12X12X12 Glass vs Acrylic

[Tarántulabro1]

Which is better ?

While glass is cheaper, does acrylic offer more ventilation?

Thoughts....

 

[m0lsx]

Personally, I have enclosures made of both & like both. And I do not think that either is better than the other. They both have their good & bad points. However, some designs are better than others.

Just to add. My glass enclosures were more expensive than the acrylic enclosures I have.

 

[Ratmosphere]

I’ve been liking acrylic lately.

 

[Tarántulabro1]

Personally, I have enclosures made of both & like both. And I do not think that either is better than the other. They both have their good & bad points. However, some designs are better than others.

Just to add. My glass enclosures were more expensive than the acrylic enclosures I have.

Thanks for the response. I can only find a 12x12 acrylic at tarantula Cribs. Various stores sell exo terras for about $20 cheaper than T cribs.

 

[Ratmosphere]

Exo Terra glass enclosures don’t scratch as easily as acrylic. They definitely are a solid choice!

 

[Eighth Eye Blind]

Just to throw in a third option (if you're not afraid of DIY) . . .

I've settled in on polycarbonate (PC, Lexan) for enclosures. It hits the sweet spot for my tastes.

Pros -

Polycarbonate is, quite literally, bullet-proof. It's what they make things like bullet-resistant "glass" and motorcycle windshields out of. It has about 200x more impact resistance than glass and about 50x more than acrylic. My main concern is an enclosure getting dropped or knocked off a bench so that's important to me. An animal is far safer (and easier to catch) if the enclosure stays in one piece so PC is my choice for pure safety.

PC is also more drillable. Acrylic is easy to crack during drilling and can develop stress fractures around even a perfectly-drilled hole months later. Glass is effectively impossible to safely drill without specialized equipment so PC is the choice for DIY enclosures if you're using consumer tools.

Unlike acrylic, PC also comes in food-safe grades so there's no nasty chemicals left floating around in them. Glass is obviously just as safe, but some cheap acrylic will outgas nasty organics over time. It's probably overkill, but I always get NSF certified PC food containers as the starting material for my DIY enclosures.

Cons -

PC scratches more easily than acrylic and the scratches can't be polished out. You need to be a little more careful with them versus glass to keep them looking good.

PC isn't quite as clear as acrylic or glass but it's close enough. You really can't tell the difference unless you're comparing them side-by-side. It's still worth mentioning, though.

PC will yellow on exposure to UV so you have to keep it away from windows/sunlight and other UV sources such as reptile and plant lights.

PC doesn't polish and you don't get the nice, clear edges along the glue lines like you do with acrylic. I don't glue my DIY enclosures anyway (see below for details), but if you like those perfectly clear and shiny corners on your plastic enclosures then PC isn't for you.

I don't know of a commercial manufacturer making enclosures out of polycarbonate right now - probably because of how the corners end up looking versus acrylic. All of my stuff is DIY using food-grade PC pans I get for cheap off of Amazon and then drill for ventilation. I currently use THESE for most small-to-medium sized animals but obviously adjust the size to match the T. This keeps things cheap which means I spend less money on enclosures and more on animals to put in them. I also like the food pans over commercial enclosures because the pans are designed to be stackable and the built-in lip they have makes for an easy and secure way of picking up an enclosure.

Anyway, just my two cents worth of preference. After all, every T's home is their castle. Do what makes both of you happiest.

 

[Tarantula Trooper]

I like and have both. Both have ups and downs! My Exos typically have arboreal T's though I have some Terrestrials in Exos as well. I adore TCribs but save as I would if buying T's and spend the $250.00 to get the free shipping plus the discount codes do ya better! Everything in this hobby does have + or - to things just have to go with what is practical but still likeable if you will. Happy Spoodering!!