# Ideas for cheap arboreal enclosures?



## BobGrill (Jul 24, 2013)

Any idea what I could use for a large arboreal tarantula, like a pokie, rather than having to buy another zoo med or exo terra terrarium? I mean, those look nice, but damn they are pricey. Thanks.

Reactions: Like 1


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## rob0t (Jul 24, 2013)

Your standard aquarium tipped on it's side or large tupperware type containers like sterilite.


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## Hydrazine (Jul 24, 2013)

AFAIK there are people who build their own enclosures from acrylic glass, maybe they could give you an advice, apparently it is not so hard..


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## Shrike (Jul 24, 2013)

Check out plastic food storage containers at places like Target and Walmart.  I just rehoused a mature male P. cambridgei and juvenile P. pulcher to new enclosures of this type.  They're made from a clear, soft plastic that was easy to drill through.  Total cost:  $18.


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## MarkmD (Jul 24, 2013)

yeah as said, see throug food/Tupperware containers are good.


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## Poec54 (Jul 24, 2013)

Shrike said:


> Check out plastic food storage containers at places like Target and Walmart.  I just rehoused a mature male P. cambridgei and juvenile P. pulcher to new enclosures of this type.  They're made from a clear, soft plastic that was easy to drill through.  Total cost:  $18.


+1.  I get Sterlite clear storage containers at Target.  At 3-4" they're in the 7 qt size (under $3), at 5-6" in 15 qt ($5), & adult Poecs and other big arboreals get the tall 27 qt (around $7).  They come with secure snap-on lids.  I make holes in the lids and sides with a soldering iron.  Everything of mine is in these containers, except slings which are in deli cups.  

A great set set up is 2 or 3 inches of substrate, a piece or two of cork leaning against the side, some vine-type plastic plants (Zoo Med), and a disposable water bowl.  Works great, looks nice, and is very inexpensive.  

Aquariums are very heavy, you can't stack them, and they cost more, plus you have to also get a secure lid, which aren't cheap.  Screen tops can be chewed thru by terrestrials, and allow too much air flow in many situations.  Aquariums are just not practical for people with large collections.

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## SuzukiSwift (Jul 24, 2013)

Most tupperware will work, acrylic is fantastic stuff too, all of my enclosures are made from acrylic, its light and completely transparent and strong. If you just go to a walmart or place with many containers and look around you’ll find all sorts of ideas popping into your head =D You get to the point of every container you see being a ‘potential T enclosure’ lol


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## rob0t (Jul 24, 2013)

Poec54 said:


> Aquariums are just not practical for people with large collections.


Maybe not for you, but there are plenty of people with large collections that keep them in aquariums.  Acrylic lids aren't that expensive especially if you make them yourself.

Reactions: Funny 1


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## BobGrill (Jul 24, 2013)

I'm not making an acrylic tank no thank you. Maybe someday, but I just don't have the time to commit myself to doing that right now. I'll go with something made from tupperware. Any specific brands or products I should look for?


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## Poec54 (Jul 24, 2013)

BobGrill said:


> I'm not making an acrylic tank no thank you. Maybe someday, but I just don't have the time to commit myself to doing that right now. I'll go with something made from tupperware. Any specific brands or products I should look for?


I like Sterlite (Target) because they have clear tops; that allows you to see where the spider is before you lift the lid.

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rob0t said:


> Maybe not for you, but there are plenty of people with large collections that keep them in aquariums.


Big collectors certainly don't keep the majority of theirs in aquariums unless they have a separate building to house them.  The space, cost, and weight of several hundred aquariums is more than most people can deal with.  The pics that have been posted by big collectors/breeders usually show adults in very small containers.


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## SuzukiSwift (Jul 24, 2013)

Poec54 said:


> I like Sterlite (Target) because they have clear tops; that allows you to see where the spider is before you lift the lid.
> 
> ---------- Post added 07-24-2013 at 11:20 AM ----------
> 
> ...


I think what Robot means is some collectors keep many but not all of their Ts in aquariums, there are so many collectors out there that there will be many different ways people do it. But if the collector is in business to make money with Ts aquariums wouldnt be very practical cause they cost a packet, however i can see why a large scale collector collecting as a hobby would use aquariums, they look very nice with Ts in them =)


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## Poec54 (Jul 24, 2013)

SuzukiSwift said:


> But if the collector is in business to make money with Ts aquariums wouldnt be very practical cause they cost a packet, however i can see why a large scale collector collecting as a hobby would use aquariums, they look very nice with Ts in them =)


I don't know any big collectors/breeders that aren't into making money with their spiders.  The goal is: lots of spiders + lots of egg sacs = lots of dollars.  Large displays are nice but you quickly run out of room.  If a serious collector/breeder has a choice to stack 6 smaller cages in a certain space, or put in one large display cage, guess what he's going to do?  With many species, one egg sac represents one or two thousand dollars.  I think economics is going to trump aesthetics.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## AzJohn (Jul 24, 2013)

Wow, people make money breeding tarantulas!!!!!! Seriously now, how you house your inverts totally depends on what you want from the hobby. I have the majority of my collection in deli cups or Tupperware, in large part because I have 120 or so baby Holothele incei. I keep a lot of my adults in glass tanks that look pretty good. I like to have nice homes(for my enjoyment) for my larger inverts. A five or ten gallon tank with a screen lid tipped on it's side can be really nice if you take the time to set it up. If I kept my collection to a small handful of adults, I would do nicer things.


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## Zeph (Jul 25, 2013)

My favorite arboreal container by far is the $4 Utz Cheese Balls container. I want more but I can't eat any more cheese balls.

Reactions: Like 3


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## PeaceBee (Jul 26, 2013)

For slings I got a lot of large deli cups (like the ones you get soup in for takeout) at Safeway for super cheap.  For larger homes, I made a Container Store trip (they also ship) just recently and just set them up to my liking.  A cereal-style container, some fake plant, cork bark tube (depending on the species, of course), and a glue gun ends up being much, much cheaper   One day I'd like to get some nicer homes when my pokies mature, but for now, this is much more cost-effective!


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## lancej (Jul 26, 2013)

Zeph said:


> My favorite arboreal container by far is the $4 Utz Cheese Balls container. I want more but I can't eat any more cheese balls.


If you have an over-population of pigeons in your neighborhood, you could feed the cheese balls to them, making them too obese to fly and poop all over the cars.  JK


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## Jones0911 (Jul 27, 2013)

Also if you go to a place like bed, bath and beyond they sell animal crackers. Take the crackers out put small holes all around the jar and some on the lid and you're all set.  I use these for H macs and my king baboon sling.  Here are how mine look just minus the water dishes


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## Bugmom (Jul 29, 2013)

These come in like 4 different sizes, from little to prettt big. Add tape to inside bottom of lid to keep substrate in. Stupidly cheap, can be found on clearance at big box pet stores/Walmart/I buy from That Pet Place for the cheapest I've ever seen.


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## RyTheTGuy (Jul 29, 2013)

I am going to use one of these. I get mine at Costco. After its all eaten, they make great enclosures.

Reactions: Like 1


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## shaneshac (Dec 15, 2013)

The only problem i find with these enclosures with narrow screw-on lid on the top, is getting the pokie out later of its a male or outgrows the tub


Other than that they are good


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## Beary Strange (Dec 15, 2013)

Peanut butter filled pretzel containers are awesome for arboreals ranging from juvies to small adult Ts. I buy them for about 7.77 a container. Contents are nasty, sure, but you can just dump them in a bag and _someone_ will eat them.


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