# Using plastic shoeboxes/boxes as enclosures



## Brendan (Jan 2, 2008)

Hey well I've seen loads of people using those clear plastic shoeboxes/plastic sweater boxes as enclosures for their scorpions. I figured, these things are dirt cheap and come in loads of different sizes, so now they have interested me.

http://www.organizeit-online.com/images/2138.JPG

http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/3242570/2/istockphoto_3242570_plastic_box_2.jpg

http://www.safestore.co.uk/images/packaging/full_images/Jumbo_storage_box.jpg

Whoever has one of these as their enclosures (I'm not talking about the exact ones in the pics, I'm just saying something like that in similar is what I'm talking about), please tell me experiences. Do they work well as enclosures? I currently own a 10 gallon tank, but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't hurt to get one of these plastic boxes. 

Also, how would a heat source work for it? Surely an infrared red light wouldn't be able to work as it will melt the plastic, am I right? So, what do you guys use for a heat source? 

As of now I'm thinking of more questions...


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## Cyris69 (Jan 2, 2008)

Besides my 10gal glass its all i use. I'm waiting to use my 15gal sterilites containers(3 bucks BTW) and the rest of my many 6qt shoe boxes . 

I have one 6qt shoebox in use for my communal 4i jacksoni, works wonders.

You'd heat them like you would your 10gal. The light would have to be much further away. Like if you had a shelf with a few racks, then you'd heat from above and at an angle for a lot of containers. Or you could stack them around the 10gal and just monitor their temps closely until you get the placement down.

You also need lots of holes. I have ~90 >1/4" drilled holes in my jacksoni shoe box and it still steams the walls of the container.

If you have the money to burn you can purchase herp heaters for hermit crabs they are quite small and plastic safe.

So in the end I would recommend them for most scorpion housing if you set aside aesthetics. You still can make a large deep container look as pleasing as a terrarium just not as clear as glass.


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## NrthCstInverts (Jan 2, 2008)

I use them for some of my spiders, scorps and millis.... they work just fine. If you are loking to make nice display cases and such, then these arent for you. But if you are looking to house alot of inverts, and not take up as much space as say aquariums then these are awesome!!

 Heating is not a problem either... like Cyris69 said already, either angling the light farther away, or smaller heating elements, etc  do the job fine. i have actually used some flexwatt heat tape as well, and after a little adjusting and what have you.... it works goooooood.


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## Xaranx (Jan 2, 2008)

I use these almost exclusively for my juveniles and sub-adults.  Almost my entire collection is this right now since I am still only less than a year into the hobby and most of what I have acquired thus far are juveniles planned for breeding projects.  I have a few adult communal display species as well in small glass aquariums or kritter keepers, but most of my collection is in glad type containers and sterilites.  I have a 100 watt red light on the right and a 75 on the left, heating, these are all angled towards my scorps which are in the high 80s, the T's are on the shelf right above the light since heat rises, keeps them at a nice 75 usually.  The feeder roaches (b. dubia) are on the bottom, and have a heat mat underneath and that stays at 85.  The rest of the various feeders are on top and stay at 70.  There are types of mats made which are safe for plastic containers, but not the stick on kind for aquariums, they get too hot.  These pads are pretty much pre-made flexwatt(heat tape/rope).

This is what I'm talking about.  

This is my shelf system where I keep my T's and most of my juvenile/sub-adult scorps.  If you wanna see them just pop the top off, they get used to it.  You can see it holds humidity real well, great for raising young.


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## Brian S (Jan 3, 2008)

All I use is plastic boxes.







I will use kritter keepers for desert species but for tropical spp, these boxes are the way to go


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## Andrew273 (Jan 3, 2008)

I use them for my roaches since I prefer kritter keepers/glass tanks for their looks. I have had a flat rock (I'm not sure which species it is) in one and a G rosea (tarantula) in another at one point. I didn't like not being able to see them until I opened the lid though. They are great if you're either low on space or big on numbers. I'm thinking one day of switching to all shoeboxes. I never had to heat mine, as long as the room stays a decent temperature you should be fine for most species.


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## Brendan (Jan 3, 2008)

False bottom setup would still work the same, right?


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## Brian S (Jan 3, 2008)

Brendan said:


> False bottom setup would still work the same, right?


Why do it if its not neccessary?:? 
Thats the whole purpose of setting up plastic boxes, so you dont have to jack around with a false bottom set up. Dont get me wrong, that is a great method for keeping your big black scorps and all but man those set ups weigh a ton.


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## g-thing (Jan 3, 2008)

*boxes*

i use 10gal for showing some stuff off and to put my Ts in but for room and the amount of scorps i have the plastic saves space, time and money 

when you start getting alot of scorps you'll be getting plastic


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## vvx (Jan 3, 2008)

I'm using them but trying to move away to clear acrylic cages. I don't care so much about the fact the plastic is more cloudy than I do the solid white lid cuts out a lot of light. Makes the thing dark and that adds to the cloudy plastic making it difficult to observe much of anything in the plastic shoebox.


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## Cyris69 (Jan 3, 2008)

I've never had any problems with the "fogginess".
All mine seem just as clear as glass for the most part. The lids do make it darker in there which I like. I don't mind using my LED pen light to see in or just bring it out into the room for lighting.


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## Brian S (Jan 3, 2008)

vvx said:


> I'm using them but trying to move away to clear acrylic cages. I don't care so much about the fact the plastic is more cloudy than I do the solid white lid cuts out a lot of light. Makes the thing dark and that adds to the cloudy plastic making it difficult to observe much of anything in the plastic shoebox.


Keep in mind that you arent going to see all that much activity anyway. They dont do much except hide until its very dark


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## Frogge (Jan 4, 2008)

I use the shoebox size for my adults.  I burn about twenty holes in the sides just under the lid with a soldering iron.  Two inches of peat moss, some bark and half a flower pot for a hide.  Heating is flex-watt heat tape along the back of the shelving unit.  There is some condensation on the inside  but since I'm working camp jobs I prefer not to have to worry about it getting too dry.


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## Brendan (Jan 5, 2008)

How do you get the humidity up in the high 80s though?

Do you just do your normal setup (with no false bottom) and then close the lid, and instantly the humidity will go up to the required percentage?


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## Thaedion (Jan 5, 2008)

Brendan said:


> How do you get the humidity up in the high 80s though?
> 
> Do you just do your normal setup (with no false bottom) and then close the lid, and instantly the humidity will go up to the required percentage?


Brendan, if you go with the plastic (don't use a false bottom) just saturate the substrate (usually near the water dish) and as long as the ground is damp to the touch and holds it shape when squeezed and does not drip alot of water out either the humidity is good.

When I did it this way I always had condensation on the walls and lid, humidity was no problem. I like the glass tanks w/ a false bottom for the looks, but plastic for ease of movement lack of weight and simple.


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## Brian S (Jan 7, 2008)

Brendan said:


> How do you get the humidity up in the high 80s though?
> 
> Do you just do your normal setup (with no false bottom) and then close the lid, and instantly the humidity will go up to the required percentage?


As we have told you many many times, dont worry about what your percentage is. *AS LONG AS THE SUBSTRATE IS MOIST, YOUR HUMIDITY IS FINE*


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