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Building from scratch.
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<blockquote data-quote="edgeofthefreak" data-source="post: 51890" data-attributes="member: 3202"><p>Just to address each of your above concerns:</p><p></p><p>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. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> I'd suggest glass or a Sterlite sweater box.</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>In the pictures you've linked:</p><p>#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.</p><p>#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.</p><p>#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.</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>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. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="edgeofthefreak, post: 51890, member: 3202"] 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. :) [/QUOTE]
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