- Joined
- Feb 22, 2013
- Messages
- 3,292
Forewarning - I am not a handy man. At all. I bought my first drill about a year ago, and I've had my Dremel for about two weeks. Give me a broken computer and I can fix it no problem; give me a broken drawer and I'll buy a new dresser. At the end of each tutorial, I'll explain where I messed up and how to fix it.
BUT! While they may be rough around the edges, what I came up with is not only extremely functional, but also fairly cheap. More expensive than the Sterilite containers some use, but magnitudes cheaper than acrylic enclosures.
I'll list the prices for each enclosure at the end. Both of these were made with scrap acrylic I had laying around, but a sheet of acrylic that would give you way more than enough for both is $15 at Home Depot. You'll also need an acrylic scorer ($4) or a rotary tool.
For creating air holes in acrylic, I use a standard drill. However, with a lack of this, a heated BBQ skewer will also melt holes. Just go slow with either one as to avoid cracks or chips.
Really Useful Box for Arboreals
Oh boy, you all know my love for Really Useful Boxes. Here we go.
-Really Useful Box (any size; this is a 14L for ~$15)
-Saw, Dremel, box cutter, or other cutting tool for the plastic
-Two sets of hinges ($1.35 for each pair at Home Depot)
-4 neodymium magnets (free as explained, or $3.95 at Home Depot)
-Needle nose pliers
-Wire of some kind (paperclip, hanger, floral wire, etc.)
First, we need this to stand on end. Take your Dremel or other cutting tool and remove one handle. On that same side, also remove the ridge that the handle locked into. You'll need to do this for both the lid and the box base. Sand it down so it sits evenly. Don't worry about it being pretty - you'll never see it again. Set the box base aside.
On the lid, measure up ~2 inches from the side you just cut and slice the entire lid down that line. This will eventually become our front-opening panel. Set the larger piece off to the side and put that small end back onto the base. We are about to permanently secure it into place, since there is no handle to hold it down any longer. Mark four spots with a Sharpie - two on either side, and two on the bottom. Drill/melt a hole straight through the lid and the perpendicular ridge. Thread your wire through it several times to permanently set it in place.
Now, set that all aside. On the larger portion of the lid, cut out the inner part of the lid, ensuring that you leave a ridge for the acrylic to rest on. Also be sure to leave ~2" of plastic towards the bottom, as we'll be installing hinges later. Cut the acrylic to size, then cut that piece again to create a feeding hatch towards the top. Do not drill air holes! Since this is plastic, we can provide cross-ventilation. Simply install your hinges for the feeding hatch, and set that acrylic off to the side.
Put the large section of the lid on the box base, and install your hinges. You now have a complete opening front. (picture is shown with acrylic - we will do this next)
Now set your acrylic in place and hot glue it down. Do not use silicone, as it pops off after a few days. Be sure not to glue your hatch down! The area where the acrylic meets the bottom portion of the plastic (where the hinges are) is an escape risk, so once again thread wire through to prevent the plastic from bending.
Finally, we'll need our magnets. I salvaged these magnets from two old computer hard drives. These are extremely powerful - be careful with them. You can also buy them at Home Depot. To install them, we don't want them to be pulling away from their base as to avoid them coming undone over time. To do this, put two magnets on the inside of the enclosure, and two on the outside of the acrylic. This way, they are attracted towards their base, and are very unlikely to come undone over time.
Drill/Melt some air holes in the sides, and you're done.
.....
Features
-Feeding hatch
-Cross ventilation
-Unobstructed view
Mistakes
The bottom set of hinges is a very rough cut. It's just ugly, frankly. A box cutter probably would have been better than the Dremel for that.
Universal Enclosure
...........
Alright, let's do this. Now this is a very simple project. The supplies needed are:
-Aquarium of any size (this is a small 5g, ~$10 at Petsmart)
-I pair of hinges ($1.35 at Home Depot)
-12 neodymium magnets ($3.95 at Home Depot)
-Hot glue (... cheap)
I wanted a universal enclosure. What do I mean by this? It needs to be functional for either an arboreal or a terrestrial. Note that since this is an aquarium, it has zero cross-ventilation. Take that into account when choosing a species to live in this.
First, cut a single piece of acrylic sized to drop right into the lid of the aquarium. Mark your line for a hatch, cut that, and add the hinges. Remember to drill the air holes before installing the hinges. Now place the acrylic off to the side.
Take 6 of your magnets and arrange them in all four corners and halfway along the long edge (see picture). Since these magnets will be pulled up away from their base, I chose to use a dot of super glue to hold it in place as well as a layer of hot glue around the edges. This may be overkill, though. Leave that to dry for however long you need - I left it overnight. In the meantime, remove the protective plastic from your acrylic and install your hinges.
When your base magnets are set, place the acrylic lid on the aquarium. Put a dot of hot glue over each magnet (which you can clearly see through the acrylic) and drop another magnet onto the hot glue. The two magnets will attract and set your new magnet in place. Remember to test north-south on the magnets before dropping it! Let that hot glue set, and you're all done.
What is explained above will make a terrestrial enclosure. To convert it to an arboreal, we'll need to contain the dirt somehow. To do this, cut a piece of acrylic that will fit inside the aquarium on the opposite end of the feeding hatch. This will allow the removal of the entire front panel without having dirt spill out.
Features
-No cumbersome locking mechanism
-Usable with either terrestrial or arboreal
-Completely removable lid
-Feeding hatch
Mistakes
You'll notice that the holes on the far left are... well, terrible. In short - don't use a Dremel to create holes. It does not work.
Notes
Do not use either one of these for anything but tarantulas! Scorpions and centipedes escape from Really Useful Boxes extremely easily, and I haven't tested the aquarium on either of those creatures. There's a reason I put this in the tarantula subforum. You've been warned.
BUT! While they may be rough around the edges, what I came up with is not only extremely functional, but also fairly cheap. More expensive than the Sterilite containers some use, but magnitudes cheaper than acrylic enclosures.
I'll list the prices for each enclosure at the end. Both of these were made with scrap acrylic I had laying around, but a sheet of acrylic that would give you way more than enough for both is $15 at Home Depot. You'll also need an acrylic scorer ($4) or a rotary tool.
For creating air holes in acrylic, I use a standard drill. However, with a lack of this, a heated BBQ skewer will also melt holes. Just go slow with either one as to avoid cracks or chips.
Really Useful Box for Arboreals
Oh boy, you all know my love for Really Useful Boxes. Here we go.
-Really Useful Box (any size; this is a 14L for ~$15)
-Saw, Dremel, box cutter, or other cutting tool for the plastic
-Two sets of hinges ($1.35 for each pair at Home Depot)
-4 neodymium magnets (free as explained, or $3.95 at Home Depot)
-Needle nose pliers
-Wire of some kind (paperclip, hanger, floral wire, etc.)
First, we need this to stand on end. Take your Dremel or other cutting tool and remove one handle. On that same side, also remove the ridge that the handle locked into. You'll need to do this for both the lid and the box base. Sand it down so it sits evenly. Don't worry about it being pretty - you'll never see it again. Set the box base aside.
On the lid, measure up ~2 inches from the side you just cut and slice the entire lid down that line. This will eventually become our front-opening panel. Set the larger piece off to the side and put that small end back onto the base. We are about to permanently secure it into place, since there is no handle to hold it down any longer. Mark four spots with a Sharpie - two on either side, and two on the bottom. Drill/melt a hole straight through the lid and the perpendicular ridge. Thread your wire through it several times to permanently set it in place.
Now, set that all aside. On the larger portion of the lid, cut out the inner part of the lid, ensuring that you leave a ridge for the acrylic to rest on. Also be sure to leave ~2" of plastic towards the bottom, as we'll be installing hinges later. Cut the acrylic to size, then cut that piece again to create a feeding hatch towards the top. Do not drill air holes! Since this is plastic, we can provide cross-ventilation. Simply install your hinges for the feeding hatch, and set that acrylic off to the side.
Put the large section of the lid on the box base, and install your hinges. You now have a complete opening front. (picture is shown with acrylic - we will do this next)
Now set your acrylic in place and hot glue it down. Do not use silicone, as it pops off after a few days. Be sure not to glue your hatch down! The area where the acrylic meets the bottom portion of the plastic (where the hinges are) is an escape risk, so once again thread wire through to prevent the plastic from bending.
Finally, we'll need our magnets. I salvaged these magnets from two old computer hard drives. These are extremely powerful - be careful with them. You can also buy them at Home Depot. To install them, we don't want them to be pulling away from their base as to avoid them coming undone over time. To do this, put two magnets on the inside of the enclosure, and two on the outside of the acrylic. This way, they are attracted towards their base, and are very unlikely to come undone over time.
Drill/Melt some air holes in the sides, and you're done.
.....
Features
-Feeding hatch
-Cross ventilation
-Unobstructed view
Mistakes
The bottom set of hinges is a very rough cut. It's just ugly, frankly. A box cutter probably would have been better than the Dremel for that.
Universal Enclosure
...........
Alright, let's do this. Now this is a very simple project. The supplies needed are:
-Aquarium of any size (this is a small 5g, ~$10 at Petsmart)
-I pair of hinges ($1.35 at Home Depot)
-12 neodymium magnets ($3.95 at Home Depot)
-Hot glue (... cheap)
I wanted a universal enclosure. What do I mean by this? It needs to be functional for either an arboreal or a terrestrial. Note that since this is an aquarium, it has zero cross-ventilation. Take that into account when choosing a species to live in this.
First, cut a single piece of acrylic sized to drop right into the lid of the aquarium. Mark your line for a hatch, cut that, and add the hinges. Remember to drill the air holes before installing the hinges. Now place the acrylic off to the side.
Take 6 of your magnets and arrange them in all four corners and halfway along the long edge (see picture). Since these magnets will be pulled up away from their base, I chose to use a dot of super glue to hold it in place as well as a layer of hot glue around the edges. This may be overkill, though. Leave that to dry for however long you need - I left it overnight. In the meantime, remove the protective plastic from your acrylic and install your hinges.
When your base magnets are set, place the acrylic lid on the aquarium. Put a dot of hot glue over each magnet (which you can clearly see through the acrylic) and drop another magnet onto the hot glue. The two magnets will attract and set your new magnet in place. Remember to test north-south on the magnets before dropping it! Let that hot glue set, and you're all done.
What is explained above will make a terrestrial enclosure. To convert it to an arboreal, we'll need to contain the dirt somehow. To do this, cut a piece of acrylic that will fit inside the aquarium on the opposite end of the feeding hatch. This will allow the removal of the entire front panel without having dirt spill out.
Features
-No cumbersome locking mechanism
-Usable with either terrestrial or arboreal
-Completely removable lid
-Feeding hatch
Mistakes
You'll notice that the holes on the far left are... well, terrible. In short - don't use a Dremel to create holes. It does not work.
Notes
Do not use either one of these for anything but tarantulas! Scorpions and centipedes escape from Really Useful Boxes extremely easily, and I haven't tested the aquarium on either of those creatures. There's a reason I put this in the tarantula subforum. You've been warned.
