Acrylic enclosures from ebay

[RP91]

If you navigate to eBay and do a search for acrylic reptile enclosure, you get these cheap Chinese made acrylic enclosures. I was wondering if anyone had used one of these. It appears they come to you in pieces and you assemble them. The problem I potentially see with these is gaps that might let substrate or moisture leak out. They look pretty nice though, and they hover around $30 USD. May pull the trigger on one just to see how it is and update here.

The blunt questions is, has anyone tried these to see if they were any good? Thanks.

 

[jrh3]

I wondered the same thing, if you do buy one please post a review about them so we will all know.

 

[RP91]

Alright bought one, $31 with free shipping. Its dimensions are L: 14.8" x W: 9.7" x 7.6"
Has vents on the back and sides and a hinged locking lid. Will try to show the build with pictures and a final review write up.

If it turns out well, I will use it for my MM G. Porteri.

 

[CJJon]

I've seen one. It was flimsy and thin-walled and made cheap. The lid was warped and there were gaps that allowed substrate to leak out. Also, the acrylic was stained from the sub, had a brown tinge to it. YMMV.

Let us know how it goes when you get yours.

 

[StampFan]

If you navigate to eBay and do a search for acrylic reptile enclosure, you get these cheap Chinese made acrylic enclosures. I was wondering if anyone had used one of these. It appears they come to you in pieces and you assemble them. The problem I potentially see with these is gaps that might let substrate or moisture leak out. They look pretty nice though, and they hover around $30 USD. May pull the trigger on one just to see how it is and update here.

The blunt questions is, has anyone tried these to see if they were any good? Thanks.

I've bought all kinds of these.
1) They often come broken
2) They often take 3+ months to get to my mailbox.
3) There are often better alternatives.
4) I've had the acrylic warp in a *very* short period of time.
5) In the type you assemble yourself I've had pieces break off making it unusable.
6) These have really gone up in price compared to a year ago. I wouldn't bother ever again.

 

[RP91]

Oh no, not looking good! Figured it was worth a shot, will let everyone know.

 

[RP91]

Its shipping from Ohio to Texas, surprisingly, and supposed to have it this Saturday. Will get pictures and post them here. No long wait from China.

 

[Angie Rohan]

I saw them too but I was afraid they would break during shipping! I can’t wait to see how yours turn out, hopefully all good

 

[Dry Desert]

I saw them too but I was afraid they would break during shipping! I can’t wait to see how yours turn out, hopefully all good

The main problem with these are they warp badly if you keep anything in them that requires high heat.

 

[RP91]

I got it and assembled it There are "hooks" that slot through each panel and they are held in place with silicone bands. I must say I rather like it, but there is one major issue. There are slight gaps where the panels meet, so substrate would definitely spill out. I bought some aquarium silicone and will apply to all the seams to seal it up. I have not done this yet in the images and the gaps are not visible in the pictures.

It was packaged very well and came from the states so nothing was broken. If yours comes from China, your mileage may vary. I had one of the pieces that holds the silicone bands in place break off during assembly and by some miracle stepped on it on carpet. I was able to superglue it back and it works fine.

Overall 7/10, see the attached pictures.

 

[Angie Rohan]

Oh.. yea I can see what you mean. It looks pretty good actually

 

[Liquifin]

Not bad, but I like the cat more.

No jokes aside, it doesn't look to bad, but I would be irritated for adding extra steps in the process. In this case, filling up these gaps. While I wouldn't mind doing it, I will be irritated that I had to fill in the extra step for a supposed "complete" enclosure. So how large are the gaps? Because I can't tell looking at these pictures.

 

[RP91]

Not bad, but I like the cat more.

No jokes aside, it doesn't look to bad, but I would be irritated for adding extra steps in the process. In this case, filling up these gaps. While I wouldn't mind doing it, I will be irritated that I had to fill in the extra step for a supposed "complete" enclosure. So how large are the gaps? Because I can't tell looking at these pictures.

She watched me assemble it, was giving good advice. Don't think I could have gotten it done without her help.

Minimal, maybe a few mm, but enough for substrate to get through. I sort of expected the gaps but indeed is frustrating that it would need another step.

 

[Thekla]

I actually have one of those for my B. hamorii.



I bought it over a year ago when I was still kinda new to the whole thing. I probably wouldn't do it again, at least not one of the bigger ones.
The lid warped quite a bit over time (as you can see). And it's not exactly sturdy when you fill in enough substrate, that's why I put it into that tray. At least now, I can carry it around if I have to.
It's crystal clear though, which I like a lot.

One piece of advice: Glue the parts together with acrylic glue (that's what I did). It gets much sturdier and that way you won't have any gaps where water/substrate could leak out.

Forgot to say: Your cat is cute!

 

[MetalMan2004]

Can’t believe I missed this thread until now. I have 4 of these in different sizes. While they aren’t the best quality thing out there I think they’re a great value for the money. For $30 they are way better than a sterilite container, mostly because it’s totally clear. They aren’t as nice as a $100 acrylic container but hey they are cheap.

None of mine have warped. I used a hot glue gun to seal the edges to the tune of about 25 cents. 3 of the 4 are water tight when I wet the substrate, one is not.

Hope you enjoy yours!

 

[Angie Rohan]

I have some acuarium safe silicone lying around, I suppose that would work to hold it sturdy in place and avoid leaking too. Not too happy to see the lid warping tho xD

 

[Dry Desert]

I have some acuarium safe silicone lying around, I suppose that would work to hold it sturdy in place and avoid leaking too. Not too happy to see the lid warping tho xD

Best to use aquarium safe silicon as it's non toxic and it's what holds large tanks together after all.

 

[s0n1cs3v3n]

I actually like them, I think they are fantastic for the price. I have several and 1 did arrive with 1 of the acrylic sheets scratched. Luckily for me it was the bottom that was scratched. So really I can't even complain about that. Like everyone else said it will leak water at the seems. I use cocofiber substrate and just do a lite spritz of water daily. My nhandu chromatus seems pretty fat and happy in there to me.

 

[Hoxter]

I'm living in China and I just got 2 of this type enclosures, quality wise, they are probably as good as you can get (I paid 5-10$ for each of them). Both are crystal clear which I like a lot. I only wish they were a bit more sturdy, I'm afraid something is going to happen to them every time I pick them up. And as someone has already mentioned - they have to be additionally glued or siliconed in order to prevent leaking.
In general, I think they are great for beginners and people that don't want to spend too much on enclosures.

 

[RP91]

Nice! Good to see others have them as well and they are working for them. I have yet to transfer my one adult T into it as I haven't had time to do the silicone yet.