts I can't bring myself to buy one of those over-priced cork bark hides!!

 

[pelo]

Bamboo you say.Never thought of that.It is a lot cheaper.I wonder how it will do long term against humidity & mold.Bamboo on the outside has a fairly slick surface does it not??Maybe trouble for spider's grip?I guess if they can climb glass,it shouldn't be any trouble to scale some bamboo.What's it like inside.Wouldn't really matter much for terrestrial hides but for aboreals??Keep us posted on how it works out for the spiders.Maybe my days are over for buying corkbark also.Damn stuff is dear in price...peace..

 

[Nameless]

Is this like the yellow dry bamboo?

 

[tarcan]

Yes they are dry yellow bamboo trunks (although I do not know much about bamboo!).

I also thought of the humidity problem but thought it was worth a try. I asked the lady at the store and she mentionned that those are usually sold to decorate the backyard and stay outside. I figured that if they do not eventually rot with the rain outside it should be fine for the terrariums... although I might be wrong...

For the moment I have put some pieces in an Avicularia versicolor and a Poecilotheria rufilata enclosure and the slick surface does not seem to be a problem for them...

The other dowside is for people who like to glue their pieces of bark on the walls, bamboo peices are heavier then bark of the same volume, so I am not sure if the addhesive would hold.

The interior is completely hollow but each sections are completely closed (closed at every ring around the trunk, euh... hard to explain but you all know how bamboo looks like).

Terra cotta is also nice for terrestrial species, I agree. I would just like to point out that something bad happened twice with those. This happened with two small specimens, they got "caught" in trying to sqeeze themselves in the whole in the middle and died... so becareful with the very small terra cotta pots if you use them for small juveniles. Of course, the whole is way too small for adult specimens, regardless of the size of pot you use...

Martin

 

[atavuss]

I have a piece of bamboo in a "orange bitey monster's" enclosure that has been in there for years. of course it is all webbed over and covered with substrate and the enclosure is kept somewhat dry, but from what I can see of the bamboo it is still in great shape.
I like to use coconut halves for most of my t's for hides, I can buy a whole coconut in the grocery store for 1.99 and split it in half at a cost of .98 for each half, the coconut meat is fed to my rats so it does not go to waste.
Ed

 

[AudreyElizabeth]

Never had a T small enough to die trying to crawl through the hole, maybe you could plug it up with something?? A small bit of cardboard maybe??

 

[Immortal_sin]

awesome idea....I'm going to try it!
I'm out of cork bark (again) and it IS expensive.
I'll check at Lowe's or Home Depot or Freddys for it, thanks for sharing!

 

[Arachnomania]

tarantula enclosure decorations

As most of my collection are terrestrial species I like using PVC pipes (elbows and "T" joints). I bury these as to not see them but one of the PVC hole is facing the enclosure glass as to be able to see inside. I also use cork for my Poecilotheria's and hanging plastic plants for other arboreals such as Avicularias.

 

[skinheaddave]

Martin,

Do you split the bamboo in 1/2 before you use it, or do you use the full round? Also, what diameter are you using?

Cheers,
Dave

 

[tarcan]

Dave,

I split it in half, I do not like much having a full round shelter it is harder to "work" with the spiders.

The diameter is about 7 to 8 cm interior.

For the moment my Peocilotheria rufilata test specimen seems to have adopted it.

Take care

Martin