T. blondi - my birthday present!

My bf bought me a juvie T. blondi for my birthday today. She's going in a 30 gal tank, and I want to make it as realistic as possible but I am afraid of putting leaf litter in there because of mites and other bugs. What options do I have as far as using stuff from outside? I have always washed all sticks and baked them, but I can't do that with leaf litter... I know I could just go without it, but I really love the way a natural set up looks and I want some leaf litter!

(Pics to come later)

Very nice birthday present!!! Did you get a burgandy or a true T-blondi? How big? And sorry but I do not use stuff from outside for my set ups so other then baking and possibly freezing (although I think some bugs can live through this) I personally can't be of help with this :(

http://www.joshsfrogs.com/category/66/Leaf-Litter

I'm not sure if this is 100% safe for Ts, but for reptile vivariums I use commercially available leaf litter and let it soak in boiling water for up to an hour.

"commercially available leaf litter?" ... They'll try to turn a profit on ANYTHING nowadays. :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by Boanerges

Very nice birthday present!!! Did you get a burgandy or a true T-blondi? How big? And sorry but I do not use stuff from outside for my set ups so other then baking and possibly freezing (although I think some bugs can live through this) I personally can't be of help with this :(

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I don't know if she is a true blondi or not. I barely had time to look at her and make my post before running off to school. I will try to figure it out later tonight.

As for the leaf litter, I was going to bake it but I thought it would catch fire in the oven. For my hermit crab stuff I spray everything down with salt water before baking it and cleaning it. Supposedly the salt water helps to kill stuff off as well, but I figured the residual salt would harm the T. That's not an issue for hermit crabs. If I put the leaf litter into boiling water would it desintegrate? What if I soaked it in a bleach solution for a few hours and then rinsed and dried it all completely? This is such a hassle. Trying to keep bugs out of the bug tank... Go figure. :P

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Originally Posted by Mindibun

I don't know if she is a true blondi or not. I barely had time to look at her and make my post before running off to school. I will try to figure it out later tonight.

As for the leaf litter, I was going to bake it but I thought it would catch fire in the oven. For my hermit crab stuff I spray everything down with salt water before baking it and cleaning it. Supposedly the salt water helps to kill stuff off as well, but I figured the residual salt would harm the T. That's not an issue for hermit crabs. If I put the leaf litter into boiling water would it desintegrate? What if I soaked it in a bleach solution for a few hours and then rinsed and dried it all completely? This is such a hassle. Trying to keep bugs out of the bug tank... Go figure. :P

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Hmmmm, I don't know if the leaf litter would desintegrate if you put it in water. It would seem it would fall apart at least a little in the boiling water but I don't know how much :confused: I would definitely not soak it in a bleach solution though. It is a bit of a hassle - lol. But it is nice you are going out of your way to make the nicest and safest home for your blondi :gj:

I would recommend against using leaf litter from outside as well, because you don't know if it came from a tree in the yard of someone who used pesticides, thus making it possible for the leaves to contain pesticides. Many places ban pesticides now but the ones that used to be used have a verrrryyyyy long half life, so they stick around for a while in significant quantities.

What you could do is use some coconut husk, it kinda looks like leaf litter and it would also help you out in the humidity department during molts.

Congrats on the freaking awesome birthday present btw! :D I wish I got presents like that lol

How about if you used the coconut husk as already suggested...and get some fall-colored fake leaves...smudge 'em with a little clean potting soil...and scatter them around the the floor of the enclosure?

Nice b-day present! I wish my hubby would buy me critters! :oops:

How about some retibark? Or some cypress multch you can bake boil or freeze that stuff, and like mentioned it all helps with the humidity and molting

I have some mulch that was from something else that I can use, but I was afraid of the sharp bits poking her. I had intended to use a bit of it here and there anyway, just the soft pieces. I think I solved the problem. I found some leaf litter from an oak tree that had fallen onto the sidewalk in an area where I know they dont use pesticides. It was very clean and the ants hadn't even gotten to it yet. I grabbed just a little bit and am going to try baking it. I only need a little to scatter over the topmost part of the substrate. We'll see how it goes.

B - what's the diff between a true blondi and the burgundy? It's the hairs, right? If that's the case it looks like she's a burgundy but the container is all fogged up from humidity so I'll double check when I move her over. For $75 (that's what he said he paid but who knows if he's telling the truth or not), I'm putting my money on burgundy. Oh, and she's got about a 5" leg span right now. :)

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Originally Posted by Mindibun

I have some mulch that was from something else that I can use, but I was afraid of the sharp bits poking her. I had intended to use a bit of it here and there anyway, just the soft pieces. I think I solved the problem. I found some leaf litter from an oak tree that had fallen onto the sidewalk in an area where I know they dont use pesticides. It was very clean and the ants hadn't even gotten to it yet. I grabbed just a little bit and am going to try baking it. I only need a little to scatter over the topmost part of the substrate. We'll see how it goes.

B - what's the diff between a true blondi and the burgundy? It's the hairs, right? If that's the case it looks like she's a burgundy but the container is all fogged up from humidity so I'll double check when I move her over. For $75 (that's what he said he paid but who knows if he's telling the truth or not), I'm putting my money on burgundy. Oh, and she's got about a 5" leg span right now. :)

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The two main ones are: Burgundy slings have white feet (true T blondi slings do not) and on the larger T's (like yours) the absence of hairs on the patella indicates burgundy..

Now with pics! She spends 99% of her time in the water bowl. She's either in it or near it unless something startles her and she has to run back to her hole.

The spider (she's a burgundy):
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c1...RD-TOYS004.jpg

The tank:
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c1...RD-TOYS102.jpg

The spider in the tank:
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c1...RD-TOYS103.jpg

The number one question people ask: "Is it real?" ... No. I devoted a huge chunk of my living room to a tank for a fake spider that never moves or does anything interesting just so I could hear you ask if its real and get a laugh at your expense for being stupid enough to almost fall for my trick. YES ITS REAL! :rofl:

Unexpected turn of events: the branches are growing mold. That's never happened before, but none of my tanks have ever been as wet as hers. How can I prevent that without harming her?

I'm still waiting on ideas for the mold problem, but in the mean time I'm taking the tank apart bit by bit. I dismantled her house today with her still in it. I feel like a pretty tough cookie right now for being "brave enough" to do that. She flashed her fangs at me once and squished all her legs up around her. I tried to pick a blind spot and went in from that direction, slowly and carefully pulling the two pieces of wood off the top of her house, leaving her exposed. She almost tried to bolt but decided staying put was better. Thank goodness for that or she'd probably have run right up my arm and out of the tank.

I'm going to remove what little bit of plexi I had placed over the top to give her more ventilation, but I don't know how much it will help. All of her decor is being replaced and I'm redesigning her house so that I can remove the whole unit with her inside in the future. I went to Home Depot today and asked if there was any treatment for wood to prevent mold that dried nontoxic and the guy looked at me like I had eight eyes. I didn't expect there to be anything, but it was worth a shot. I'm going to keep hunting for ideas.

wow i'm not big on spiders really but this thread caught my attention. the tank set up seems really nifty and from the reaction you said the spider had, she seemed to be happy with the way things were until you went in there messin' around with things lol. i think i'd flash my fangs too if someone just started taking my house apart lol. good luck with finding a non toxic solution to the mold problem.

Sorry just seen this. Remove the mold and add isopods and even more ventilation if possible. Isopods will eat the mold.

Oh, isopods will eat the mold, too? I thought they just ate food bits that could CAUSE mold. Suddenly isopods are much more awesome. I will definitely be getting some, then. How large of a group is appropriate for my 30 gallon? And should I ever have to change the substrate, how do I avoid "throwing the baby out with the bathwater?"

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Originally Posted by Mindibun

Oh, isopods will eat the mold, too? I thought they just ate food bits that could CAUSE mold. Suddenly isopods are much more awesome. I will definitely be getting some, then. How large of a group is appropriate for my 30 gallon? And should I ever have to change the substrate, how do I avoid "throwing the baby out with the bathwater?"

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From what I understand isopods will eat the mold yes. Here is just one thread I found with a quick search on them with people stating they eat mold (there are a lot of others I just used this one for a quick reference for you): http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/show...hlight=isopods

I don't know how large of a group you would need though because I do not use them (sorry).

The reptile store I get my supplies from is ordering me some isopods this week. I took her out of the tank last night and re-did everything. She is MUCH more active now, and it's scaring me. It makes me think she doesn't like it. Not much has changed, except I had to give her a new hide. It's a little larger but there is plant cover at the opening and it gets narrow as it gets deeper. The humidity of the substrate is slightly drier, but that's hardly noticeable. I opened up the top to give her more ventilation, and changed the background to one made of foam - one of those 3D ones, you know? She spent all night last night climbing the backdrop and she's currently hanging upside down on the screen which makes me REALLY nervous. There are several big leafy plants in there so if she falls, one of them should catch her and I already know they can hold her weight. But still... if she hits her log hide on the way down...

Anyway my main question is: because she's so active now does that mean she's unhappy or is she just making use of all the new climbing stuff?

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Originally Posted by Mindibun

The reptile store I get my supplies from is ordering me some isopods this week. I took her out of the tank last night and re-did everything. She is MUCH more active now, and it's scaring me. It makes me think she doesn't like it. Not much has changed, except I had to give her a new hide. It's a little larger but there is plant cover at the opening and it gets narrow as it gets deeper. The humidity of the substrate is slightly drier, but that's hardly noticeable. I opened up the top to give her more ventilation, and changed the background to one made of foam - one of those 3D ones, you know? She spent all night last night climbing the backdrop and she's currently hanging upside down on the screen which makes me REALLY nervous. There are several big leafy plants in there so if she falls, one of them should catch her and I already know they can hold her weight. But still... if she hits her log hide on the way down...

Anyway my main question is: because she's so active now does that mean she's unhappy or is she just making use of all the new climbing stuff?

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I know the 3-D ones you make and they are pretty cool back drops :gj: It's not good for her to be hanging on the screen lid especially because of her size :O And I would say she is more active simply because she was put in a new tank and then you re-did her tank so she is probably checking everything out so she she can get comfortable with the area and know her territory. If she does not settle down in a couple of weeks I would be worried. I have never kept a T-blondi due to the bad hairs so I am just giving you my opinion on things :oops: T-blondi owners I am sure could help you out a lot me then me :gj:

Thanks, B, for all the advice. She seems to have settled down as she's back in her water bowl now. :rolleyes: Someone should tell her she's a spider - not a fish.