Where do you get your sling enclosures?

So, I'll start off by saying I own one T currently. A female age (?) mature G. rosea. I've had her since last September feeding one medium cricket once a week and she is doing very well. She seems very happy and mellow, usually just laying around, moving a few times a day and has molted one time in my possession. Well, it's time for me to move up a notch. I want a sling. A B. emilia sling to be exact. My reasoning for this desire is because-
1. I want to raise a spider from young to mature
2. I like to know the age of my specimen
3. B. emilia markings look breathtaking in my opinion

Now here's my question. Where do you get your sling vials/enclosures? I've looked online and all I can find are like 25 packs of one size. I would like to purchase ONE of several sizes until I can move up to deli cup and small critter keeper etc.

Hi...
Emelia is a great spider but you will be waiting a loooong time for that Lil thing to grow.
Buy a B vagans as well, they grow faster.
I just buy tubs or enclosures at Michaels and make what I want out of it.

You can find containers to use for slings pretty much anywhere. I've got a couple right now in some cupcake wrapper containers from Walmart. If you want something more visually appealing though here's a couple places you can check out:

http://www.joshsfrogs.com/containers.html

http://www.thecontainerstore.com

ForeverTHC said:

1. I want to raise a spider from young to mature
2. I like to know the age of my specimen
3. B. emilia markings look breathtaking in my opinion

Click to expand...

I buy 16oz. and 32oz. deli containers off of amazon. Not the flashiest of enclosures, but they work well. B. emilia are absolutely gorgeous, I love mine even though it is never out of it's hide. They are very slow growing though, so this will take years. Several years. But with patience come great rewards, right? If you understand that it's not going to be a quick journey, then I'd support this very much. You may, however, want to start off with a more common brachy just to get the feel for a sling and how to care for it. Then splurge on the emilia sling when you are sure of yourself.

I'd suggest a B. albopilosum. Not the most colorful, but they're faster growing-- for a Brachypelma-- and they're appealing in their own way.

For my slings and small juvies I use these containers: http://www.tapplastics.com/product/plastics/plastic_containers/clear_plastic_boxes/222

Teeny tiny slings go in 751s, and as they age I move them to 760/765. After that, they can go in a Kritter Keeper or even a small adult enclosure.

I poke holes in the sides and lids using a soldering iron. They're like $10 and are so much easier than heating a pin/nail on the stove, which about drove me insane.

Oooo I like those, I'll have to get a few for next time

I've been reading the responses, and thank you all for replying fast. I've just been gathering my thoughts, and here's what I have to say to you guys.

skar said:

Hi...
Emelia is a great spider but you will be waiting a loooong time for that Lil thing to grow.
Buy a B vagans as well, they grow faster.
I just buy tubs or enclosures at Michaels and make what I want out of it.

Click to expand...

miss moxie said:

I buy 16oz. and 32oz. deli containers off of amazon. Not the flashiest of enclosures, but they work well. B. emilia are absolutely gorgeous, I love mine even though it is never out of it's hide. They are very slow growing though, so this will take years. Several years. But with patience come great rewards, right? If you understand that it's not going to be a quick journey, then I'd support this very much. You may, however, want to start off with a more common brachy just to get the feel for a sling and how to care for it. Then splurge on the emilia sling when you are sure of yourself.

I'd suggest a B. albopilosum. Not the most colorful, but they're faster growing-- for a Brachypelma-- and they're appealing in their own way.

Click to expand...

I've thought about what both of you have said about getting a different sling to start off with. I don't see how raising a B. albopilosum would be easier than a B. emilia, so if somebody could tell me about the differences that would be great. How much faster growing, and where did you hear/experience that? I don't mean to seem like a jerk I just have a lot of questions and I'm interested. Are B. vagans or B. albopilosum faster growers in your experiences/opinions? I actually really like the little curly dark orange hairs on the B. albopilosum, so I wouldn't mind raising one anyways. B. vagans are cool too, but I'm leaning towards the B. albopilosum unless there are more beginner or grow time perks towards the B. vagans. Miss Moxie, I've heard of the deli cups and I've incorporated them into my little list of containers I plan to order for each size up, which I will include at the bottom :biggrin:

archaeosite said:

For my slings and small juvies I use these containers: http://www.tapplastics.com/product/plastics/plastic_containers/clear_plastic_boxes/222

Click to expand...

Thank you thank you thank you thank you! These are awesome, I've got these down for the first several sizes of my plan.

Alright, below I will list all of the containers I plan to use up to like 2.5 inches legspan or so. Sorry if it's confusing to read, I wrote it in the easiest style for me to read when the time comes. I did the math and all of the sizes should leave the spider 4x legspan and be swapped out around 3x legspan.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.tapplastics.com/product/plastics/plastic_containers/clear_plastic_boxes/222

762 at .6
764 at .8
774 at 1

http://www.lllreptile.com/products/1676-solo-32oz-clear-45-dia-deli-cups-prepunched

^-- at 1.3

http://www.lllreptile.com/products/424-64-ounce-675-clear-deli-cup-prepunched

^-- at 1.6

http://www.lllreptile.com/products/429-128-ounce-975-clear-deli-cup-prepunched

^-- at 2.35

raisinjelly said:

You can find containers to use for slings pretty much anywhere. I've got a couple right now in some cupcake wrapper containers from Walmart. If you want something more visually appealing though here's a couple places you can check out:

http://www.joshsfrogs.com/containers.html

http://www.thecontainerstore.com

Click to expand...

+1 to above. Since you've never had a sling before, I suppose there would be little I could offer to advise you against the pretty plastic display cubes....the plastic is brittle and the tops chip off, skip em.

You don't need that many enclosures to raise a sling from 0.5" to 3.0"; three should be sufficient. The less rehousing you do, the less stress you place on your spider and the less money you spend. For my 5 NW terrestrials, I went from 2"x2"x3" Amec boxes to 4"x4"x5" Amec boxs to large Kritter Keepers (14"x9"x10"). I've had my spiders for 18 months now. After their next molt, I'll need to move them to larger enclosures.

I happen to like the Amec boxes, particularly because they're transparent rather than translucent. The lids are also easier to remove than the deli lids so you don't disturbe your spiders as much when feeding. The plastic is brittle, but I've only cracked one box while drilling holes and that was from the center punch, not the drill (I center punch the plastic before drilling to assure accurate hole location). If the lids become lose, a piece of scotch tape along the lip will snug up the fit. However, if you're on a budget or you have dozens of slings, deli cups are probably the way to go.

I get my Amec boxes from the Container Store. I've got one nearby so I save on shipping.

Below are a few shots of my GBB rehousing. Within a week, the new enclosures were completely webbed up and looked far less pristine.

Small and large Amec boxes:


Large Kritter Keeper:

Wow this post has inspired me, i am going to try a few of those for sure. :laugh:

out of curiosity, shebeen...do you know the normal price for shipping roughly at the container store? and at the round vents.com store? i want to know if i can fit it into my budget right now.

ForeverTHC said:

I've thought about what both of you have said about getting a different sling to start off with. I don't see how raising a B. albopilosum would be easier than a B. emilia, so if somebody could tell me about the differences that would be great. How much faster growing, and where did you hear/experience that? I don't mean to seem like a jerk I just have a lot of questions and I'm interested. Are B. vagans or B. albopilosum faster growers in your experiences/opinions? I actually really like the little curly dark orange hairs on the B. albopilosum, so I wouldn't mind raising one anyways. B. vagans are cool too, but I'm leaning towards the B. albopilosum unless there are more beginner or grow time perks towards the B. vagans.

Click to expand...

I commend you on your good taste, I firmly believe emilias are the most beautiful of all the brachys.

B. albos were one of my first Ts, I think the biggest pro they have over B. emilias is the price. I think my B. albos are more active than my B. emilias too. I've never had a vagans but I've heard they can be kinda temperamental.

Where do you plan to get your Ts? If you're ordering from a dealer online you're gonna have to pay a ton of shipping anyway, so you might as well get several.

I will sing the praises of AMAC boxes till the sun sets. I'm going to counter horanjp (my apologies). I haven't had trouble with cracking since I switched to using a black oxide drill bit to make my air holes. At the rate a brachy grows, a 4" acrylic cube will last it for a long time. I've had my B. albo sings about 2 years and they still haven't outgrow theirs. For spiders that are too big for 4" cubes, but too small for medium KKs, I use these boxes http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00P9QVOS2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Im new here to the forum and wanted to post what I have found to be perfect (and delicious) sling enclosures. Empty containers of Talenti gelato. Wife loves these so we usually have some empty containers laying around the house. Screw top lid, 3 1/4" wide opening and 4" deep.

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1ohRv8G1...lenti+hazelnut+chocolate+chip+gelato+pint.jpg

archaeosite said:

For my slings and small juvies I use these containers: http://www.tapplastics.com/product/plastics/plastic_containers/clear_plastic_boxes/222

Teeny tiny slings go in 751s, and as they age I move them to 760/765. After that, they can go in a Kritter Keeper or even a small adult enclosure.

I poke holes in the sides and lids using a soldering iron. They're like $10 and are so much easier than heating a pin/nail on the stove, which about drove me insane.

Click to expand...

Ah! Awesome. Thanks for the link. These look excellent.

I frequently shop for sling containers in my recycle bin. While grocery shopping I keep an eye out for food containers that might make likely sling or juvenile enclosures. I've even asked for a few deli containers at the deli and been given them for free. No need to spend much/any money on a couple enclosures that the sling will out grow.
Be careful placing holes in anything you ultimately use. A frequent occurence is making vent holes big enough for slings to escape.