Wood Enclosure?

Greasylake

Arachnoprince
Joined
Jul 23, 2017
Messages
1,324
I was thinking about making a wooden enclosure and was wondering why I've never seen one before? Is wood just a bad material to make it out of or is it because it's so much easier to just use a plastic tub (that's what I've been doing so far)? I know wood molds pretty easy so you'd probably have to seal it somehow, maybe paint? But that could also be harmful to whatever you put inside I assume. Perhaps with enough ventilation it would be okay so no fumes get trapped inside? I'm starting to think this is just a bad idea.
 

Dave Jay

Arachnoknight
Joined
Feb 5, 2018
Messages
294
Pond sealer is what's usually used with reptiles, for enclosures and decor. It comes in clear or coloured, and you can add sand for texture if you wanted. You could even make ledges and hollows with Styrofoam, paint it then seal it. There's plenty of videos on making backgrounds and decor out of Styrofoam, they should give you plenty of ideas. At one time making large aquariums out of plyboard was popular, there's probably videos on that too. I can't see where making a tarantula enclosure would be much different.
 

boina

Lady of the mites
Active Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2015
Messages
2,217
Actually, the overwhelming majority of my large tarantulas are in OSB enclosures and have been in there for up to 4 years. They are sealed on the inside with toy approved white varnish. My reasoning is that if a child can put it in its mouth it's probably safe for a tarantula. After painting them I let them vent for about 4 weeks before the T can move in. I have 35 of these enclosure in use at the moment and I've never had a problem. I use them because they are reasonably cheap for their size, stack very well in contrast to glass, open at the front in contrast to tubs, so I can just build stacks and still have access to them, and I can have any size I want. I like to keep my tarantulas in somewhat larger enclosures than the bare minimum. Having said that they still do not work for burrowers and for tarantulas needing plenty of moisture. My few burrowers/moisture lovers (Megaphobema mesomelas and robustum) are still in tubs. A bit of moisture is fine, though.
 

jhilde

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 13, 2016
Messages
20
I built a 130 gallon aquarium with birch plywood and a glass front for viewing. I coated the inside with a product called liquid rubber. Its commonly used for aquariums and fish ponds and dries jet black. Worked really good for my use and im sure it would work in a terrarium also.
 

StampFan

Arachnodemon
Joined
Jul 12, 2017
Messages
756
Actually, the overwhelming majority of my large tarantulas are in OSB enclosures and have been in there for up to 4 years. They are sealed on the inside with toy approved white varnish. My reasoning is that if a child can put it in its mouth it's probably safe for a tarantula. After painting them I let them vent for about 4 weeks before the T can move in. I have 35 of these enclosure in use at the moment and I've never had a problem. I use them because they are reasonably cheap for their size, stack very well in contrast to glass, open at the front in contrast to tubs, so I can just build stacks and still have access to them, and I can have any size I want. I like to keep my tarantulas in somewhat larger enclosures than the bare minimum. Having said that they still do not work for burrowers and for tarantulas needing plenty of moisture. My few burrowers/moisture lovers (Megaphobema mesomelas and robustum) are still in tubs. A bit of moisture is fine, though.
Please post a picture or two here when you get a chance, would be great to see one of these enclosures.
 

Gaherp

Arachnofarmer
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 27, 2007
Messages
218
Used marine epoxy with no issues. The cure time and vapors are the only downside, but once fully cured it works very well. Nothing has died in those setups even now with the folks I gave them to. Three were dart frog vivariums and the rest were T or misc. herp vivs. I will say weight adds up if you layer it on thick. My first setup(wood w/ epoxy inside) 24" cube weighed a lot more than expected when finished.
 
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