# X immanis enclosure with false bottom



## Mindibun (Jan 18, 2015)

I know these guys like things moist the way a T blondi would. Having owned a T blondi in the past I built on that experience and decided to go with a "false bottom." I did NOT include anything between the sub and the lava rocks as I have read that animals can get stuck between the two and I wanted to avoid that, I'll see what she's done overnight and in the weeks to come, but for now, here is her enclosure. The cork bark is a Y shaped tube with two openings to the outiside, and one going down into the sub: 



















 She was previously kept in a KK - which was how I got her when I purchased her. I hope she'll like this much better.


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## cold blood (Jan 19, 2015)

Looks spectacular....both the t and the new enclosure.   I'm not sure the false bottom is needed.  When a t burrows, it goes to the bottom, so if this t follows suit, it will end up making its home on rough lava rocks....that would be my only concern.

Dang I like the enclosure, nice job.


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## Chainsaw Reptiles (Jan 19, 2015)

LOoks Real Nice Bro!


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## Mindibun (Feb 11, 2015)

Aaaaand, a few weeks later, she has excavated a living room! With a built-in well off to the left-hand side there, where she can access the water reservoir from the safety of her own home. "Clever girl..."

Reactions: Like 5


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## viper69 (Feb 11, 2015)

Way cool!!


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## los3r (Feb 12, 2015)

That is freaking awesome!


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## Blue Jaye (Feb 12, 2015)

Very very cool


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## Dave Jay (Feb 10, 2018)

Is the OP still around?  It would be interesting to know how things went in the long run


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## Mindibun (Mar 12, 2018)

The OP is, indeed, still around! (Though, admittedly, much less frequently...)

I asked the mods if it was ok for me to share this link and they said it was fine. I wrote a blog post about my X. immanis set-up. It explains everything in detail and includes a lot of pictures, including updates since this thread was created. You can read about (and see) everything here:

https://arthropodgardens.wordpress.com/2018/03/12/xenesthis-immanis-terrarium/

P.S. - It's a new blog I've recently started, so any feedback is appreciated! Thanks, guys

Reactions: Like 2


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## MrTwister (Mar 12, 2018)

Tried a false bottom in my lp enclosure. Added live plants and was super excited to see it all grow in. T ended up trampling the plants and digging all the way down to the drainage layer. It was entertaining nonetheless to watch it come to the surface with gravel and deposit it all over the enclosure. If I attempt this again may use something more hefty like egg crate, or as you have lava rock.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Dave Jay (Mar 13, 2018)

Mindibun said:


> The OP is, indeed, still around! (Though, admittedly, much less frequently...)
> 
> I asked the mods if it was ok for me to share this link and they said it was fine. I wrote a blog post about my X. immanis set-up. It explains everything in detail and includes a lot of pictures, including updates since this thread was created. You can read about (and see) everything here:
> 
> ...


An interesting read! I would say that anything that's safe as a vented lid would be safe as a divider between the rocks and the substrate, a piece of acrylic with plenty of holes springs to mind, I think I will try this myself once I need to set up bigger enclosures. One thing you are missing is a hose or tube to add water to the bottom of the enclosure rather than saturating the surface. That is the best feature of a false bottom, it allows you to mimic nature in that the deeper the animal burrows the more moist the substrate is, instinct tells most animals to dig for moisture. I use false bottoms for most of my animals including frogs, lizards and scorpions. It is really good when keeping arid species as you can keep the surface dry but there is moisture available, they just have to dig to the depth where the moisture/humidity suits them. It makes it easy to look after them too, as the substrate dries they will follow the moisture down deeper so there's no need to worry if you get busy or go on holiday, for most of my enclosures I only need to add water every couple of months to keep the bottom layers moist. 
Thanks for replying, I was interested to see how a false bottom worked out with a spider.


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