# PouchedRat's enclosure thread



## pouchedrat (Apr 24, 2012)

I wasn't sure if I was allowed to post pictures of other creature enclosures I've built/am building in this forum if they weren't spider related, but I decided to do it anyway.  

Houses a G. pulchripes adult female:






Currently houses a T. stirmi juvenile female, will be moving to a new enclosure very soon (in process of building it now):












One on left has GBB and one on right has Avicularia metallica (both being moved to a new one soon, I just got in new display cases)






GBB has webbed the heck out of it and mostly on the very TOP






Houses my crested gecko girl
front view:






side view:






corner view






building process






Current project,  24 x 12 x 12 for my Theraphosa stirmi girl who is outgrowing her 12 x 12 x 12 box quite quickly.  It'll be rocks jutting out of a hillside, with vines and dead grass hopefully when it's done.  Still gotta carve and such,  I am thinking of trying out grout method with this one.  I tried it out on smaller enclosures with minimal success....  There are three openings to the pipe.  






Sling enclosures, mobile upload so sorry for the bad quality on these guys..






Misted after this shot, I had just moved the sling in at the time

Reactions: Like 1


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## Boatman (Apr 25, 2012)

Nice.......


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## philge (Apr 25, 2012)

Beautiful! Looks like you really go the extra mile to make your terrariums have that nice natural work. You've go some museum quality displays there! 

What kind of foam is safe to use, and what kind of paint? I would love to be able to make something like this for myself. Maybe you should do a tutorial thread sometime. I'm sure people would be interested.


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## SamuraiSid (Apr 26, 2012)

Really great looking stuff!!!! Im gonn have to +1 the tutorial. Or at the very least a quick write up on how you made the stone texture in those first few pics.


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## Shay (Apr 27, 2012)

Sick work!!!!!!! what did you use to paint and seal everything?


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## Kallstrom (Apr 27, 2012)

The enclosures on the three first pictures are amazing!  
I don't think i'm speaking only for myself when I say we want more pictures! 

Also, what kind of plant is it in the right corner above the root-cave on the second picture?


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## Shell (May 6, 2012)

Wow, very cool enclosures!


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## wesker12 (May 6, 2012)

Well at least I know for sure that the pulchripes I sent you is going to get a mansion when it grows up! 
Honestly speaking those are some of the best enclosures I have ever seen, I don't think my parents would even mind if my tarantulas if they were in such pretty enclosures ahahaha


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## suzypike (May 6, 2012)

Awesome enclosures!!!  I would really reeeeeally love to know what kind of paint you used.


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## pouchedrat (May 10, 2012)

Foam used is great stuff, and insulation foam.  Shaped and sanded down using nail files (dog nail files and human nail files) as well as my own fingernails (to pinch pieces off) and razor blades.   The Grout used, different shades of grout from light to dark layered, blowdryed with a hair dryer, and sanded off.  Others I used silicone, and acrylic paint drybrushed on, or polyurethane to seal.  The first enclosure is over a year old and has been housing the same female G. pulchripes quite well.  She's almost always out and about and is a great display creature.  She's heavily webbed the ground right now so I think she's up for a molt soon.  

There are great tutorials out there for building enclosures different ways.  I tested the waters out on a 55 gallon paludarium (which I since trashed) and have since been applying different methods on my tarantulas.  Grout takes a VERY long time to fully cure, as does great stuff and silicone.  It's not something you can build and move the pet in the very next day.... so these enclosures usually take me a few weeks before they're done and safe for inhabitants.

edit-  here's a tutorial from Josh's Frogs.  Not mine, but it's a great tutorial for fake rocks: 
http://youtu.be/6qFTEAPYVwE

there are TONS of different methods out there!!!   just search youtube !!

Reactions: Like 1


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## pouchedrat (May 13, 2012)

I had to replace the light in the top right one that day, this was just before that pic....

I dunno,..  this one looks far better IRL than I can get in photos.  I want to add leaf litter to it, and it DOES have a plant on the far left, pothos.  we'll see how it grows in.  



Also, cleaned out and replanted the tree root enclosure:







Replaced light...  temporarily housing a single juvenile dart frog.  I have plans for a 40 gallon breeder tank for that little dart frog, lol....   the 40 gallon breeder currently houses our bearded dragon, but I have a coffee table I've been finishing and building into an enclosure for her.  It's just taking far longer than I thought it would (I only get one day off a week, and have two really young kids... so yeah, my one lone day off a week I don't get to spend much time to myself.  if any)

Reactions: Like 2


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## grayzone (May 13, 2012)

wow.. nice work. I like how they all look eerily beautiful in their own way. The lighting really brings out contrasts and plays up the stone and shadows.. i bet the stimi looks creepy coming out of that big hide too:biggrin: i have recently tried my 1st attempt at backdrops and while the finished (so far) product looks good, its nowhere near your stuff... i guess practice makes perfect huh.. http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?229432-MY-turn-to-build-a-back-drop/page3


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## Tcrazy (May 20, 2012)

very amazing.     how easy is it to clean the crested gecko's enclosure?


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## beaker41 (May 25, 2012)

! ! ! !  These are AMAZING ! My jaw is on the floor , These are what I NEED for my LP's when the finally get full size .. You could make a nature documentary with a cage like that.. I'd keep a cage that beautiful with nothing in it ! I shall now scour youtube for the secrets of this wizardry.. Thank you for posting my new desktop backgrounds !


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## pouchedrat (Sep 3, 2013)

Gonna try to fix broken old images.  Also, couple new pics. 

Still houses my Theraphosa stirmi girl:













GBB enclosure







edit-  Some pics that broke for some reason:

G. pulchripes enclosure:






this one looks like crap, lol... but here it is anyway.   I tried using a spray sealer on my foam, and it basically disintegrated into what now looks like a trash bag. 






---------- Post added 09-03-2013 at 09:20 AM ----------

other angles of crested gecko tank, for some reason pics were broken:













OLD enclosures, practice ones.  they're now in the basement, lol!













Building process pics of enclosures:


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## edgeofthefreak (Sep 3, 2013)

Wow. Just wow. Those look very professional. Can I ask what grout you use specifically? The grout I have works great, applies easy, but leaves a heavy chemical smell, even months after. Haven't tried the blowdryer trick, but I'm sure there are better grouts to use... maybe something without anti-mildew agents.
Fantastic job all around!


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