Is this mesh lid suitable for a t enclosure?

[Dayners666]

Is this mesh lid suitable for a t enclosure? Now mind you I'm referring to a t that doesn't really climb and just stays on the ground. But just in case it chooses to take a walk at some point

 

[Sugarpill]

What kinda t are you gonna have in the enclosure out of curiosity?

 

[Introvertebrate]

It looks galvanized or coated, so it might be okay. Sometimes they get their claws caught in traditional screen material. Galvanization fills up the crevices where the individual screen wires cross each other.

 

[Dayners666]

What kinda t are you gonna have in the enclosure out of curiosity?

T. stirmi

It looks galvanized or coated, so it might be okay. Sometimes they get their claws caught in traditional screen material. Galvanization fills up the crevices where the individual screen wires cross each other.

How can I tell if it is?

The wire itself is rather thick if that helps at all so I'm definitely not worried about my T chewing it apart unless it wants to break its fangs lol

 

[Sugarpill]

I also have a screen top for my stirmi, haven’t had any problems in 5 years thankfully. It’s also a coated screen top, she’s never tried to climb it that I’ve seen! Not to say she doesn’t when human eyes aren’t watching… She’s always been one of the most chill in my collection

 

[Introvertebrate]

How can I tell if it is?

How close can you get with your camera? Just for the record, some will say that any mesh is a no no. Another option would be an acrylic top with ventilation holes drilled into it. Are you handy? Is your husband handy?

 

[Dayners666]

I also have a screen top for my stirmi, haven’t had any problems in 5 years thankfully. It’s also a coated screen top, she’s never tried to climb it that I’ve seen thankfully! She’s always been one of the most chill in my collection

Yeah they seem to be a pretty lazy species and not big on climbing lol

How close can you get with your camera? Just for the record, some will say that any mesh is a no no. Another option would be an acrylic top with ventilation holes drilled into it. Are you handy? Is your husband handy?

I'm handy to a point but not as much as building anything like that nor is my husband lol but I'll try to zoom in as far as I can with my camera. I have a macro lens I can use if that'll help

 

[fcat]

I try to avoid them because they technically can get their legs in. It just takes getting spooked for no good reason and your T will loose a limb.

I want to say all tarantulas climb, whether we are watching or not, but we can't prove it. Some of my repeat offenders are my fat bottomed terrestrial girls and boys...the very ones you don't want climbing on a smooth acrylic ceiling (I even try bringing my vent holes away from the perimeter of the lid to give them one less thing to grab for, and it's still no match for a terrestrial).

It doesn't look woven, which is where their *claws* get pinched and get stuck. All mesh is a risk IMO.

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

It looks galvanized or coated, so it might be okay. Sometimes they get their claws caught in traditional screen material. Galvanization fills up the crevices where the individual screen wires cross each other.

Zooming in, it looks to me to be all one piece, not woven wires at all. Did not know those even existed.

 

[Introvertebrate]

.............It doesn't look woven, which is where their *claws* get pinched and get stuck. All mesh is a risk IMO.

Yeah. It looks like it was all cut from one piece of metal.

 

[Dayners666]

Zooming in, it looks to me to be all one piece, not woven wires at all. Nice!

It's definitely not woven. Is that a good thing?

 

[fcat]

What about a thin piece of clear plastic, not acrylic, like from a poster frame to hold you over until you want to try your hand at drilling acrylic? Both would not hinder visibility and might slow down your rate of evaporation?

 

[Dayners666]

Zooming in, it looks to me to be all one piece, not woven wires at all. Did not know those even existed.

Oddly enough it's Thrive - Petsmarts own brand

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

It's definitely not woven. Is that a good thing?

It’s better than connections, but I agree with @fcat that they can get their legs or palps caught. Imagine walking on a grate where the holes are slightly larger than your shoe and the places without holes are a quarter of your shoe size. Hard to not stick a foot through a hole.

 

[SpookySpooder]

It's called preforated mesh for those interested.

They have micro-sizes where the holes are extremely small that may work for larger T's. But a soldering iron to a sheet of acrylic has the same effect with better visibility.

 

[Introvertebrate]

View attachment 464266 View attachment 464267

It looks good to me, but ask Viper. He'll probably say, "No mesh." I think Ace Hardware can custom cut a sheet of acrylic for you. Just bring the tank to the store so they know what size to make it. It would probably be up to you to drill the ventilation holes though.

 

[Dayners666]

I have plenty of time yet. It's just that I have this 40 gallon tank just sitting collecting dust from when my beardie was younger and smaller and now I wanna put it to use rather than having to spend $300 on an exo terra. This is the perfect size for an adult and I wanna start setting it up so that when it is ready I can just move it over

Here are some images of the tank I'm referring to

 

[fcat]

Just plan for the worst and bring the substrate level up. I just put in "mesh stuck" and came across one stirmi so far on page 3, though the owner was writing about the urticating hairs from saving the thing.

My dumb theory is that mesh attracts them more than acrylic because it feels like an extension of the open world to them. It's so dumb it probably is nonsensical as a statement but that's why I avoid. The next reason is because they are usually attached to glass tanks that are basically useless to every T aside from a GBB or G rosea (crazy dry, no moisture or anaerobic bacteria or noxious gases to worry about)

Here are some images of the tank I'm referring to

I didn't know they made those, with that style lid. That's nice....

What are the dimensions? How high can you bring that substrate up without blocking the vent and/or still open the door?

 

[Dayners666]

Just plan for the worst and bring the substrate level up. I just put in "mesh stuck" and came across one stirmi so far on page 3, though the owner was writing about the urticating hairs from saving the thing.

My dumb theory is that mesh attracts them more than acrylic because it feels like an extension of the open world to them. It's so dumb it probably is nonsensical as a statement but that's why I avoid. The next reason is because they are usually attached to glass tanks that are basically useless to every T aside from a GBB or G rosea (crazy dry, no moisture or anaerobic bacteria or noxious gases to worry about)

What's crazy is even big name glass enclosures that are made for inverts all have mesh lids

I didn't know they made those, with that style lid. That's nice....

What are the dimensions? How high can you bring that substrate up without blocking the vent and/or still open the door?

36" x 18" x 18" my plan was to build up the back. I saw a video of Dave's where he built a planted enclosure for a stirmi and brought the substrate higher in the back so that it was kind of an incline

 

[SpookySpooder]

Mesh is cheaper and more durable than shipping out acrylic lids that might crack or warp so it's a cost/profit decision on their part