Posted by gatch | Labels: Tarantulas and Scorpions | Posted On Friday, September 18, 2009 at 10:03 AM
I found my Hadrurus Arizonensis "Tiamat" doing a battle pose last night and thought she looked really cool, so I took this pic. She loves climbing up and down the egyptian tomb hide I made for her. I know she's from Arizona, not Egypt...but I'm not that experienced when it comes to scorpions yet to justify getting an actual Egyptian Deathstalker. Tiamat plays the part very well though, with her yellowinsh coloration and imposing telson size. I used beach sand for her enclosure to go along with the desert "scorpion king" theme instead of the regular coco-peat I use for my inverts. I hate to brag but her tank looks really cool. So much so that Iv'e already sold a couple of my egyptian hide set-ups by showing off her pics on exotic pet forums. One of these days I might post a step by step guide to making these custom hides. I didn't actually invent the process, I just just tweaked it a bit to match the needs of small invertebrates. I've always enjoyed making these miniature buildings. I used to play Mageknight - a table top miniature fantasy game, and I made little houses and 
castles that we used as terrain. Sadly the game died off and I was left with about $300 worth of plastic figures. I was able to sell some of them to get back into Magic. Anyway, when i got into inverts I learned that most species were nocturnal and they all needed some sort of refuge they could hide under whenever they felt threatened. I started off with terra cotta pots and half coconut shells like everyone else, but the geek in me wanted something unique and aesthetically pleasing in addition to being functional - so I came up with these designs and scoured the net for ways to build them that were non-toxic to my beloved pets.I've made about seven custom designs to date, ranging from rock backdrops to skull caves. Aldous (owner of the shop where I play Magic at) contracted me to make a hide for his Brachypelma Smithi based off of the Howling Mine card. I agreed to take the order for a couple of Alara Reborn packs. I figured I wouldn't charge the regular price as I would also benefit from having my work displayed at his shop. A week later his smithi was happily webbing up her new home. Players immediately recognized the design and their praises were well worth the time and effort I put into it.
Recently i picked up this idea of using miniature model car casings turned upside down as enclosures for smaller specimens. They're about 1.5 inches high, 1.5 inches wide and 2.5 inches long. They're the perfect size for slings (spiderlings/scorplings) that have outgrown their initial film canister homes. The pic above is the one I keep at work, currently housing a 1.25 inch Curly Hair tarantula.
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