G. roseas, doubled up 2.0

[ipreventdeath]

I recently did a little renovation in my roseas enclosures. I've been reading a lot on their burrowing habits in nature vs. in captivity and decided to add some features to encourage burrowing in their homes. Obviously with this enclosure I wouldn't be able to provide and proper 12-18in burrow, but I wanted to give them as much of this ability as possible. I created a sloping substrate ranging for 4-6in in depth, being deeper towards the back. I know many people would simply place a hide made of a coconut shell half or flower pot, but I wanted to include the beginnings of a burrow for a little more encouragement. I took a small 3in piece of a cork bark tube and buried it in the substrate with just the top edge showing while keeping a deep pocket just below it that was roughly one inch off of the cage floor. Many burrowing desert species will orient their burrows vertically (possibly to catch as much water as available) so I start their borrow near vertical in the deeper parts of the substrate. I added a DIY silk plant pot to add shaded areas and more forms of cover for them to enjoy and a little more cork bark for added furniture.

They both seem to utilize their burrows much more than any others i have read about on forums so far and much more than they did before this revamp. Artemis has already begun digging out more within the burrow and has pushed it back a few inches toward the rear of the terrarium. They will routinely wait in the burrows, especially when it gets cooler in the house, and even plug the top with silk. Artemis will even perch at the top when waiting for food and pick it off when it gets near.

 

[God of Fun]

Sweet set up! Whats the volume on those cages? I think I will follow your cork bark example today if I can find a log of the right size!

 

[ipreventdeath]

Sweet set up! Whats the volume on those cages? I think I will follow your cork bark example today if I can find a log of the right size!

It's a standard 5.5 glass terrarium with lockable screen top that you can get at most pet stores. I think it measures 16x8x10inches. I split it in two with a piece of clear lexan that was cut to fit the space perfectly to avoid any gaps. I believe the cork bark tube is just the standard medium size. I got it at petco a little while ago. The diameter is somewhere around 2-2.5inches inside, so they should be able to grow into it a tad.

 

[God of Fun]

And will they be comfortable with 2.25 gallons for life?

 

[ipreventdeath]

And will they be comfortable with 2.25 gallons for life?

They should be more than happy. Many animals don't need much space and we as humans like to give them way too much. They'll rarely utilize it all. Being out in the wide open expanse is more stressful than anything. As long as they have a nice cozy hide and a little room for exploration with a bunch of cover, they won't feel exposed and will be plenty happy. Some of my scorpions had relatively less room and had no issues whatsoever, breeding numerous times.
The only caution I would give is don't house two of your pets together like I did unless you are thorough in the design and willing to potentially lose an animal. This can be a dangerous set up and one of your pets may wander over into the other space. I've kept set-ups like this for years and went through great lengths to make it work correctly.

 

[God of Fun]

Thanks, thats good to know! I probably wont go the partitioned rout as I have no idea how I would cut the partition to me so snugg.

 

[ipreventdeath]

Thanks, thats good to know! I probably wont go the partitioned rout as I have no idea how I would cut the partition to me so snugg.

Yeah it wasn't easy. I went through four pieces before I got it right. It's a good thing each piece was only a few bucks.

 

[Tgirl1010]

They look really good. I thought that was bigger than a 5g. Looks bigger. Anyway, looks fine for now. Just for the record, I have my G rosea in a 10g aquarium about 80% full of substrate and she has used every single inch of it. So, I don't think it's stressful being in a bigger enclosure. Not as long as it's set up properly.

 

[God of Fun]

Yeah it wasn't easy. I went through four pieces before I got it right. It's a good thing each piece was only a few bucks.

Just out of curiosity how DID you go about cutting it? I used a drimmel for the acrylic I used ontop of my 60 gal fresh water, but it isn't exactly pretty. (then again it is significantly larger)

 

[ipreventdeath]

They look really good. I thought that was bigger than a 5g. Looks bigger. Anyway, looks fine for now. Just for the record, I have my G rosea in a 10g aquarium about 80% full of substrate and she has used every single inch of it. So, I don't think it's stressful being in a bigger enclosure. Not as long as it's set up properly.

I would agree with you . I was thinking more along the lines of a single rose in a 20gal or larger. I've seen people do this with scorpions, keeping a single emperor scorpion in a 20gal long aquarium. Or keeping small desert scorpions (2in long at most full grown) in a 10gal essentially empty tank. Fill that thing!

 

[ipreventdeath]

Just out of curiosity how DID you go about cutting it? I used a drimmel for the acrylic I used ontop of my 60 gal fresh water, but it isn't exactly pretty. (then again it is significantly larger)

I used something similar. It operates the same way and has a flat circular blade attachment that works really well. It's all a matter of measuring and cutting all of the little corners out and hoping you didn't measure or cut wrong. I had to use a box cutter over and over again and ruler to get the longer flat sides straight enough.