pokies

[craig hill]

5cl cereal tubs work well for all species, as mary said subby 2/3s fullfor burrowers n about 2 inch at bottom for pokies
this is my a.versicolor tub whick i had lying around, but my pokies are set up just the same, i use mesh at the top where it opens stuck with aquarium sealant with tape around edges because the edges can be sharp, i keep the subby dry-ish but mist the sides at the front for humidity, you can use water bowls but i find they do not need it

[chris king]

cheers craig and for the pic too

[Peter Roach]

Just like mine

[chris king]

cheers peter ,did you make holes in the lid part too,or did you find there was enough vents

[Peter Roach]

I have more and bigger holes than Craigs cereal box and so i dont think that I need any more ventilation.
I notice that Craig drills the holes rather than using a soldering iron as i do, I have tried drilling but found that cracks frequently appeared so I now only melt the holes (Pointed Soldering iron ...ebay ...brand new ..£1.99 )

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SOLDERING-IRON-30w-SURE-GRIP-HANDLE-POINTED-TIP-NEW_W0QQitemZ280159127907QQihZ018QQcategoryZ106001QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[chris king]

i snapped it up peter ,cheers lol

[Ray Gabriel]

Hi All,

Just a couple of points.

The holes at the bottom of the container should be around the bottom based on the containers dessigned by Volker Von Wirth and Martin Huber as described in a previous BTS article. The reason for those holes below the substrate level are to help in creating wet and dry seasons.

For the Pokie type of container, the fine mesh (not holes) also helped prevent infestation of the container by Phorid flies, especially as i was rearing up 100s. of slings at the time therefore loads of fly pupae once the uneaten maggots had pupated, and the woodlice had not yet finnished eating them.

But the containers in the pics look really good, nice to see people trying other species and different ways of ventilation, especially the low and high ventilation with Avics (more on this later).

Ray

[chris king]

thank you ray
well this is what iam picking up tonight

Poecilotheria regalis 2.5-3 x2
Poecilotheria formosa 3"x3
there in glass jars (chicken tonight jars)
will they need re potting to ceral tubs straight away ?

[James Box]

just regarding the mould issue: i bought two tailless whip scorpions at the AES show, and i put them in a 5 litre cereal container in the same way, with a nice bit of cork to climb on.
first i tried them on soil, but that went mouldy. then i tried them on bark chip, that went REALLY mouldy. now i've got no substrate, just the cork bark, which they stay on anyway. thinking of changing to vermiculite as i know it doesn't easily grow mouldy...
anyways, my question is this: was my problem a ventilation one? i've added many more holes to their latest container, but i'm nervous about mould growing again anyways. evil stuff! and so good at blocking book lungs etc
good to know burrowing T's are good in these cereal boxes. might actually get to see them sometimes with a set up like that!

[chris king]

what about a mix vermiculight/perlite never had any probs with mould when using that to incubate eggs

[James Box]

well i am very partial to vermiculite...but i'm always worried the animals might prefer soil or bark to it, since that's a bit more natural.

[mary walters]

I experimented with Perlite, it dries out too quick, I wouldn't use it personally, not even mixed.

[craig hill]

i would personally keep them on coir/peat but add more ventilation i never have any problems with mould in any of my enclosures

[James Box]

cheers, might give that a try!
mould, like all fungus, is the devil!