# What is better an acrylic enclosure or a glass enclosure? Also how should big should my enclosure be



## keanudy (Apr 10, 2013)

Hey guys! I'm new to raising t's, maybe around 3 months ago I got a fresh baby Golden Knee Chaco. I got her in a circular case that doesn't really fit her so much anymore, as she can't really spread her legs anymore. At this time she is about 1.5 inches already I'm assuming. So I'm looking to buy a new enclosure for her. Should I go with an acrylic enclosure, or a glass one? Also is it okay to have a say 8x8x8 enclosure? Thanks in advanced guys!


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## macbaffo (Apr 10, 2013)

Keep the glass for.the final enclosure.
At 1.5inch ls you can put it in a cheap plastic container without going crazy about glass.
It will grow fast.

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Edit 
Sorry, It will not grow fast. I hate common names.

Reactions: Like 1


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## keanudy (Apr 10, 2013)

Hmmm thanks for that info! But say if I were to put it in the glass enclosure, is it a problem if it is too big?


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## macbaffo (Apr 10, 2013)

How big? Like the 8x8x8 you mentioned before?


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## keanudy (Apr 10, 2013)

Yes, cause that was the enclosure I was looking at.


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## macbaffo (Apr 10, 2013)

That will last with you for years...
Put in it a lot of substrate to prevent the risk of falls from to much height and it will be ok.

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Edit
Even if ok it's a bit of wasted space and considering the rate of growth it's a wasted space for too long. Just my opinion, if it suits you that big, then it's ok.

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## keanudy (Apr 10, 2013)

thanks man appreciate it.


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## naychur (Apr 10, 2013)

*Re: What is better acrylic enclosure or glass enclosure? Also how should big should my enclosure be*

Forgive me for hijacking this thread for a minute, but an afterthought was posted that I wish to respectfully respond to on "Common Names."

Please don't knock common names, this is a process. Being in my 2nd year of T keeping, I can say that the common names are a lot easier to say and remember. The scientific names are difficult to say, spell and overall are intimidating. Yes, we as Keepers need to use them as they are the standard and (short of reclassification) are not changing, but it takes some getting used to. Can you imaging a dog show where only scientific names are used? 
 

I think Herps & Inverts are the only (?) hobbys that use scientific names as the preferred language.

OP:  You will benefit more thru this hobby when you get used to the scientific names. That is why I call this a "Big Girl Hobby" (or "Big Boy" if it applies) because the scientific names ARE the preferred language......but the common names are what you speak to non keepers (which unfortunately includes the LPS). Guess that makes us bilingual. 
 

I remember the first time I was giving advise to someone ready to start Keeping his first T. I was talking the scientific names so much to other keepers that I was no longer sure if the common name was correct for the species I was referring to. 

The first 6 months or so into this hobby, I kept Googling the scientific names when posting, ESP for spelling (which I have not mastered). Practice.

I only have 12 Ts, but since 1 is an OBT (P murinus) sling that currently looks IDENTICAL to the Rosie (G rosea) sling and I have an 8 year-old son who Keeps with me, I have started labeling my enclosures. I put the Genus species on the first line and the accepted common name on the 2nd.

Now, back to the original topic:
I started my collection with a Chaco Golden Knee (G pulchripes). Best starter spider out there! IMO. It was my first sling, too! "Creepy" has revealed himself to be a male, so even though not so long lived, still my baby! He started out in a sauce cup. After a couple of molts, I moved him up to a deli cup (tried both the short and tall) from Wal-mart, but didn't care for the flimsy-ness. He was then moved to a Kritter Keeper (large?) until it was obvious that with his next molt, he was only going to be able to turn around in the KK (no hide, just the T and a sauce cup water dish) . Creepy now has his own 10 gal aquarium, (with a hide, ceramic water bowl and a ping pong ball  ), which should be his last enclosure. 

Glass, acrylic, or plastic? You will most likely end up using all 3. I feel it is more a personal preference.

Don't pressure yourself on the size of the enclosures. You will be able to tell when it is time to upgrade. Just make sure the enclosure is secure, not too  big and properly ventilated.  I have found several options at the dollar stores, I have used KFC bowls and some have used plastic shoe boxes as well as Dairy Queen sundae containers, inverted, for small arboreals. Try a search on this board for other ideas.

Hope some of this was helpful, or at least food for thought.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2

Reactions: Like 1


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## macbaffo (Apr 10, 2013)

If you start to educate your son to scientific name then he will know that that T is a P. murinus or whatever. No grown up boy hobby at all. It's  just a name. Like a car name. 
While you have not too many genus names i think that there are too many "knee" in common names. Continuing to meddle with common names just makes it harder to let them go.
Dogs are not a good choice of example in this case.

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## Meezerkoko (Apr 10, 2013)

There can be one problem with having an enclosure that's too big, and that is that it can stress them (they may tend to roam) or they may be unable to find food.  They have very poor eyesight and so if there's a lot of hiding places for crickets and such then you just might have a problem with it not locating it's food.  I recently acquired a couple T's that were in tanks WAY too big for them so I promptly rehoused them into smaller homes til they grow.  And personally I like the look of acrylic.

Also, if you familiarize yourself with the Latin names then they'll eventually just roll off your tongue.  I find myself having problems trying to remember the common names though sometimes.  I'm just so much more familiar with the Latin names now.


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## poisoned (Apr 10, 2013)

We have no common names here and I'm glad we don't. I don't know english common names even for most of my Ts.

To the OP:
Each has it's own pros and cons. Glass is heavier, less transparent and it's broken more easily. Acrylic can get scratches, is a bit more expensive (at least here) and tends to bend a little bit.

I prefer acrylic, but many people also prefer glass.


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## philge (Apr 10, 2013)

naychur said:


> Can you imaging a dog show where only scientific names are used?


That comparison doesn't make any sense at all. There are no scientific names for different dog breeds! They're all Canis lupus familiaris. With tarantulas, we're making a distinction between two similar species. Personally, I don't want to deal with that kind of nonsense. Blood leg, fire leg, red knee, orange knee, rust leg, red rump, golden red rump, I don't know the difference between them, it's just too confusing!

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