Enclosure upgrade: Damon diadema

My Damon diadema has been living in the same box for just over a year. I thought I'd give her a decent sized upgrade after finding a terrific structure for her to climb on.


The structure:
This is a cork board desk organizer. It was $17 on sale for about $5. Just couldn't resist. For size reference, that cork board is 1/2" thick.



This was the transfer from old to new. She hangs on to bark/cork really well, so I just moved her bark to the cork board, to see if she liked the texture:



For added humidity, I filled the bottom with moist sphagnum moss:



She seems to enjoy drinking from the moss, but sadly mold really liked that wall. I did not add that water, it wicked upwards. Needed to figure out a good solution for making sure moss didn't bring mold:



It was fairly easy to make sure the moss just didn't touch the cork board at all. Left it like this for 2 days, since the previous mold showed up faster than that. She can walk across the glass bottom with ease, so she certainly find moisture when she needs it:



And here's a pair of videos showing her learning the new texture. She's already a pro at running around when she wants, and has fed on crickets in there too. She has more room to hunt, which I think is important. In the Dropbox link are some comparison photos showing her old enclosure beside the new. She could find crickets in that smaller one, but it seemed to take a few days.

Both of these are 1080p, so make 'em fullscreen HD if you can.


Thanks for reading/watching!

Doesn't cork board contain some sort of glue that can be toxic to small animals?

ARACHNO-SMACK48 said:

Doesn't cork board contain some sort of glue that can be toxic to small animals?

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When I washed it, I used very hot water, and no soap. There's no residue, nor any smells from it. I had initially thought washing it would make it fall apart, but it seems quite fine.

Surely, this isn't a food grade item, but I wouldn't think they'd be much toxicity in something like this. There doesn't really seem to be much glue holding it together either.


Good thought, and I'll be keeping a close eye on her, to see if she's acting strange, or if she avoids certain areas. I also give this enclosure a good smell test a few times a day.

Update: she has a few favourite spots already.

During the day, she's mostly hidden away in the darker portions of the cork. At night, she starts off on the right side at the bottom of the cork, facing down. She stays like that for a few hours, then proceeds to comb the whole enclosure, very slowly. She keeps returning to the right side, and almost always is facing down. The back and left sides have the most surface area, so when she makes it to those planes, she takes her sweet time.

At corners, she fully explores around the corner with her whips, both top and bottom, before traversing to that plane. When she's on the interior of the structure, she rarely goes down to the bottom of it. The only time she goes that far down, is on the right side. It's closest to the sphagnum moss, though I have yet to see her climb on the actual moss.

So far, the only major downside to this build, is that I can see cricket poop everywhere. I can pull that cork bit out the top, and vacuum the interior. I have a feeling I'll be doing that soon.

Update: She has molted in this new enclosure!

Decided on using the "attic area" for a molting platform. Her other best option was the screened ceiling, and she may have been able to use the cork sides too. Her exuvia was pretty well attached, though it took no effort to remove it. Afterwards (didn't catch it all this time), she moved to the lower area, to her favourite hiding spot.


Lighting is not the best, but my wife has some pretty good camera skills:

Dangling exuvia:


The darker, more preferred hiding spot:


Close up #1:


Close up #2:



More updates to come!

Very cool! Glad to see that she's taking to her new enclosure! I need to modify my D. diademas enclosure a bit too. Not that (s)he's too big, just too spartan an enclosure for my liking and it would be nice to give him/her some more sheltered areas to hide during the day.

pannaking22 said:

Very cool! Glad to see that she's taking to her new enclosure! I need to modify my D. diademas enclosure a bit too. Not that (s)he's too big, just too spartan an enclosure for my liking and it would be nice to give him/her some more sheltered areas to hide during the day.

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Thanks for checkin it out!!

That's how I felt about her old world. She could almost fully stretch out, but rarely if ever did. She had two bark pieces, making four good surfaces for her to climb on. She had a dark spot she could hide in during the day.

But this new one is almost like a city for her, and she can very actively hunt when she wants. A friend of mine was over during a feeding, where she caught a cricket within 10 minutes of it being in there. Other times, it'll take her days to get a good catch. It was the same in the older, smaller world, but here, she can easily escape or chase the crickets away.

Mine is still in the original enclosure I bought it in and it isn't great. I've kept him/her in a darker part of my closet to make up for there just being one big piece of cork in there. The bark stretches from floor to ceiling and is at a nice angle to (s)he can use both sides, but it would still be nice to pretty it up a bit.

The big perk is that when mine is hungry, (s)he can catch things extremely quickly since the prey always comes along the side of the bark. That's at least an improvement over before when the substrate wasn't actually substrate and just water...

pannaking22 said:

Mine is still in the original enclosure I bought it in and it isn't great. I've kept him/her in a darker part of my closet to make up for there just being one big piece of cork in there. The bark stretches from floor to ceiling and is at a nice angle to (s)he can use both sides, but it would still be nice to pretty it up a bit.

The big perk is that when mine is hungry, (s)he can catch things extremely quickly since the prey always comes along the side of the bark. That's at least an improvement over before when the substrate wasn't actually substrate and just water...

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Ahh, yes. Having prey on the same cork does make it easy. I was using cocofiber for a small amount of substrate, and crickets were making little burrows in it to hide. They could also easily reach the screened ceiling, and when she got close, they'd just jump away.

Now, her cork surface area is much bigger, and I've seen her rush a cricket to grab it. She didn't have space for that before. And they don't seem to be able to hit the screened ceiling as easily in this house.

Such sweet observations. I am definitely a believer in (generally) keeping animals in large and suitably stimulating enclosures, and that looks like what you're giving this girl!

Tenodera said:

Such sweet observations. I am definitely a believer in (generally) keeping animals in large and suitably stimulating enclosures, and that looks like what you're giving this girl!

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It's certainly the prettiest enclosure I could have made for her, but she can't likely see it anyway! This gives her comfort, and tons of hunting grounds!

ARACHNO-SMACK48 said:

Doesn't cork board contain some sort of glue that can be toxic to small animals?

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I've been using cork board for many years with no problems. I contacted the company and they told me no glues were used in making their board. I use the flat 12x12 pieces though. The one the OP pictured may have some sort of glue to hold the joints together, I don't know.

^ There is glue, but the cork itself is fairly thick. It came this way, since it's a desk stationary organizer. There's only one spot I can see the glue, and after a good wash, there were no foul smells. Still aren't. She's walking around right now seeking the water droplets on the enclosure walls I just gave her.

Has the same favourite hiding spots, so she's gotten quite comfortable in there. When she's full grown, I'm going to customize a similar looking much larger tank with bigger cork slabs.

It should be noted that SOME cork boards do contain glue that is toxic and can actually kill the animals, so caution is recommended. @tarcan had some bad experiences with at least one brand of cork board he used for whip spiders. I did not have any bad experiences with cork, but I have to admit I do not like the material very much. I prefer styrofoam boards, even though they are much less natural in appearance.

wizentrop said:

It should be noted that SOME cork boards do contain glue that is toxic and can actually kill the animals, so caution is recommended. @tarcan had some bad experiences with at least one brand of cork board he used for whip spiders. I did not have any bad experiences with cork, but I have to admit I do not like the material very much. I prefer styrofoam boards, even though they are much less natural in appearance.

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Point taken. Always best to consult the manufacturer and if you can't get a satisfactory answer don't use the product. I don't have any packaging around but next time I get to Menards I'll find out what brand I have been using. I'd be interested to see what brand tarcan was using.

I'm curious as to what you don't like the cork and why you prefer the styrofoam. I love the cork bark but if I can be convinced that something is better I'll switch. I can't always get the thicker stuff and the thinner stuff sags.

How is this for an idea. Take a thin piece of styro, smear it with silicone and coat it with coco fiber like they use for walls. It would soak up the water and retain humidity better and maybe even look a bit more natural.

sschind said:

I'm curious as to what you don't like the cork and why you prefer the styrofoam. I love the cork bark but if I can be convinced that something is better I'll switch. I can't always get the thicker stuff and the thinner stuff sags.

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I never said that styrofoam is better than cork, it is more of a personal preference. I do find that cork boards (the processed stuff) catch mold more easily. But that's it.
As to why I prefer styrofoam: I do not necessarily keep my Amblypygi as pets, their primary purpose is research, and for this I need a background I can clearly see the animal against. A dark whip spider against a white backdrop is perfect for this. Like I said, it does not look natural. In the future I might move a few of my animals to enclosures with a more natural look. For this I will use natural cork bark, or styrofoam painted with acrylic mixed with cement (to mimic cave walls).

sschind said:

How is this for an idea. Take a thin piece of styro, smear it with silicone and coat it with coco fiber like they use for walls. It would soak up the water and retain humidity better and maybe even look a bit more natural.

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Funny you mention this, I actually tried it for another arthropod I am keeping (Cosmoderus). The coco failed miserably to hold any moisture. Also, it looks great in the first week, but then completely falls apart. The coco fiber never holds onto the silicone. Better to use actual soil, sand, or small pebbles to cover the silicone.

Before using this cork structure, I had ground up some cheaper cork board (dollar store), then used glue (Titebond III) to adhere it to walls of a different enclosure. It smelled horribly even after a few days of washing and drying. I was looking around for any good alternatives, but I really liked the texture of cork.

My main concern was crickets: they can hide in nearly anything. Ground cork glued (save for the cured smell) would have been great for this. I considered styrofoam, but I thought crickets could burrow into in. It's not the most structurally sound material. Coupled with the fact the Amblies don't burrow at all, I figured the crickets could still take the advantage.

When I found this piece at Michael's Craft, I took note of the weight, and thickness of each cork piece. There's minimal glue holding together, but it's clearly a strong glue. Knowing that many cheap glues comes apart in warm water, I soaked this piece for a good 20 or more minutes. Didn't foam up or discolour the water, nor any smells.

The only major drawback so far, is that any moisture that touches the cork for too long can cause mold. This cork, especially after a good soak, is fairly inert, and would love to host a pathogen or thousand. I keep moist sphagnum moss in the corners, and there's been no issues. Having several blank flat walls with no collision issues gives her a distinct hunting advantage, from what I can see.

Anyone looking to replicate what I've done above, be sure to check out the materials you're using. I once bought yellow silk plants for a chameleon that after a soak turned the water pinkish-purple. Be cautious!

wizentrop said:

Funny you mention this, I actually tried it for another arthropod I am keeping (Cosmoderus).

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What, you're keeping those!? Now you need to start a separate thread dedicated to those, including pictures and care info lol, they are so cool!

Hisserdude said:

What, you're keeping those!? Now you need to start a separate thread dedicated to those, including pictures and care info lol, they are so cool!

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I am only experimenting with them. Contrary to what people think, they are more difficult than the other armored cricket species. So far no breeding results.
But let's stay focused on the topic of this thread.

wizentrop said:

I am only experimenting with them. Contrary to what people think, they are more difficult than the other armored cricket species. So far no breeding results.
But let's stay focused on the topic of this thread.

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Well all armored crickets seem to be hard to breed, hopefully you will have some success with yours!