Clay pots as hides???

[ellie1600]

Looking for some advice/relive my nightmare. Somewhat new to the hobby (appx a year). Ive experimented with different hides in my enclosures, but somewhere I saw clay pots on their sides being used and thought- "Cool!", so, I went out and bought really small ones at Michaels (2 diff. sizes, actually). I also put a silk or plastic flower, a cork bark round, tube or a stick (depending on the species) and a water dish, depending on the size of the T. Not all my T's get a flower pot, but most juvie terrestrials do. So, on to my nightmare- I HAD a lovely L.Parahybana that was one of my first T's and she had a clay pot. She always used the inside or hid under flower. Then, during her last molt, she dug out behind, and slightly under the clay pot. I didnt wish to disturb her, so I tried to keep a close eye on her. After I saw her molt pop out, I grabbed it and started the 10day countdown for a feed; this is my normal proceedure & has always been successful. At the 10 day mark, I noticed she was active and finally popping her head out of her new burrow. I thought, "She's hungry!" I took precaution, however, knowing she might still be tender, and took a smaller than usual red-runner, pinched off the legs (almost all the way down) and TRIED to put at the egde of her burrow. Unfortunately, it fell all the way in. This FREAKED her out and I saw her go down further, out of sight. About 2-4 hrs later, I went to check on her, and the meal was still there. I was going to pull it out, but first, I noticed the pot looked lower than normal (sunk in on one side). This freaked ME out and I lifted the pot....to find an almost cartoon looking, dead LP, totally squished. WTF????? I feel sick about this. My gut says I fed too soon. My gut says to take all clay pots out of my enclosures. Any thoughts out there? BE GENTLE WITH ME- I am already grieving and my own worst critic!

 

[pilgrim]

I would never keep anything too heavy in an enclosure, like rocks or clay pots, for this very reason.

 

[Tarantulafeets]

I don't use clay pots because it restricts the spiders ability to dig down, which is why the t probably dug behind it. And like @erilgrimm said in the post above, heavy things in the enclosure have the potential to squish the spider, which is why many keepers stick to cork bark. And for feeding after a molt, I wouldn't stick to a schedule to feed them, as the size of the spider determines how fast it will harden. The bigger the t gets the longer it takes, so I just wait to for the t's fangs to be jet black, which means it is ready to eat.

I'm sorry for your loss

 

[ellie1600]

I don't use clay pots because it restricts the spiders ability to dig down, which is why the t probably dug behind it. And like @erilgrimm said in the post above, heavy things in the enclosure have the potential to squish the spider, which is why many keepers stick to cork bark. And for feeding after a molt, I wouldn't stick to a schedule to feed them, as the size of the spider determines how fast it will harden. The bigger the t gets the longer it takes, so I just wait to for the t's fangs to be jet black, which means it is ready to eat.

I'm sorry for your loss

Thank you! Yeah, I think its time to take them all out. My T's- especially the ones with heavy webbing, are going to be pissed, but at least they will survive.....literally! Im devistated....and feel so guilty. I wish I could go by the method of looking at their fangs, but you know how elusive some of them can be.....they often wont let me look very closely. Some perch on the sides and let me get a look every day....others hardly come out; its a toss up. She was really secrective and never crawled on the sides of the "glass", so I dont think I EVER saw her underside (fangs)....until she passed away. Its crazy, because, to me, those pots were REALLY lightweight, but in comparison, to the T's, it must have been so heavy. I just dont know what I was thinking....

 

[octanejunkie]

If you use a clay pot, and many do, break it in half and make a hut so your T and dig below. Round off any sharp edges for safety

Better yet. Add a chunk of cork bark, round or flat, make a starter burrow and let your T do it's thing.

Always add a water dish and keep it clean and full

Enjoy!

 

[m0lsx]

I use Cley flower pots in some of my enclosures. And I cut them in half using a rotary tool. (Dremel type tool.) I also have a large cley garlic pot that came with one of my T's some time ago. That is whole & used in the enclosure of a Terrestrial T I have had for some time & know it does not burrow. This pot has several fishbowl plants in front of the enclosure, allowing it to have somewhere out of sight to sit.

With the half flower pots, I partially bury the bottom of the pot & this gives them a starter burrow. And the size of pot I use is appropriate for the T. So I have some tiny ones, that work great with grown on slings & larger ones for larger T's.

 

[DustyD]

Cork bark is what I prefer. Light and aesthetically pleasing. Most pet stores have it and you can cut it/break it to different sizes and shapes. I have tried full cork rounds as long tubular hides but my terrestrial Ts prefer to be able to remodel their digs.

 

[ellie1600]

If you use a clay pot, and many do, break it in half and make a hut so your T and dig below. Round off any sharp edges for safety

Better yet. Add a chunk of cork bark, round or flat, make a starter burrow and let your T do it's thing.

Always add a water dish and keep it clean and full

Enjoy!

I never thought to cut them in half- this is a great idea! I can still use them, but dont have to worry about the crushing! Awesome tip!