p. regalis sling enclosure

any ideas? ive got a 2.5 cm sling. what did you guys use as an enclosure. i think the one i made is far too big.:8o

It'd help to get a pic of your enclosure

An idea...

Well it's your lucky day - look what I just built

Before we all go mad with criticism, I must confess it's not the most elegant job in the world, or the most attractive, or the most well planned, but I got it up and running in pretty much 2 days flat, cost was negligible, and there was only minimal 'dicking about' with it to get it to work.

Here are the photos, see what you think...

1. First we start off with 2 containers, one 'dunkin' donuts stylee thing from tesco, with helpful raised lid, and a carbonara sauce lid from the same place makes the cut out insert. Apologies for the crudeness of the cutting skills on display here.

Holes were drilled and/or poked at the top, and the bottom of the tank, and extensively in the lid. Then it was all washed and sterilised.

Also in the pic are some slightly too large bulldog clips (in fetching green) to hold the top on, a coke bottle top for water bowl, and a small bit of plastic foliage, the latter 2 of which have been aquarium sealant-ed on to the side of the container.

Then I have added some (1") moist peat moss / vermiculite mix to the base.

1.


Here's a look inside top, down...

2.


The inner ring is cut to helpfully sit inside the top of the container giving an upper surface for the spider to web to, should it choose to do so. That way, i can continue to pop crickets in and top up the water bowl, and mist without disturbing any webbing going on... also, this screen makes it harder for speedy arboreals to rush you when the tank is open. Notice the improvised handle as well for easy removal when necessary. Not a problem for avics, but not a good idea to be removing it with a finger through that central hole when dealing with hungry H. macs, or some pokies, for example...

3.


I have gone for bulldog clips (later to be replaced by smaller ones, when I can find a shop that sells them) because they require minimal disturbance and movement to the tank when removing and affixing, unlike snap on lids. Screw tops are probably better, but I was already committed to doing it another way by this point

4.

And there is is : One arboreal sling tank knocked up really quite quickly, and not very attractive, but should do the job, and can maintain a humidity of 80%
I will have a small fan nearby to waft ventilated air at the container to maximise the airflow as much as possible (this particular tank is for a 2nd instar versicolor, arriving today.

Hope that helped...

PS - in case Ray is watching, note my use of the 'rubbish opaque plastic !' from earlier threads See - i have nothing against it except the photo thing !

Scorp guy said:

It'd help to get a pic of your enclosure

Click to expand...

I'll get one posted when i get my cam.

cerbera,
that looks great! question though... do you guys think i could cut something like a door on the side of a deli cup? i would then use tape to keep the "door" cloesed. would that be a good idea?

Mar, go to bioresearch, they sell a clear plastic container (like the size of a McDonalds large coke cup) It has a ventilated cover that has a small pop-up lid on top. Very nice for my pokies and avics until they reach 4 - 5 inches. Cost PhP 39.00 only
And it comes in different cover colors too....

I have used the beta tanks for my regalis slings...

here are some pics...

Regards, Mike


http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=35178

maarrrrr said:

cerbera,
that looks great! question though... do you guys think i could cut something like a door on the side of a deli cup? i would then use tape to keep the "door" cloesed. would that be a good idea?

Click to expand...

Thanks marrrrrr... I have to say no to your idea of closing gaps with tape, as a brief look at what my poecilotheria sling did to tape in one night will ably demonstrate, is not a good idea:



Especially as you'd have to use it sticky-side in to attach it properly.

Also wouldn't recommend cutting holes in deli cups. I wouldn't be at all surprised if even little fangs could take advantage of the hole, and enlarge it, which doesn't seem to happen with plastic so much.

nice enlosure you got there MikeH.

cerbera, thanks for the advice man!

spiderworld, is the one you are talking about the kritter keeper cup? or something else totally different?

i just used one of those microwaveable plastic containers they give take out food in. Soldered airholes on top.

they grow so fast. picked up my smallest pokie sling (an ornata) from subic_spiderworld last november at around the size your regalis is now. its around 5 inches in legspan now and is in a 5 gal KK on its side. moving it to a 10 gallon aquarium in a few months.

But what happens when the spider sets up shop in between the the base lid, and the ventilated lid?

Was there somthing I missed?

tarsier said:

i just used one of those microwaveable plastic containers they give take out food in. Soldered airholes on top.

they grow so fast. picked up my smallest pokie sling (an ornata) from subic_spiderworld last november at around the size your regalis is now. its around 5 inches in legspan now and is in a 5 gal KK on its side. moving it to a 10 gallon aquarium in a few months.

Click to expand...

thats exactly what im using now. i got the sling from him too. my problem is that the sling uses the lids corner as its hide. sorry still dont have my camera. also the one i made looks too big. im wondering if the sling could get its food.

maarrrrr said:

thats exactly what im using now. i got the sling from him too. my problem is that the sling uses the lids corner as its hide. sorry still dont have my camera. also the one i made looks too big. im wondering if the sling could get its food.

Click to expand...

i put in a small piece of wood leaning against the wall of the container. it used the piece of wood as a base for its webbing (it made a scrape or lean-to).

i wouldnt worry bout it getting food. they seem to be pretty efficient

thanks for the tips!

this is how i keep my p.regalis. you can get everything i used from michaels's or hobby lobby, and the substrate is a mixture of vermiculite and peat moss.

Derekool said:

But what happens when the spider sets up shop in between the the base lid, and the ventilated lid?

Was there somthing I missed?

Click to expand...

That's just unlucky, I guess. Its a blancing act with how big you make that hole in the middle of the inner roof - big enough to feed through, and have some mobility with tweezers, but not so large that the spider doesn't recognize it as a the top, and consistantly climbs,and therefore makes its home higher...

Following on from my reply earlier on, here is my small avic versicolor in-place in the mini-terra I was showing you... and where did she choose to web ? Right at the top - makes me feel all pleased that I can now go in and do things in her enclosure, and she doesn't even feel the need to move, and her webbing remains untouched...



Now if only she'd just EAT SOMETHING and grow !!

don't worry. it will eat, and it will grow very quickly. mine has molted at least once a month since i've had her. i've had her for about three months.

mr baker, how do you clean it? you open the whole thing? doesn't the t try to escape?

it's funny that you mention that. i have a story that you may or may not believe. i had the little fella in there without a water dish for a few days. when i opened the container to add the water dish it bolted. as you can see it's sitting on my pool table in that picture. guess where it went? right into the corner pocket. also, if you've ever taken apart a pool table(i hadn't until the great escape) there is a groove running below each board that the rails are fastened to. so, i had to take apart half of the table. when i was finally able to access the spot it had picked out it jumped off of the table towards a crack next to the fireplace. my cousin blocked off the crack with a flashlight we were using to search for the regalis with, and it ran up the flashlight, up his arm, and jump onto the wall. it proceeded to run up the wall and across the door that leads into the house. now the unbelievable part. i know arboreals can climb glass, but for some reason it slipped off the glass of the door and i caught it mid air with a container and lid. so yeah, you do have to open it to clean and add/remove stuff, but for the long periods of time in between it sure as hell saves you a lot of trouble.