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new keeper’s observations
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<blockquote data-quote="kormath" data-source="post: 112134" data-attributes="member: 4199"><p>Good post! i like seeing keepers put lots of thought into their pets like this <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> few comments i have -</p><p></p><p></p><p>I'd remove the foam. Foam and sponges in water dishes are a breeding ground for bacteria. If you want something for him to keep his toes dry use marbles, aquarium gravel, or similar.</p><p></p><p></p><p>My B. smithi tossed substrate and his bolus in the water dish constantly, then i moved the dish to a different corner of his cage and it stays clean now, he continues to pile up the bolus and substrate he moves to that same corner. All the ideas above are plausible, personally i think they pick a spot and dump the waste there. and each species is different. my B. vagans uses a corner, my B. albo tosses it where he feels like. My son's A. versicolor decorates his web with the bolus.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Numerous reasons they'll climb. could be weather related, most of mine will climb the walls before a storm, some will climb to get away from prey when they go into premolt. could be just stretching his legs and exploring, or setting up trip lines to detect prey.</p><p></p><p></p><p>The fear is when a T goes into molt, they have no defense then and crickets are known to chew on molting spiders. It's one of the 3 reasons i don't use crickets as feeders. They can harm the T during a molt, they stink, and they're really short lived. I get crickets from the local pet store (LPS) maybe 3 times a year just to give them something different in their diet. but i never feed them to T's i suspect are in premolt, and if the cricket isn't eaten within 24 hours i remove it.</p><p></p><p></p><p>You did hte same thing i did when i first used the bricks of coconut fiber <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> so now i take a brick put it in a 3 or 4 gallon sterlite tub, dump in a gallon of water, let it sit over night to absorb and expand. then i stir it up and let it dry for a day, then stir and repeat till it's all dried out.</p><p></p><p>Yes it has fibers, but i think it's no different than grass or twigs in their natural habitat. plus the fibers mixed in help for burrowing. My favorite mix of substate is half and half coco fiber and peat. I moisten the mix for the small slings so they can burrow easier. The best part is both of these are very light. so when i have adult enclosures sitting on shelves in my room i won't need huge anchor bolts in the sheetrock to keep a 10 or 20 gal aquarium full of top soil on the shelf.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="kormath, post: 112134, member: 4199"] Good post! i like seeing keepers put lots of thought into their pets like this :) few comments i have - I'd remove the foam. Foam and sponges in water dishes are a breeding ground for bacteria. If you want something for him to keep his toes dry use marbles, aquarium gravel, or similar. My B. smithi tossed substrate and his bolus in the water dish constantly, then i moved the dish to a different corner of his cage and it stays clean now, he continues to pile up the bolus and substrate he moves to that same corner. All the ideas above are plausible, personally i think they pick a spot and dump the waste there. and each species is different. my B. vagans uses a corner, my B. albo tosses it where he feels like. My son's A. versicolor decorates his web with the bolus. Numerous reasons they'll climb. could be weather related, most of mine will climb the walls before a storm, some will climb to get away from prey when they go into premolt. could be just stretching his legs and exploring, or setting up trip lines to detect prey. The fear is when a T goes into molt, they have no defense then and crickets are known to chew on molting spiders. It's one of the 3 reasons i don't use crickets as feeders. They can harm the T during a molt, they stink, and they're really short lived. I get crickets from the local pet store (LPS) maybe 3 times a year just to give them something different in their diet. but i never feed them to T's i suspect are in premolt, and if the cricket isn't eaten within 24 hours i remove it. You did hte same thing i did when i first used the bricks of coconut fiber :) so now i take a brick put it in a 3 or 4 gallon sterlite tub, dump in a gallon of water, let it sit over night to absorb and expand. then i stir it up and let it dry for a day, then stir and repeat till it's all dried out. Yes it has fibers, but i think it's no different than grass or twigs in their natural habitat. plus the fibers mixed in help for burrowing. My favorite mix of substate is half and half coco fiber and peat. I moisten the mix for the small slings so they can burrow easier. The best part is both of these are very light. so when i have adult enclosures sitting on shelves in my room i won't need huge anchor bolts in the sheetrock to keep a 10 or 20 gal aquarium full of top soil on the shelf. [/QUOTE]
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