Are these decorations for my enclosure safe for my T?

[mmkk33]

Hello fellow tarantula owners! This is my first thread here, and I would be really glad to hear as many opinions as possible. My question is as follows: Can I use a real animal skull and a piece of snake skin as a decorative element in my T's enclosure? The skull will be from a wild cat, only boiled and bleached about a month ago from now and the piece of snake skin has been salt dried for a week and is the same width as the tarantula, and aprox. 3x longer than it. Should I have any concerns with one of the following itmes? My T is a hybrid (a gift, in no way do I encourage hybridization in the hobby) between Brachypelma Smithi and Boehmei, around 1 and a half years old.

 

[Arachnoclown]

One concern would be the bleached skull. Bleach would be extremely harmful to any living organism. A natural bleached skull out in the elements outside would be ok. As for the snake skin...I'm not sure if it would mold or not. @LC72uk and @Enn49 have many snakes and could answer that.

 

[Enn49]

I agree with @Arachnoclown about the bleached skull but I'd also think twice about salt dried snake skin, I think snake skin dried naturally in air (it only takes a day or 2) would be fine as long as it stayed dry.

 

[mmkk33]

I could varnish the skull with something water based in order to protect the T. As for the snake skin, could I do the same thing, and would it actually look good on both or work at all?

 

[Enn49]

I could varnish the skull with something water based in order to protect the T. As for the snake skin, could I do the same thing, and would it actually look good on both or work at all?

My son suggest that you could boil the skull and dry in the oven on low overnight to kill the bleach. Sadly the snake skin couldn't be treated in the same way.

 

[mmkk33]

Wouldn't the second boil ruin the skull? Also is the salting of the snake skin a problem? Because I was told this is the proper way to dry it, so I taught a proper cleaning afterwards would do the job.

 

[Enn49]

Wouldn't the second boil ruin the skull? Also is the salting of the snake skin a problem? Because I was told this is the proper way to dry it, so I taught a proper cleaning afterwards would do the job.

It shouldn't harm the skull, it takes a lot to damage bone. I'm not sure on the salted skin but I personally wouldn't risk it.

 

[T-Baby]

If you watch ‘Exotics Lair’ on YouTube he actually does a video on how to treat real skulls to be used in enclosures for Tarantulas.

 

[mmkk33]

I will be sure to check it out! Now only the question about the snake skin remains..

 

[Tnoob]

I've boiled skulls to clean them before. That wouldn't be too bad, but if you use bleach you need to rinse it thoroughly to get the bleach off, and I'm not going to suggest that. Just boil it. It may become a home for bacteria, and will attract insects, so pay attention to what's going on in the enclosure. This is something I wouldn't do. There may still be brain matter in the skull even after you clean it.

 

[ilovebrachys]

Theres an old saying...'If in doubt leave it out' ....its always good advice I think

 

[T-Baby]

I will be sure to check it out! Now only the question about the snake skin remains..

He also uses snake skin he doesn’t do anything but place it in and it looks rather effective.
Snake skin isn’t harmful to Tarantulas.. they come across that in the wild.
At the end of the day it’s just dead skin.

 

[menavodi]

Theres an old saying...'If in doubt leave it out' ....its always good advice I think

What she says...

 

[Enn49]

He also uses snake skin he doesn’t do anything but place it in and it looks rather effective.
Snake skin isn’t harmful to Tarantulas.. they come across that in the wild.
At the end of the day it’s just dead skin.

It was the salt that worried me, the skin he's talking about is salt dried.

 

[Arachnoclown]

Salt dehydrates...not good for a tarantula that depends on moisture to molt. Too much risk for just vanity. Find one unsalted.

 

[T-Baby]

Apologies for my ignorance.
Didn’t see the salt part but snake skin without treatment is perfectly safe

 

[mmkk33]

Hey people. There was lack of communication between me and the guy who was giving me the skull. Turns out it was cleaned with peroxide toxic (30%). Is this still as bad?

 

[Phil]

Hey people. There was lack of communication between me and the guy who was giving me the skull. Turns out it was cleaned with peroxide toxic (30%). Is this still as bad?

I would suggest you leave the skull out. There are resin/plastic skulls readily available so ask yourself....is it worth potentially losing your spider over?
If you have a burning desire for a skull, stick on a wall or a shelf bit I would not risk it.

 

[menavodi]

Hey people. There was lack of communication between me and the guy who was giving me the skull. Turns out it was cleaned with peroxide toxic (30%). Is this still as bad?

I would not trust anything that says “toxic”...

 

[Bigdaddy05]

Hey people. There was lack of communication between me and the guy who was giving me the skull. Turns out it was cleaned with peroxide toxic (30%). Is this still as bad?

Just let it air out for a day and ur good no harm and no toxic issues I have many in enclosures of my ts and lizards