Is my Exo-Terra enclosure good for my T?

[Arlo]

Hear me out. I know the use of Exo-Terra enclosures for terrestrials is pretty controversial in this community BUT I have made quite a few modifications to my 12x12x12 cube for my curly hair and would like to get your opinion on it.

First of all, the pesky mesh lid had to go. It's been replaced by an acrylic lid found on etsy.

Then I had to address the issue of the height of the soil. My T is a little bulldozer so it was pretty important to give her as much soil as possible and as high to the ceiling as possible but without clogging the vents. I found this huge piece of bark that gets really wide and hollow and the bottom, forming a natural cave. Once inside the tank, the sides of the "bark cave" touch three out of four sides of the cube and act as a barrier to keep the dirt out of the vents at the front of the tank. Shelob absolutely loves it and even after I gave her 7 inches of substrate on the side with no bark, she still prefers to use her pre-made cave than one she could dig herself.

I know the height at the front is still a bit of an issue, so I ordered two big mushroom ledges with magnets that I can attach to each door.

Now. Is this enough? Should I change anything else? Shelob and Ungoliant have been thriving in these tanks and I know this is not important at all, but I have to say I love how they look. I'm about to upgrade Ungoliant to a 12x12x12 as well, but do you think all these modifications are enough to keep them safe?

I would love to hear your thoughts

 

[Blackdog]

Mow bear with me as I am quite NEW to the Tarantula Keeping. What I hear and see are
!. Mesh lid BAD- excellent on replacing it- my T. Stirmi started a hole in my mesh while I awaited my IHeartGeckos order.
2. Ventilation - your front vents are covered by soil so if the top is vented then air will not flow through
3. Make the pre-made hide deeper so that it has an excavated feel. My Curly Hair loves to drag prey in for eating but prefers to hang on top.
4. Increase the depth lower the height to fall. You already know this really isn't the tank for a terrestrial- unless you buy a piece of acrylic to put inside the doors and really increase the depth. That is a nice enclosure that someday you will get an Aviculara that will love it! I keep my Curly hair in a Sterlite 6 quart tub with locking lid that is wider and longer than it is high.
Good luck and prepare for redecoration since T's love to!!!!

 

[Arlo]

Mow bear with me as I am quite NEW to the Tarantula Keeping. What I hear and see are
!. Mesh lid BAD- excellent on replacing it- my T. Stirmi started a hole in my mesh while I awaited my IHeartGeckos order.
2. Ventilation - your front vents are covered by soil so if the top is vented then air will not flow through
3. Make the pre-made hide deeper so that it has an excavated feel. My Curly Hair loves to drag prey in for eating but prefers to hang on top.
4. Increase the depth lower the height to fall. You already know this really isn't the tank for a terrestrial- unless you buy a piece of acrylic to put inside the doors and really increase the depth. That is a nice enclosure that someday you will get an Aviculara that will love it! I keep my Curly hair in a Sterlite 6 quart tub with locking lid that is wider and longer than it is high.
Good luck and prepare for redecoration since T's love to!!!!

I wish I could take a better picture but the vents are not covered, I made sure of that, it's just hard to tell from the picture, and the cave is 7" deep. Again, hard to tell. I will add some more soil to the sides and the mushroom ledges should help too once I get them )))

 

[Konstantin]

Hi
Those Exo terra enclosures work for terrestrial species if setup correctly but I will not put anything smaller than 5 inch in them.
I like your setup it can work if your spider
is large enough.
Few setups of mine in same enclosures below

I have 6 inch Nhandu Cromatus, 5.5 inch B hamorii and 5.5inch Aphonopelma calcodes in those now with no issues
Regards Konstantin

 

[Arlo]

Hi
Those Exo terra enclosures work for terrestrial species if setup correctly but I will not put anything smaller than 5 inch in them.
I like your setup it can work if your spider
is large enough.
Few setups of mine in same enclosures below
View attachment 67570
View attachment 67571View attachment 67572
I have 6 inch Nhandu Cromatus, 5.5 inch B hamorii and 5.5inch Aphonopelma calcodes in those now with no issues
Regards Konstantin

These look super nice! I agree with you, my T. Albo is 6" and I will wait to move my Grammostola Pulchra until she is a bit bigger.

 

[DustyD]

Konstantin, what did you use for the caves? It looks great. It does not quite look like cork bark.

I too agree that these can work. I had an 8x8x8 Exo Terra that I kept a 3-4 " G. pulchripes in for a while. I used a curved piece of cork bark to serve as a dam/ embankment to minimize substrate getting to the vents. I may reuse it again, although I prefer acrylic.

 

[liquidfluidity]

Hi
Those Exo terra enclosures work for terrestrial species if setup correctly but I will not put anything smaller than 5 inch in them.
I like your setup it can work if your spider
is large enough.
Few setups of mine in same enclosures below
View attachment 67570
View attachment 67571View attachment 67572
I have 6 inch Nhandu Cromatus, 5.5 inch B hamorii and 5.5inch Aphonopelma calcodes in those now with no issues
Regards Konstantin

Love your enclosure set-ups! I have 7 12" cubes myself. Your tier techniques are very similar to mine and as you have done, I have kept the front vents clear.

This is usually where the controversy comes in because unless you have a larger specimen, keeping the vents clear also created a drop zone of higher distance.

As was stated, use them for bigger specimens and you shouldn't have a problem.

Anybody know if the Exos are tempered glass? Would be nice to be able to drill the sides to add more cross ventilation.

 

[Konstantin]

Konstantin, what did you use for the caves? It looks great. It does not quite look like cork bark.

I too agree that these can work. I had an 8x8x8 Exo Terra that I kept a 3-4 " G. pulchripes in for a while. I used a curved piece of cork bark to serve as a dam/ embankment to minimize substrate getting to the vents. I may reuse it again, although I prefer acrylic.

Hi
I use cork bark but break it and then glue it back to shapes needed using hot glue gun
I do not like using acrylic as the tarantulas scratch it quite a bit in the long run and thats without the scratches I make if im not careful
Regards Konstantin