No problems.

I am sure that the shell would be fine to use, as long as it's clean.

Just make sure the hide is supported so it cannot fall on the T if decides to excavate underneath it.

I build a base of small stones under the edges of the hide.

And btw, I do use peat. The compressed bricks from Builders........







Sent from my GT-N7100 a long time ago and far, far away.....

Deon wrote: Thanks Leon, but it's the same info, apparently copied directly by just about every read on the subject. Booooring. Do I/we all have to assume that everybody uses peat in all their cages? Does all YOUR T's live on peat? ...

No. But, the two most commonly used substrates ARE peat and some flavor (there are a million commercial variations) of shredded coconut husk. "Why do we not have anything more titillatingly different?" you cry! A number of reasons:

1) So far, these two have proven to be the best. Next week we may find another wonder-substrate, but it hasn't happened in a decade so far, so I'm not holding my breath.

2) And yes, back in the day all our tarantulas that were kept on any sort of substrate were kept on peat. (It's almost silly to keep some of the arboreals on any sort of substrate since they almost never come down to the bottom of the cage. Besides, I suspect that substrate is largely only decorative anyway; tarantula's don't really need anything extra on the floor of the cage. After all is said and done, there really isn't any expensive substrate on the floor of their burrows in nature, is there?

3) And lastly, the wars about substrate on these forums might lead one to believe that substrate is a hot topic. But in reality, the majority of us really don't care that much about the substrate wars. We're much more interested in enjoying the tarantulas!

Deon wrote: ... What about the lovely thread by (was it Fuzzy Bear) on communal living with his tank full of rocks and live hen & chick plants? What I'd like to know, is what does he have underneath? Looks like peat, doesn't mean it is peat . ...

Re: "Toy utopia"/"natural and organic" cages -

"When you're up to your @$$ in crocodiles it's difficult to remember that your original intent was to drain the swamp." Translated into tarantula-speak: "If you're up to your chin in playing God of the Jungle, it's difficult to do a good job of learning to take care of your tarantulas."

As a suggestion, may I refer you to these webpages?

Myths...

Substrate

And, if you have the time perhaps you would benefit by backing up the webtree a few branches and begin reading at Spiders, Calgary .

Hope this helps a little. Best of luck.


POP QUIZZES DAILY, YOUR LITTLE 8-LEGGED YODA WILL BE GIVING YOU!

Thanks guys, also for the reading matter suggested. As a newbie it's nice to get good info from the experts or at least the experienced. I will keep to the peat then and about the seashell hides, they're light and hollow already, so breaking a round opening on one side will not only produce a good hide for the young sling, but also have a round footing. This will ensure that no accidents can happen. I will post photo to share as soon as I've constructed one of my basic starter cages.

That would be cool.
Looking forward to seeing your setups.

The only way we learn is by asking, I think im my first couple of months on here I must have asked a gazillion questions. ..
Mind you, I still do:silly::silly:

Sent from my GT-N7100 a long time ago and far, far away.....

Right, so I removed the corner rock from my L.Klugi's cage, where it was burrowing under. ( Or is it Klugii ? - seen both spellings allover) I replaced it with some old wood that has been eaten away and left nice hollow. It took Klugi all of 10 seconds to find it and crawl in as if it's always been living there ! I also found some natural dried moss from our local nursery, to use as decor and to block the small openings against the glass.

Now let's see if I can upload some photo's ;-

So I collected some interesting stuff to use in my cages for some new arrivals this week. My grandson visited and broke one of my wife's ornamental "monkey balls", or makataan pits. I broke it open and found it to have a nice hollow inside. So I broke it further and think they will make a nice hide for a scared new little spidey.

I also collected some bark and old wood pieces and shaped and broke them and made some hollows a little bigger and now have a few different hides to use in my new cages. The idea is to have a flat peat surface, with a water dish to the one corner and a little hide in the other corner in all the cages. This will always allow enough open area for hunting and a safe corner to retire into, at the same time keeping clutter out of the cage to facilitate easy cleaning.

The last 2 photo's have a nice wood piece to use in a bigger cage. :spider: