Tarantula hides(for terrestrials) on a tight budget.

[ArdorAphonopelma]

Natural looking hides are actually expensive especially for the low class folks. Good for both Inverts and snakes. the entrances can get cut out with a hot knife or scissors, depends on how thick the plastic is.
Image Links are for Reference.

Hides for Humidity:

32 oz deli cup - you can get them anywhere in sets of 3 or more, really cheap usually $1, bury it partially.
https://cdnimg.webstaurantstore.com/images/products/xxl/230282/1131570.jpg
Little Caesars Wings - this one is situational but any restaurant should have a dish, just cut out an entrance. bury it completely.
https://s3-media2.fl.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/NKpG4KEnkShGxk5gwzlCqw/o.jpg
Shoe-boxes - Self explanatory. bury partially, has to get replaced when it gets weak from the moisture.
Plastic Containers - Bury completely and dig out the front to create an entrance.
Container from purchase - If you bought your invert then you can cut an entrance and bury it completely.

Hides that does not hold humidity:

Hornworm Mesh/Rigid plastic mesh - the mesh is sturdy once you pat down and mold the substrate.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81V0fB9NliL._SX466_.jpg
Ceramic Tissue box cover - Bury completely. have substrate on the inside as well.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/e2/a1/9c/e2a19c83d58cc97d2e889c69fe0d9f16.jpg
Peanut Can - Bury Completely.
https://az651873.vo.msecnd.net/img/prods/1000/7_2000_1014570475.jpg
Pringles can - Bury completely at an angle.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71aPkM0zvlL._SY355_.jpg
Glass Jar - Bury at an angle if it's long, bury completely.
https://bd6fbb2d3fb67582526e-49e6790a1cf25f1c4f07a221c3b0e633.ssl.cf5.rackcdn.com/G026.jpg


Nurmi in her brand new Mansion, LC Wings lid, Ceramic tissue cover and plastic mesh was used. I also placed her old webbing inside as well. It has two chambers and a portico.

Photo: https://twitter.com/NibiruDatura/status/1055474416224817153

I would upload a video but it took close to 4 hours to upload it to GDrive and 1 hr to youtube, I can't mute the video and honestly this been typed up for almost 6 hours, I'm ready to sleep.

Some of these like the shoe boxes and pringles cans are temporary and you should save up to get at least a regular black box hide.



All I need is a Gucci sign to put on top.

 

[Enn49]

When I first started keeping snakes, I'd go to garden centres and ask if they had any broken clay plant pots, they were happy to give them to me otherwise they just be thrown away.

 

[ArdorAphonopelma]

When I first started keeping snakes, I'd go to garden centres and ask if they had any broken clay plant pots, they were happy to give them to me otherwise they just be thrown away.

true they're useful too but I don't have flower shops in my area and the small corner shops that sell borderline dead flowers don't sell pots or supplies.

 

[Arachnoclown]

Deep substrate...Ive got around 70-80 Ts right now without hides. All of them have dug their own homes.

 

[ArdorAphonopelma]

Deep substrate...Ive got around 70-80 Ts right now without hides. All of them have dug their own homes.

Nurmi's burrow used collapse occasionally due to the vibration when I mess with my snake tanks since her tank is on top of theirs, so I just started making her "ceilings" and "supports", she still has full digging capacity in both the second chamber and patio. She never dug her own hide, just extended what I gave her.

 

[Dave Jay]

Nurmi's burrow used collapse occasionally due to the vibration when I mess with my snake tanks since her tank is on top of theirs, so I just started making her "ceilings" and "supports", she still has full digging capacity in both the second chamber and patio. She never dug her own hide, just extended what I gave her.

To make substrate firm enough to hold a burrow you need it wetter than is desirable and you have to compact it as you go, add a couple of inches and compact it as much as possible, add another couple of inches and compress that and so on until the desired depth is reached. Compacting it in stages makes a big difference, much firmer than adding it all at once and then compacting. After it's added I like to spray the walls and decor to remove stray substrate and wet the entire surface. As it dries it will set hard, so much so that you cannot push a pencil etc into it to make a hole, you actually have to dig.

I too find flower pots useful, either in halves or just a piece to lay on the surface for the animal to burrow under. I find the squared plastic "tubes" used to grow seedlings on in useful too, either with the bottom cut out as a tunnel type hide or the cut off corners sitting on the surface of the substrate. I often cut various curved pieces out of plastic pots and tubes and use them in baby invert enclosures where the humidity causes wood or bark to go mouldy. With both plastic and terracotta I sand the edges so they are not sharp.

 

[Orangebiteything]

When I first started keeping snakes, I'd go to garden centres and ask if they had any broken clay plant pots, they were happy to give them to me otherwise they just be thrown away.

As I was reading this I was going to post something about clay pots. I love them! Have used them many times. The orange clay ones, if you hit just right, can break straight down the center. I have luck with a Phillip screw driver and a small hammer...little taps though. Lol

 

[ArdorAphonopelma]

As I was reading this I was going to post something about clay pots. I love them! Have used them many times. The orange clay ones, if you hit just right, can break straight down the center. I have luck with a Phillip screw driver and a small hammer...little taps though. Lol

a small electric saw can probably work too.

 

[Orangebiteything]

true they're useful too but I don't have flower shops in my area and the small corner shops that sell borderline dead flowers don't sell pots or supplies.

For once in my life I’m thankful for living decently close to a Walmart.... -.-

 

[Whitelightning777]

Just cut a flower pot in half. Hides with dead ends cut off from the substrate might not be used by the tarantula, which might burrow under instead of inside of the hide.

You can also securely attach legs to your water dish and elavate it slightly over the substrate if you keep it 2/3rds full. Make sure the legs are rock solid!!

If you use a flower pot, you can use glue on the outside with colored sand and over it for a more professional look. Make sure the glue dries for at least 48 hours.