# DIY Arboreal enclosure prototype



## Thekla (Jan 3, 2018)

Hi guys,

sometime in the near future I plan to get myself an Avic sling (possibly A. avicularia or metallica), and I was thinking about a neat enclosure. As there aren't any nice enclosures here in Germany (at least in my opinion ), I thought I'd come up with something myself.

I definitely wanted something made of plexiglas or such, not made of glass ( I don't like these glass terrariums with a trap door opening for example). So, I did some measuring and ordered plexiglas sheets and acrylic glue online and went to work.

And this is the result:





It's far from perfect (it's a prototype, remember? ), the plexiglas is too thick, very difficult to handle and to drill into, and it still needs a latch/lock of some sort, but...

... in general, would you say this design could work? Is there enough ventilation? Or too much?
This one measures 10x10x20 cm, the lower part in the front (for the substrate) is 5 cm high.
Of course there'll be a water dish, cork bark/cork tube and lots of fake plants. But I wanted to wait for what you guys think, before I start with the interior decoration. 

Any input is very much appreciated!

Reactions: Like 4 | Love 1 | Useful 1 | Creative 2


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## viper69 (Jan 3, 2018)

Guten abend!!

That looks fine. Thicker is better on larger containers, acrylic can warp over time. That will work. Get a metallica because their even more docile, prettier I think and they are larger. I loved mine.

Reactions: Like 2 | Agree 1


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## Thekla (Jan 3, 2018)

More like... guten Morgen! 

Thanks! Glad to hear I'm on the right track. And I doubt this will warp any time soon... it's 5 mm thick. 
Do you think a container this size (it's still pretty small, I suppose) could do with 2-3 mm (just a thought for future projects)?
I'll keep in mind that - when it's time for a bigger enclosure - I'm gonna stick with 5mm.

And yes, I'm leaning towards a metallica, love the look!

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Red Eunice (Jan 4, 2018)

Thekla said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> sometime in the near future I plan to get myself an Avic sling (possibly A. avicularia or metallica), and I was thinking about a neat enclosure. As there aren't any nice enclosures here in Germany (at least in my opinion ), I thought I'd come up with something myself.
> 
> ...


 Congrats. Nice looking build!
 Thought this was going to be a "mod job" thread. Great to see scratch build projects. Drilling the vent holes is the most tedious task, for me, on builds. Practice makes perfect!
 I build all my arboreal enclosures, 3 sizes, for uniformity and weight. Thinnest acrylic used is .080", thickest. 220" most are .160". The acrylic thickness is determined by the size of the enclosure I'm building. I prefer side hinged doors and use brass decorative hinges and latches. Plastic 2 part epoxy is used as the bonder. Some of my builds.

Reactions: Like 5 | Love 1 | Creative 1


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## Thekla (Jan 4, 2018)

Oh, they're looking very neat! 

Oh yes, drilling holes is a pain in the neck, especially with 5 mm thick acrylic sheets. So, I won't need 5 mm with little enclosures? By the way, how big are your enclosures?

And I love the side hingd doors!  I might borrow the idea for future projects, if that's okay. 

I used Acrifix 192 for glueing the pieces, smells kinda bad in the beginning, but that goes away rather quickly.


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## Thekla (Jan 6, 2018)

Well, I think I'm done with the interior decoration. 

cork tube = check
fake plants = check
water dish = check
about 1 1/2" substrate (mix of peat soil and coco fiber) = check






The substrate is still slightly damp, but until anyone's moving it, it'll have dried up for sure. 
Oh, and coincidentially I had one of those brass latches laying around. So, that problem has been addressed, too. 

Did I forget anything (except the spider, of course )?

Reactions: Like 3


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## Coiled Colt (Jan 14, 2018)

Dont suppose you want to build be one do you? 
Desperate for 2 eclosures 6x6x12 (WxLxH) for some preying mantis for my other half. 
And can I find any? Not a bloody chance.


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## Thekla (Jan 14, 2018)

I thought it would be easier in the UK to find nice acrylic enclosures. What about those arboreal cages? https://www.bugzuk.com/non-livestock/cages/
They cost basically the same as my self-made one.

On the other hand, it's really not that difficult to build your own enclosure. 
Order some acrylic sheets in the right size (e.g. here: https://www.sheetplastics.co.uk/products/acrylic-sheet/clear-acrylic-sheet), drill ventilation holes, glue them together, add some hinges and a lock and you're done.


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## Coiled Colt (Jan 14, 2018)

I've been browsing bugzuk and spidershop for the last week or two for a GBB and Orchid mantis, how have i not spotted these sooner.
Cheers.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Red Eunice (Jan 18, 2018)

Thekla said:


> Oh, they're looking very neat!
> Thank you, I enjoy building them.
> 
> By the way, how big are your enclosures?
> ...

Reactions: Like 1


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## nouseforadave (Jan 30, 2018)

Guys these look great  coming from a fish background these should be easy enough to build. I was thinking acrylic hinges and fastenings. I like the uniform look so if anyone knows any links (UK) to the fastenings as i can't find anything  unless i do a proper scratch build ha. out of interest as a new to T's, if you had them next to each other with black acrylic so they can't see each other would they be able to smell the other one? As i don't wanna stress them out unnecessarily. Thank you


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## WolfSoon (Feb 4, 2018)

Here’s my first from-scratch project. It turned out better than expected.  It has a hinged door on the back of the top too for two access points. I rehoused an A. metallica into it recently.

Reactions: Like 9


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## Thekla (Feb 5, 2018)

That looks fantastic! 

May I ask what kind of glue you use? It looks so clean.


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## WolfSoon (Feb 5, 2018)

Thekla said:


> That looks fantastic!
> 
> May I ask what kind of glue you use? It looks so clean.


Thanks! Your design is really nice too. It seems like that door could become a useful ramp during rehousing. 

I used acrylic cement, which is a little different from glue. I’d never used it before and it was interesting. I don’t think you have this store in Germany but here’s a link with a description. 

https://www.tapplastics.com/product/repair_products/plastic_adhesives/tap_acrylic_cement/130


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## Nightshady (Feb 5, 2018)

WolfSoon said:


> Here’s my first from-scratch project. It turned out better than expected.  It has a hinged door on the back of the top too for two access points. I rehoused an A. metallica into it recently.
> 
> View attachment 265448
> 
> ...


Looks great!!


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## WolfSoon (Feb 5, 2018)

Nightshady said:


> Looks great!!


Thanks dude! I appreciate it since your enclosures always look nice.

Reactions: Love 1


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## Thekla (Feb 5, 2018)

WolfSoon said:


> Thanks! Your design is really nice too. It seems like that door could become a useful ramp during rehousing.
> 
> I used acrylic cement, which is a little different from glue. I’d never used it before and it was interesting. I don’t think you have this store in Germany but here’s a link with a description.
> 
> https://www.tapplastics.com/product/repair_products/plastic_adhesives/tap_acrylic_cement/130


I was afraid you might say that.  I already found this, but it's simply not available in Germany, and noone would ship it. 
But thanks anyway, and keep up the great work! 

And yes, I hope the ramp will come in handy someday.


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## WolfSoon (Feb 5, 2018)

Thekla said:


> I was afraid you might say that.  I already found this, but it's simply not available in Germany, and noone would ship it.


Ah, I guess it must be because it’s toxic/volatile? There are all sorts of warnings on the bottle.  Anyhow, bummer that it’s not available there. Your enclosure looks very clean in the photos to me though. 



Thekla said:


> But thanks anyway, and keep up the great work!


You too!


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## Thekla (Feb 6, 2018)

WolfSoon said:


> Your enclosure looks very clean in the photos to me though.


Don't be fooled. There're a lot of smears.  My acrylic glue is quite good, but its texture is awful... it's too liquid to handle it without dripping sometimes, but still too viscous to use it with a syringe. 
But I guess it'll have to do.

Reactions: Like 1


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## MrTwister (Feb 6, 2018)

What are you using to cut the panels to size? And what type of drill bit to prevent it cracking?


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## WolfSoon (Feb 6, 2018)

Thekla said:


> Don't be fooled. There're a lot of smears.  My acrylic glue is quite good, but its texture is awful... it's too liquid to handle it without dripping sometimes, but still too viscous to use it with a syringe.
> But I guess it'll have to do.


I dripped quite a bit of acrylic cement on mine accidentally, but luckily it’s mostly on the bottom and got covered with substrate eventually.


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## Doc Ebola (Feb 6, 2018)

Great looking enclosures. Top work. I'm seriously thinking about having a go at this. I'm very interested in how people cut the acrylic and drill it, or if they bought it precut. Also looking at Tensol 12 for bonding.


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## Thekla (Feb 6, 2018)

I get my acrylic sheets pre-cut, but without holes. I could get pre-drilled holes as well, but that's quite expensive. 

Tensol 12 looks promising, but:

_"No sellers are currently delivering this item to Germany - Mainland"
_
Sometimes I hate living in Germany.

Reactions: Informative 1


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## Doc Ebola (Feb 6, 2018)

Thekla said:


> I get my acrylic sheets pre-cut, but without holes. I could get pre-drilled holes as well, but that's quite expensive.
> 
> Tensol 12 looks promising, but:
> 
> ...


Yeah, I was thinking precut for my first attempt. Best to learn how to walk before I try to run. And did you get the edges of the sheets polished? That seems to be an option that's offered, but I wasn't sure if that helps with bonding the sheets together or not.
I've visited Germany and thought it was lovely

Reactions: Like 1


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## Thekla (Feb 6, 2018)

I have the edges never polished. IME it works well without doing so.

Reactions: Informative 1


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## WolfSoon (Feb 6, 2018)

I had mine precut as well, with routed edges. That seemed the easiest for my first time (but more expensive).

I used a special drill bit made for acrylic. I got a piece of scrap acrylic to practice drilling and had problems with melting the acrylic, so to ensure the extra neat holes I used water + baking soda to cool down the drill bit. I’m sure it’s not needed if you find the right speed with your drill. It just made it easier for me as a noob. 

I lived in Germany for a few months on exchange and would love to go back sometime.

Reactions: Like 1 | Informative 1


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## JohnR (Feb 7, 2018)

You guys have nice custom enclosures! I will probably go the same route building adult acrylic enclosures for my Ts in the future because my little ones are still growing so I am in the cheaper version making enclosures using display cases from Hobby Lobby. 

Below are my 2 arboreal enclosure prototypes I just built for my slings who are outgrowing their current containers and will need a rehouse after their next molt. 

This one is for P. cambridgei






For my (3) C. versicolor

Reactions: Like 5


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## obg (Nov 19, 2018)

Red Eunice said:


> Congrats. Nice looking build!
> Thought this was going to be a "mod job" thread. Great to see scratch build projects. Drilling the vent holes is the most tedious task, for me, on builds. Practice makes perfect!
> I build all my arboreal enclosures, 3 sizes, for uniformity and weight. Thinnest acrylic used is .080", thickest. 220" most are .160". The acrylic thickness is determined by the size of the enclosure I'm building. I prefer side hinged doors and use brass decorative hinges and latches. Plastic 2 part epoxy is used as the bonder. Some of my builds.
> View attachment 262185




Question: Where can I buy Acrylic panels that I can cut on my own? I tried home depot and the big panels were kinda expensive i thought. Is there an online store that I can get a good deal from that has a good selection of thicknesses and square footage? Thanks in advance!


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## MrTwister (Nov 21, 2018)

Most online places will cost a lot for shipping. Best bet would be finding a local plastic fab shop.

Reactions: Like 1


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