washing up liquid

[matthew spooner]

every couple of months i mix a little drop of washing up liquid with water and wipe it round my visor on my crash helmet to stop it steaming up when i am riding my motorbike, i was thinking of doing it to my t tanks to stop them condensating. would the washing up liquid harm my t in any way or is it safe to do this??

[Colin D Wilson]

I wouldn't personally do it, the spider may attempt to climb, then slip and fall causing injury or it may attempt to clean off the solution from its feet and i dont know what problems this would cause when injested.
Best cure for condensation is ventilation, best prevention is to try not to have the tank too humid.

Colin

[matthew spooner]

thanks for that colin, the slipping was one of my concerns. i dont usually have a problem with condensation but have just done the substrate in these particular tanks, using the coconut bark you can buy in blocks that you mix with water to expand and the substrate is still damp, i think i jus gonna have to put up with it until the substrate dries out

[Oli Dodds]

I use the same coconut fibre in some of my tanks Matthew. The best thing to do is to get an old baking tray and put it in the oven for 20 mins or so (stir now and again). This dries it out completely and also sterilises it. Then, if you need it slighty more damp, add a touch of water to it and re-mix before adding to your tanks!
I put it all in a big re-sealable food bag and keep it in the cupboard close at hand- better then having wet substrate in a bucket for a couple months
Alternativly, if for whatever reason you dont want to put it in the oven, put the amount of substrate in that you want then put a heat mat under the tank and leave it for a while (TAKE THE T OUT FIRST LOL). The humidity will form condensation and then you go in and wipe it off. Put the lid back on and repeat this process a couple times until you are happy with the humidity level (it drops every time you wipe the condensation off).
Take care,
Oli

[Phil Rea]

Detergents are probably not a good idea with spiders. Ventilation is the key

[matthew spooner]

thanks for all your suggestions, i have the surplus coconut fibre in a bag in the airing cupboard drying out so i can use this if need be, i just dont like disturbing her this cold time of year too much if i can help it. this is the first time i have had this problem with the coconut fibre, it has always been fine when i have used it before but used a different brand this time, i always wrap it in a tea towel and squeeze the life out of it to strain all the excess moisture out, but just didnt work out right this time. i think ventilation is my problem. i usually use metal lids with mesh ventilation but this cheaky little madame keeps chewing through the mesh so have had to temporarily put a flimsy loose plastic fish tank lid on and gaffa tape it down to stop her pushing it off (is there anything you cant use that stuff for? lol) and it is completely rubbish, going to have to re think her set up i think

[Colin D Wilson]

You can buy a stronger mesh from some car accessory shops, the kind you replace your front grill with. (some times, if they fit the mesh "in store", they have a few bits lying around and you can pick up a nice bit for a pound or two)
It's a bit wider mesh but it's only slings that can fit through really

worth a thought, saves on rethinking the whole lot?

[matthew spooner]

yeah didnt think of that, thanks for the suggestion colin. all my other T's are brill but its the smithi, the supposedly lowest maintenence T that i own that is always causing me probs lol