The Ideal "Tarantula Cage Wood" Experiment

[SouthernStyle]

The Experiment Goes Like This~
I'm Trying to figure out which wood works best for T's...And here's Kinda what I've found so far, Just a Random thing I thought I would give a shot...Proally out of Pure Bordem, but to make the T's feel a bit more secure in their surroundings....

I've picked up That Cholla Cactus Wood, Driftwood, Cork Bark, Some other wood that Starts with an "M" That I cannot spell (brain is dead at the moment) and a few other types of random woods.

Now Normally, I'll Bleach the wood out for about half a day or so, Give it a good soak in Clean water, Then Bake it for an hour at 350 to remove all the excess moisture...

It Seems that the OBT Slings and the H.Mac Slings that I've got LOVE the Cholla, Since they can get inside of it and hide...

I've currently got 5 H.Mac Slings 3"+ Housed with Cholla in thier Containers, which has been in there for approximately 14 days now, so I dont have much to go on. My Large Female H.Mac (5.5"+) Has a Rather large chunk of drift wood That I've Glued together with hot glue and Covered The glue with Walnut shells to prevent any issues....

The H.Mac's COMPLETELY Ignored the Cork Bark (which I also left in for 14 days before I changed them to the cholla wood) and wouldnt even burrow next to it. IT was just a large piece that I broke up into smaller chunks that I bought at a pet store in Denver Just For Referance.

I've got 5 OBT's That Went through the same kinda Experiment. 14 days on Cholla and 14 Days with Cork Bark....Seems that 4 of the OBT's LOVE the Cholla as well (hiding in it, Webbing it up and using it for a "lookout" position)

The 5th OBT Wont MOVE off the Cork Bark, And everytime it gets moved around (no matter what position I put it in) This OBT Digs under it, Piles It's substrate on top of it, and Webs it completely up...Most Intriguing! (Dont have a pic of this one)

I've Also Got the Cholla in With a Juvie G.Rosea RCF...It doesnt seem to care what's in its cage as long as it can pile 12 crickets in its mouth at one time ::smirks:: It Can Be done!

That's only 5 Crickets at once LOL!

My OTHER G.Rosea RCF 6" Female Wont get near the Piece of Cholla I put in her Tank, Rather she Sits on top of her cork bark like a German Shepherd Guarding your front door...And Trust me, She'll getcha if ya come close to move it, Even If a Cricket comes to close...It's Like Watching Little Shop of Horrors And that Big Plant Eating People Pretty Cool~

My LAST and Final Tester is my Large Female 5.5"+ C.Bechuanicus
She's got Both Cork Bark and Cholla in her Tank...And doesnt seem to care which one she rests on...Either one Seems To do Just Fine, But The Cork Bark seems to be her home sweet home...

SO My Question really would be this~ What Wood Do you all use (if any) For Your T's To Have that "secure" Feeling??

 

[P. Novak]

Wow, interesting experiment Nate. I just find and bake a piece of bark or log from outside, and then place it in the most desired and suitable Ts enclosure. I never thought they prefered anything.

 

[The_Thunderer]

Well, my methodology messes up your experiment since I want to SEE my T's. I use corkbark and angle it up against the glass so that even if they're "behind it" (under the angle), I can turn around their whole enclosure to see them on the other side.

The only ones that seem to really "use" it, though are my arboreals (A. metallica, C. sp. "blue", P. regalis (all three), my G. aureostriata and my one B. boehmei. The others will crawl over it, but not "use" it either as a roof for their hide or as a perch.

I've wanted to buy grapevine or such, but I'm also afraid my A. metallica might "poke" itself on one of the branches.

 

[Talkenlate04]

Here is something else to factor in.

If you place two kinds of wood in a tank and then a T and the T picks one wood, is it picking that wood because if where it was placed?

If I make a tank like this, but turn the area I made for her as a hide toward the window where it gets more light, she is not going to use the corner I wanted her to. But if I make sure that corner is the darkest part of the cage I'd bet anything she would take to that corner.

So your test has to be with wood placed in the same spot over and over, for a set period of time with exposure to the same lighting coming from the same direction every time.

 

[mwh9]

Here is something else to factor in.

If you place two kinds of wood in a tank and then a T and the T picks one wood, is it picking that wood because if where it was placed?

If I make a tank like this, but turn the area I made for her as a hide toward the window where it gets more light, she is not going to use the corner I wanted her to. But if I make sure that corner is the darkest part of the cage I'd bet anything she would take to that corner.

So your test has to be with wood placed in the same spot over and over, for a set period of time with exposure to the same lighting coming from the same direction every time.



That was what I was thinking as I read this, would it be a choice of wood location or would it be the wood. Or would it be wood at all? Yea, I know, would wood, it's early.

 

[Nerri1029]

Nice start of an interesting investigation..

A little more Scientific Method, and careful thought applied could yield some neat information ... or not. which is still interesting. evidence of NO PREFERENCE would also be useful.


anyway..

I have a few slings of C.Bechuanicus and I wanted to say yours is beautiful !!! Not sure why people don't appreciate African species.

 

[The_Thunderer]

I have a few slings of C.Bechuanicus and I wanted to say yours is beautiful !!! Not sure why people don't appreciate African species.

I ALSO noted that. I hadn't given much thought to having one of those, but after seeing this one... maybe!! LOL.

On topic... I transferred my 5-6" P. regalis to a custom cage last night... and it prefers the plastic "transfer" container to the corkbark as of yet.... LOL.

 

[Stylopidae]

I'd venture to guess that preferances will vary based upon the size and shape of the wood peice, as well as the species of spider in question.

Just my hypothesis

 

[IdahoBiteyThing]

wood

I want to hear how the different woods hold up as well. I've been experimenting with a couple different woods to see which mold, decompose etc. especially in my avic cages that are more moist. So far, cork bark rules, but also getting good results with bamboo (my Psalmopoeus all love the bamboo tubes), and manzanita (is that the M wood you're using?). Manzanita is commonly used for parrot perches as it's really hard, so should be able to find at most pet stores (although it usually has hardware attached) or online (easier to find with no hardware). Tony

 

[ShawnH]

I don't use any wood, I use flower pots or sections of PVC pipe. My N color get nothing at all but lots of substrate to dig and a water dish.

 

[cacoseraph]

cool thread, dude

grapevine sucks in anything but dry bug cages. molds really quick for me, ever time

oak bark, same

eucalyptus same, plus has funky chems in it. pity too, cuz i always find really neatly shaped pieces and tubes and you can wet it down and shape it

 

[SouthernStyle]

I've combated the Grape Vine Mold Very easily though~ if you bleach it out, Then Rinse it, Then Bake it at 400 for an hour and a half, THEN Char the bottom of the wood (where it rests in the substrate) It doesnt mold at all...
My Wife uses that stuff ALL THE TIME in with her Cresteds, and It's YET to mold on me...

The Cholla Wood Does seem to soak up a lot of moisture, but if you leave it in the sun for a bit, It Dries out pretty fast like.

The Manzanara wood or whatever its called Just doesnt work for the T's...Too tall and Cutting it down to size just bothers me LOL!

 

[cacoseraph]

I've combated the Grape Vine Mold Very easily though~ if you bleach it out, Then Rinse it, Then Bake it at 400 for an hour and a half, THEN Char the bottom of the wood (where it rests in the substrate) It doesnt mold at all...
My Wife uses that stuff ALL THE TIME in with her Cresteds, and It's YET to mold on me...

i am too afraid to have bleached wood in my cages. i have to think there is going to be some bleach left in the wood (or it would't prevent mold) and that might do... er... *something* to the T. could take years to accumulate enough to have an obvious affect or something.

course... i *am* a paranoiac hehehe

 

[Taceas]

I've had pretty good luck with oak bark and a chunk of partially rotted cherry wood. I just soaked them for a day in bleach water, then soaked for a day in clean water, then left out to dry in the sun for a day, then baked overnight at 200*F. Have yet to see any mold. My other favorite wood is osage orange, it's abundant and sturdy and even when stacked as firewood outside, does not grow mold nor does it rot.

I did have a nice piece of maple bark I just simply baked for an hour and it did mold a little, but after a week I guess the mold ate up all it could and it hasn't been back since. The spider (P. ornata sling) is still thriving with it.

Cork bark is just too expensive, same for cholla and manzanita as I can only find them at pet stores that charge an arm and a leg. One thing you might try is driftwood, it usually has lots of tannins in it and is pretty antimicrobial and antifungal. I know its tannins benefit aquarium critters, so I'm sure the preservative nature of the tannins even in the dry state would be good.

 

[bushbuster]

I like the Grapevine. Looks good, plus I can arrange it to my compulsive obsessive liking...not to mention the little secrets I hear coming out of it, lol.

 

[The_Thunderer]

i am too afraid to have bleached wood in my cages. i have to think there is going to be some bleach left in the wood (or it would't prevent mold) and that might do... er... *something* to the T. could take years to accumulate enough to have an obvious affect or something. course... i *am* a paranoiac hehehe

I completely understand what you're talking about as I too share that fear. I have worked with pool systems and some of the old ones used chlorine. Some of those rooms had chlorine stains everywhere.

However, in working with those systems, I learned that if you rinse items well and make sure that there are no "chloriine crusties" on them when you rinse them off, the chlorine evaporates completely.

In washing the wood or items used in animal cages, we are never even allowing "chlorine crusties" to accumulate. Use lots of water to rinse, rinse, and then rinse again and there shouldn't be a problem. The only time there would be a problem is by not rinsing the item thoroughly. Basically, what I do is wash with a 10-15% bleach solution, rinse very well, and then soak the item in a sink with completely fresh water. Let the water drain and then soak again. I've never had a problem with wood or other items cleaned this way (and I have/have had snakes, geckos, lizards, toads, salamanders, fish, etc.).

I know you're probably still thinking... "what if I still didn't rinse enough?". Just like you, I do... so I RINSE it again. LOL.

Good luck with that.

 

[bushbuster]

Here is something else to factor in.

If you place two kinds of wood in a tank and then a T and the T picks one wood, is it picking that wood because if where it was placed?

If I make a tank like this, but turn the area I made for her as a hide toward the window where it gets more light, she is not going to use the corner I wanted her to. But if I make sure that corner is the darkest part of the cage I'd bet anything she would take to that corner.

So your test has to be with wood placed in the same spot over and over, for a set period of time with exposure to the same lighting coming from the same direction every time.

Killer enclosures, Ryan..I've one of those myself, but Ornery (Ornata) stays in hers, lol. I named her Ornery cause she bit Swift on the thumb when her was packing her up, lol.

 

[SouthernStyle]

I've actucally found that the Cholla Wood Is Pretty well the best choice (that I've got at the moment), It's proving to be very stable in my T's Cages. It Does absorb a lot of water which keeps the cage pretty humid, It also Doesnt mold up (at least not yet)

I've heard that Some of the Pine trees (when stripped of their bark, bleached, rinsed and baked) Works pretty good too, You get that LOVELY pine fresh smell LOL! But It still will leak some sap.

It'll be on-going, I've got a couple hard woods comming in this week that Im going to try out and see if they work as well, if not better than The Cholla...

 

[dianedfisher]

You might consider "monkey ladder" which is sold in the crafts section at walmart and through many terrarium supply stores as "liana". My arboreals love to web in the depressions and it will grow moss in moist environments but isn't supposed to mold if there is air flow. Walmart sells a three foot section for a couple of bucks and I just saw it into pieces and hotmelt a few silk leaves on it and hotmelt it to the side of my enclosures. Di

 

[Thoth]

I've heard that Some of the Pine trees (when stripped of their bark, bleached, rinsed and baked) Works pretty good too, You get that LOVELY pine fresh smell LOL! But It still will leak some sap.

Which will make them toxic to the inverts.


Problem with grapevine is, it is not very durable in humid/wet conditions and will rot relatively quickly.