Potential p metallica enclosure

[elysium]

Hi folks, I have the below glass book shelf with a wooden bottom which I would like to eventually repurpose as an enclosure for my (hopefully female) p metallica. I've watched a lot of Rob's videos on YouTube on his enclosures and was hoping to build something similar. (Whatever happened to that guy? Loved his vids)

I removed the middle shelf that came with it and the anchors for it made some nice ventilation holes when removed. The dimensions are 12x12x15 inches (WxLxH). I screwed in that white piece of 1x2 at the base to hold substrate in. In terms of ventilation there's 4 holes on either side, nothing on the back, and the spaces around the latch door in the front.

A few questions I had where, is this generally okay? Is that enough ventilation? Are those gaps at the front too wide? Do I need to put a layer on the wooden base to avoid eventual rotting? Is a background necessary? (Not a huge fan of backgrounds) At what size should I move her into this enclosure? Pix of the enclosure below, as well as one of the metallica sling for good measure.

Any help is appreciated! Thanks

 

[BobBarley]

Beautiful t! I'd add more holes for vents on the sides. The gap looks a little worrisome to me. Can the sling fit through? Maybe take a pic of the sling on the latch door near the gap? It depends on how large the sling is and how large the gap is.

 

[elysium]

Beautiful t! I'd add more holes for vents on the sides. The gap looks a little worrisome to me. Can the sling fit through? Maybe take a pic of the sling on the latch door near the gap? It depends on how large the sling is and how large the gap is.

A bit tricky to add holes as the thing is glass and although I have drilled on glass before, I have also had accidents where I've cracked the surface. Would hate to ruin it by accident, though if absolutely necessary then I shall try. Perhaps some more folks can opine before I start drilling.

The gap is indeed a bit wide, I'd say about 1/4 to 1/3 of an inch wide, and the sling is 2.75 inches DLS. As of right now, I would guess that it could easily slide in there, though I don't intend to rehouse her now. I would probably wait till she's near mature, or at least 4 inches before thinking of rehousing. I would guess that once she's larger she wouldn't be able to squish in there, though not sure how elastic they are. She is currently in one of those 4x4x7 acrylic containers.

 

[BobBarley]

A bit tricky to add holes as the thing is glass and although I have drilled on glass before, I have also had accidents where I've cracked the surface. Would hate to ruin it by accident, though if absolutely necessary then I shall try. Perhaps some more folks can opine before I start drilling.

The gap is indeed a bit wide, I'd say about 1/4 to 1/3 of an inch wide, and the sling is 2.75 inches DLS. As of right now, I would guess that it could easily slide in there, though I don't intend to rehouse her now. I would probably wait till she's near mature, or at least 4 inches before thinking of rehousing. I would guess that once she's larger she wouldn't be able to squish in there, though not sure how elastic they are. She is currently in one of those 4x4x7 acrylic containers.

I have no experience in drilling holes, and am absolutely hopeless with power drills, so I can't help you much there. I'm fairly certain that there are places that will drill the holes for you though, of course, that costs money.

I'd move her when she's almost mature. She may still be able to fit through the gap when she's mature though. Or perhaps just get her carapace through. I'd try to block the gap up with something. Background is not necessary. Very nice enclosure though. Good luck!

 

[sdsnybny]

A tarantula can squeeze through any opening that the carapace can go through. the abdomen is able to be flattened out to fit.

 

[viper69]

Nice container, that gap is an issue. P. metallica are one of the smaller Pokis too.

Never underestimate the determination of prisoner even with a small space, esp a HOT prisoner.

Also, the bottom piece gives me concern over rotting depending upon what it's made of and how well it was sealed. If my suspicions are correct, I would replace it or put something to protect it, maybe rubber lining.

The ventilation should be enough for it live, they have low oxygen requirements.

 

[elysium]

Nice container, that gap is an issue. P. metallica are one of the smaller Pokis too.

Never underestimate the determination of prisoner even with a small space, esp a HOT prisoner.

Also, the bottom piece gives me concern over rotting depending upon what it's made of and how well it was sealed. If my suspicions are correct, I would replace it or put something to protect it, maybe rubber lining.

The ventilation should be enough for it live, they have low oxygen requirements.

That's a pretty amazing video, I guess that's what sdsnybny means. A couple more pics of the gap and a ruler below - looks to be just a bit under 1/4 inch. Would this be okay for a sub adult?

I think that rubber lining sounds like a good idea along the whole bottom as well as that side piece I added, that should ease any rotting concerns in the future. Is this something I can purchase at the local reptile store?

 

[lunarae]

What if you did a seal around the edges of the door, similar to that of what is used with car doors to make them water tight? A rubber seal to close that gap when the door shuts. I'd also be worried how strong the magnet was and possibly add another or a latch at least to ensure it can't push it open. I think it could look really cool though if you manage to make that work.

 

[viper69]

That's a pretty amazing video, I guess that's what sdsnybny means. A couple more pics of the gap and a ruler below - looks to be just a bit under 1/4 inch. Would this be okay for a sub adult?

I think that rubber lining sounds like a good idea along the whole bottom as well as that side piece I added, that should ease any rotting concerns in the future. Is this something I can purchase at the local reptile store?

Subadult is a human construct, what's the DLS and the carapace size. I wouldn't put any T in a container w/a gap like that personally, plus feeders can escape too.

Rubber lining - don't know.

 

[bryverine]

What about something like a living hinge cut in half down the length to prevent things from sneaking by?

Living hinge:


Put this on the edges of the glass (you can even use silicone to fix it in place, but they stay pretty well if they're sized right.

 

[viper69]

What about something like a living hinge cut in half down the length to prevent things from sneaking by?

Living hinge:
View attachment 207937

Put this on the edges of the glass (you can even use silicone to fix it in place, but they stay pretty well if they're sized right.

Sorta like those hinges on the large fridges where the fridge part is up on top only, and is split into two vertical half doors. Interesting idea.

 

[elysium]

What about something like a living hinge cut in half down the length to prevent things from sneaking by?

Living hinge:
View attachment 207937

Put this on the edges of the glass (you can even use silicone to fix it in place, but they stay pretty well if they're sized right.

Just making sure i understand this right, so you are suggesting that i cut out just one end of the U shape of the hinge and put it along the edges? If I understand correctly, the gap will then only be smaller by the thickness of the plastic hinge. From the picture below, cut at the line, and keep only the circle part?

 

[bryverine]

Just making sure i understand this right, so you are suggesting that i cut out just one end of the U shape of the hinge and put it along the edges? If I understand correctly, the gap will then only be smaller by the thickness of the plastic hinge. From the picture below, cut at the line, and keep only the circle part?

I was thinking something like this:

Flexible hinge shown cut down middle for 3/4 of its length. Red line indicates where cut would be to remove remaining half for illustrative purposes.

 

[elysium]

I was thinking something like this:
View attachment 208039
Flexible hinge shown cut down middle for 3/4 of its length. Red line indicates where cut would be to remove remaining half for illustrative purposes.

Oh neat! Did you just make that illustration on autocad?

So I guess the idea is to put this all around the glass door. What about the hinge side of the door, would the flat part bend outside the enclosure, or would it slide into the enclosure as the door opens? Pardon my Picasso-grade illustration, but what I mean is, would it be like #1 or #2?

 

[bryverine]

Oh neat! Did you just make that illustration on autocad?

So I guess the idea is to put this all around the glass door. What about the hinge side of the door, would the flat part bend outside the enclosure, or would it slide into the enclosure as the door opens? Pardon my Picasso-grade illustration, but what I mean is, would it be like #1 or #2?

I'd personally prefer #2. If it decides to setup shop in that corner (it will of course) you don't run the risk of grabbing a 'foot' and smearing a $200 tarantula across the window.

At the same time though, I wonder how strong tarantulas are... those flexible hinges aren't easy to move and have a decent amount of spring force, but tarantulas have nothing but time...