Is a hide necessary?

[NatashaG]

Hides, climbs and decorations are great for adults. I keep my slings spartan, with just a leaf or small cork bark to hide under. Its best to keep slings that way, for easier monitoring and tlc. I have six Hapalopus lg slings with just rocks sticking up..they webbed everything anyway...made tunnel networks and dirt curtains..and all of them sit out in plain view, most of the time, and ignore their elaborate constructions Awesome sp.

It seems like everyone is in agreement here, and I do feel the same way. It's just interesting to see something that contradicts the norm, and it would be interesting to see how the T's without hide behave, if there is any difference. Zoltan has lots of silk plants around his hide, and his top layer of substrate is purposefully 'hilly'. I wanted him to have a good area to have a walk around.

 

[kormath]

I must admit, I honestly didn't know that some people don't give hides to B.Smithis. It seems a little odd to me, purely just because I can imagine it makes them feel safe. I probably wouldn't buy a pre-made hide, purely based on my experience with buying them, and the money I have wasted. I really enjoyed the hide that I had made for him myself, but I need to make it larger. I did not expect him to grow so much in one moult! Don't think I would be happy to leave him with nothing.

I've never used a boughten pre-made hide, all of my hides are hand made. Either pill bottle types i've cut to size, or parts of cork bark tubes. I like the cork bark tubes the best, gives the enclosure a more natural look than the plastic bottle/tube type. I ususally cut the tube in half so i have 2 lengths of half circles, then cut a chunk off that as needed.

 

[NatashaG]

Ahaha, I'm pretty sure I'm not that bad (but you might have to ask the hubby to confirm this...actually don't ask him. God knows what he would tell you ) But to be fair, I am usually still asleep while he gets up to go to work, and I'm way down the queue in those situations, after Dog Walking and breakfast and then a good hour long check of his facebook!
Woah, that lady sounds a bit shady! I mean how could she not be interested in a new T too??? At least you are now happy, and best of all get to continue your collection in peace
I have a sneaky torch too! It's meant to be a book light, but it is just as useful to use at night to spy on what little Zoltan is up to.

Us men always know deep down we are lucky to make the top 10 if the truth be known. My ex wife always had me limited to 3 T's and if I got a new one she had to have a present of some description. Selfish or what. Well rid now and have 23 Ts so happy as a pig in the soft and smelly stuff. Glad someone else "gets it" from an OCD perspective. The hides sound really good. The kind of thing I have done with random logs and cork bark to keep them looking natural and interiesring (and aymetrical naturally). I have a little LED torch to spy on mine at night time.....ha ha. Often wake up and try and catch them. Especially my balfouri who I am lucky to see once every 3 months!

 

[NatashaG]

I've never used a boughten pre-made hide, all of my hides are hand made. Either pill bottle types i've cut to size, or parts of cork bark tubes. I like the cork bark tubes the best, gives the enclosure a more natural look than the plastic bottle/tube type. I ususally cut the tube in half so i have 2 lengths of half circles, then cut a chunk off that as needed.

I don't think I ever would buy another one. It seems easy enough to do yourself anyway. My hide was just a plastic smoothie bottle, cut in half and then smoothed out around the edges. I then just used non-toxic glue, painted over it and stuck some substrate on the inside and the outside, placed it in the enclosure and used the rest of the substrate to build up a hill on either side, so it was well hidden. I do think it looks a little better than just putting plastic in. I was really proud of it, so I am just going to stick with that (although I am rather tempted buy the cork bark, it does look the best)

 

[kormath]

This is what i use - https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Natu...UTF8&qid=1469050844&sr=1-4&keywords=cork+bark

Usually buy 2 of them, lasts me for a long time. I have maybe 10-12" left and i'll probably use 2" or so for the hide for the D. pentaloris i just ordered. looks like it's about time to order more lol. There's also a 2 lb bulk option or 7lb bulk option. $60 is a bit much for cork bark, but then again that would probably last years lol.