Building from scratch.

[bookac]

Hello there, and good evening everyone..

I am planning to build permanent enclousure for my Acanthoscurria Geniculata, so when she/he stop growing, i can put him/her there. To live a happy life..

I want to gather all usefull information on what i can and cannot put inside.. I have watched a lot of cool ideas.. I will share some images of what i am nearly think.

The matterial i would like to use for building it up is going to be Plexiglass, ( i dont know if thats the same as acrylic , dont know whats that either, i just keep seeing it a lot ).

Or maybe fish tank, with door from plexiglass.. But i am not sure about the glass, as i read somewhere here on the forum, that is hard to keep the humidity with glass. So i am going with the plexi i think.

I also want to put some real wood for the hide, and some fake plants that i am going to glue them. ( also can the glue be poisionous to the T ? ).

I dont know how to keep the wood from getting most on the wood, and to keep from growing life sources inside the tree.. I read somewhere to put the tree in the oven for 10 minutes or something..

So, anyone who can help me with tips and hints about what i can and cannot put inside my enclousure is going to be a big help for me.

I am going to start with setting up the enclousure in 3D Software, so i can share how is going, until i find the solution

Sorry for the long post

I am trying to combine this to types somehow..

with maybe this

or this

i think the last one is what iam looking for..

 

[GitaBooks]

Amazing idea! Best of luck with it!

Did you want the door or the side? I was wondering, if I kept a tarantula in a cage with a door on the front, couldn't it jump out?

 

[bpete]

I think the main issue with glass aquariums and humidity has to do with the screen tops with a large surface area that you see for sale. so a plexiglass top would probably be fine as long as you have some ventilation.

 

[Entity]

Use hot glue. everyone i talk to uses it for their spiders!

 

[bookac]

Thanks everyone for the tips, but i will put this project on hold, because i finaly setted up her current terrarium, so when shee is big enough to move on, i will seek for more info

 

[edgeofthefreak]

Just to address each of your above concerns:

Acrylic (plexiglass is strong tough acrylic) is great for dry enclosures, as you can drill holes in it much easier than glass - makes for easier DIY. It does warp with humidity, and pretty badly. Also, some larger terrestrial spiders (A. geniculata comes to mind) are strong enough to eventually break acrylic. They dig through hard soils/clay in nature, and when locked in a box, have little else to do with their time. I'd suggest glass or a Sterlite sweater box.

For wood, yes you can boil/bake/soak etc, and it'll kill off any organisms, but there's no guarantee that it won't mold up later. Mold spores can be predatory, and a nice clean piece of wood offers little competition. Mold often fights it out with other molds. Best to use something more inert like cork rounds or fake plastic wood (shop in the aquarium section for fake wood, sand down sharp edges). A cork round can be sunk into the substrate and acts as a natural looking hide.

Hot glue is perfect for gluing fake plants to enclosure walls. It comes off glass pretty easily, but will bond to plastics (like Sterlite sweater box walls). The best thing about hot glue is that it dries/cures in minutes, and can resist medium ambient humidity. I wouldn't hot glue something that was going to get sprayed a lot, or is submerged, but for a terrestrial enclosure, hot glue is awesome.

In the pictures you've linked:
#1 are all acrylic and would warp with humidity, possibly allowing escape. Looks like they have a juvie A. genic in the far right tank.
#2 this is a hermit crab tank, and far too wet. Nice layout though. If this had a glass top drilled with vent holes (you could get a glass maker to cut to size, then drill holes, then silicone some vents into the holes), this would be a neat tank for an A. genic. Replace the molting dish in the corner with a hide, and up the substrate level for digging.
#3 this one is pretty good, but it would be too tall (fall hazard) for a juvie A. genic, and too small overall for a full grown. Nice hardscaping (custom background), so something with more floor space/less height would be good.

If you go aquarium, find something used that isn't too dirty, and pay $1/gal. or less. Also, check your local glass shops to see if they can custom cut glass, and pre-drill vent holes for you. I like to tell people what I'm making, and they sometimes gets intrigued and give a small discount.

Whheew! That's a lot to type, but since you have this project on hold for now, I thought I'd throw ideas at you, to keep you inspired and junk.

 

[bookac]

Just to address each of your above concerns:

Acrylic (plexiglass is strong tough acrylic) is great for dry enclosures, as you can drill holes in it much easier than glass - makes for easier DIY. It does warp with humidity, and pretty badly. Also, some larger terrestrial spiders (A. geniculata comes to mind) are strong enough to eventually break acrylic. They dig through hard soils/clay in nature, and when locked in a box, have little else to do with their time. I'd suggest glass or a Sterlite sweater box.

For wood, yes you can boil/bake/soak etc, and it'll kill off any organisms, but there's no guarantee that it won't mold up later. Mold spores can be predatory, and a nice clean piece of wood offers little competition. Mold often fights it out with other molds. Best to use something more inert like cork rounds or fake plastic wood (shop in the aquarium section for fake wood, sand down sharp edges). A cork round can be sunk into the substrate and acts as a natural looking hide.

Hot glue is perfect for gluing fake plants to enclosure walls. It comes off glass pretty easily, but will bond to plastics (like Sterlite sweater box walls). The best thing about hot glue is that it dries/cures in minutes, and can resist medium ambient humidity. I wouldn't hot glue something that was going to get sprayed a lot, or is submerged, but for a terrestrial enclosure, hot glue is awesome.

In the pictures you've linked:
#1 are all acrylic and would warp with humidity, possibly allowing escape. Looks like they have a juvie A. genic in the far right tank.
#2 this is a hermit crab tank, and far too wet. Nice layout though. If this had a glass top drilled with vent holes (you could get a glass maker to cut to size, then drill holes, then silicone some vents into the holes), this would be a neat tank for an A. genic. Replace the molting dish in the corner with a hide, and up the substrate level for digging.
#3 this one is pretty good, but it would be too tall (fall hazard) for a juvie A. genic, and too small overall for a full grown. Nice hardscaping (custom background), so something with more floor space/less height would be good.

If you go aquarium, find something used that isn't too dirty, and pay $1/gal. or less. Also, check your local glass shops to see if they can custom cut glass, and pre-drill vent holes for you. I like to tell people what I'm making, and they sometimes gets intrigued and give a small discount.

Whheew! That's a lot to type, but since you have this project on hold for now, I thought I'd throw ideas at you, to keep you inspired and junk.

Thank you for the detailed information.. I will keep in mind what you share here, when I am going to build the enclousure.

 

[bookac]

Also, some larger terrestrial spiders (A. geniculata comes to mind) are strong enough to eventually break acrylic. They dig through hard soils/clay in nature, and when locked in a box, have little else to do with their time. I'd suggest glass or a Sterlite sweater box.

Can you explain this please.. You kinda woried me with this, because my T now is kept in plastic fridge box

 

[edgeofthefreak]

Of course! No need to panic!

Full grown terrestrials are strong animals. They also have 24 hours a day with little in the form of hobbies. If they can get a hold of any edges, they can stress pull at them. Acrylic can be stressed enough to break, but it does take a lot of time.

A brand new pristine acrylic box would take some time for them to break through. Once humidity is added, the acrylic will start to warp slightly, and that brings small cracks in the surface of acrylic. At first, you won't be able to see these cracks, but as they build up, they'll be more obvious. Also, the thinner the walls, the faster any of this happens. Thicker boxes can resist wear much longer.

Over time (you should be able to see this) the acrylic can chip/bend/wrap, and it's at that point that your A. genic could take advantage of these stress moments.

What can you do? Make sure to inspect your enclosures for wear/tear. If you see any gaps/cracks, get another enclosure. I'll post pictures tonight of some standard thickness acrylic that has started to bend, even after just 2 weeks with humidity.

Not ever trying to scare, just to inform.

Can you post a pic of this fridge box?

 

[Entity]

this is the first time i ever heard this. I have 1/4 acrylic enclosures. havent run across this yet.

 

[Therasoid]

this is the first time i ever heard this. I have 1/4 acrylic enclosures. havent run across this yet.

My sentiments too. [emoji33]
I've built enclosures using thicknesses ranging .080" to .220" and haven't had a mishap yet. I realize acrylic will break down and yellow with age but this takes many years.

 

[edgeofthefreak]

this is the first time i ever heard this. I have 1/4 acrylic enclosures. havent run across this yet.

And it's certainly not guaranteed. The thicker your acrylic, the less likely to happen. I have a thin acrylic box (likely less than 1/8") and was immediately advised not to use for anything with humidity. It has small clasps and slots for vent holes. If I were to fill that halfway with moist sub, the sides would bow out and eventually the lid wouldn't stay shut. Also, over time, those vent slots would be vulnerable to breakage, might allow escape or injury.

As I said, I'd post some pictures. This is an planted Exo-terra with a fitted glass top covering about 2/3. The other 1/3 is cut acrylic from Home Depot. It's 3/16" (or 0.118") which is thickest I could find in my area. The total size is 4.5" x 17.75" x 0.118". Within 2 weeks, I was worried this would fall into the enclosure. To fix this, I'll just make two of these and silicone them together. If I had siliconed the acrylic to the viv, it would have still pulled up, just taken a lot longer. By then, removing it would be no fun.

You can clearly see the glass (which is level straight) and how far the acrylic has bowed.

I do agree this can normally take years, but when planning to build a viv, it's good to know to materials you're working with. When I started out, I went out and got "some acrylic" and found out how easily much thinner (less than 1/4") acrylic warps and bends. Using the thickest I can find, I still have issues.

I also live in a city with a forked river, so I'm extra biased towards humidity making my vivs split open anywhere.

Not trying to start a "acrylic is dumb" war... which would be funny, since I do like using acrylic... just not for the entire enclosure of something that wants extra humidity.

 

[Entity]

hmmm. interesting, ill have to keep that in mind. and keep an eye on my enclosures.

 

[edgeofthefreak]

hmmm. interesting, ill have to keep that in mind. and keep an eye on my enclosures.

It may be something you never encounter - and it wasn't my initial intent to cause such worry. I really like what acrylic brings to the table, but it's also good to watch out for any potential hazards it might bring with it.


So back to the OP, what are using for 3D modeling? I've made attempts with both Blender and Sketchup, but I haven't been able to make much use of either of those. I did find a model for an Exo-terra using "3D Builder" that comes with Windows 10. I've barely made any use of that program, though it apparently syncs up well with 3D printers.

 

[bookac]

It may be something you never encounter - and it wasn't my initial intent to cause such worry. I really like what acrylic brings to the table, but it's also good to watch out for any potential hazards it might bring with it.


So back to the OP, what are using for 3D modeling? I've made attempts with both Blender and Sketchup, but I haven't been able to make much use of either of those. I did find a model for an Exo-terra using "3D Builder" that comes with Windows 10. I've barely made any use of that program, though it apparently syncs up well with 3D printers.

Thats a good info to get on mind when building a final terrarium. I will post a picture from the fridge box soon. For the 3d modeling software I am using Autodesk Maya and zbrush, as a part from my day job. I was never concidering to 3d print them, just to layout the elements and stuff

 

[edgeofthefreak]

Thats a good info to get on mind when building a final terrarium. I will post a picture from the fridge box soon. For the 3d modeling software I am using Autodesk Maya and zbrush, as a part from my day job. I was never concidering to 3d print them, just to layout the elements and stuff

Oh nice that you use 3D modeling software for work. I have a friend that uses Sketchup Pro for his landscaping business. When he gets any free time for me to exploit, I'll see if he can teach me some good basics.

There's a few 3D printing shops in my town, so if I could make some designs, they'd be able to produce them for me. I'm likely years away from needing that, but it's nice to know it's offered.

Acanthoscurria geniculata is on my wishlist as my next species, so I'll be try to come up with a nice suitable home one day as well. Quite interested to see what you can come up with for yours!

 

[bookac]

Today i found out that some guy, here , where i live, is making hand made backgrounds for aquariums.. So i will going to concider him aswell while building it

http://cichlidmk.com/wp/?page_id=103

Here is his website with gallery of the backgrounds that he had done.. I think they are pretty cool, and unique.

 

[edgeofthefreak]

Today i found out that some guy, here , where i live, is making hand made backgrounds for aquariums.. So i will going to concider him aswell while building it

http://cichlidmk.com/wp/?page_id=103

Here is his website with gallery of the backgrounds that he had done.. I think they are pretty cool, and unique.

Those look pretty sweet, and if they're fish safe, they'll be spider safe too! Good find!

 

[bookac]

I continued this project so i will keep updated how it goes..

I am going to make it from glass..

So today i started with setting things up in 3D.. I started with the formula from Tarantula Keepers guide that is :

dimension on terrarium should be:

W = x2 D.Leg Span
H = x1.5 D.Leg Span ( i think x2 is to much, not sure about this )
L = W x2

So i came up with something like this..

i am going to update this post tomorow with more detailed dimenssions..

Maybe i will lower down the height... And also i need to figure out the top glass door..

If you have some suggestions i will be glad to hear

 

[edgeofthefreak]

Oh that's nice lookin!

Love the vent holes along the sides - just make sure they're smaller than crickets. Had a small acrylic top on a glass cage with drilled holes, but they were bigger than adult crickets. Didn't lose any, but had to make a new lid.

And I agree on the height, but I'd only reduce it by an inch or two, depending on final measurements.

Not sure for a top, but avoid any cross-mesh screen, like for windows. The cross-mesh allows little tarsal claws to get stuck in a bad way. Go with "rat-wire" or dipped mesh for a more durable (and prettier) looking mesh - if you go mesh. I'd think a glass lid with hinge, with the same kind of vent holes - but fewer, maybe only one row - would look awesome on the tank!

Nice 3D skills! All I know how to model is frustration.