# Tips for creating better looking enclosures



## VaejovisCarolineanusSDS (Nov 29, 2017)

Every time I make a new enclosure for one of my animals the enclosure always looks so amateur. Can anyone give me any tips for creating better enclosures? Most of my arachnids are scorpions and I'm always trying to get more scorpions because they are my favorite arachnid. So I would prefer tips on scorpion enclosures both desert and forest species.


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## Mojo288 (Nov 30, 2017)

Try using natural products as much as possible (real plants, branches rocks ect.)

Nature doesn't line things up in straight lines, ever, the messier the setup the more natural looking it will be.I don't mean just throw things all over the place, but try to "randomize" your placement.

If all else fails, try looking at pictures of places you want to emulate, that's where i always start.

Reactions: Like 3


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## VaejovisCarolineanusSDS (Nov 30, 2017)

Mojo288 said:


> Try using natural products as much as possible (real plants, branches rocks ect.)
> 
> Nature doesn't line things up in straight lines, ever, the messier the setup the more natural looking it will be.I don't mean just throw things all over the place, but try to "randomize" your placement.
> 
> If all else fails, try looking at pictures of places you want to emulate, that's where i always start.


I am terrible with real plants. I can't even keep cacti alive.Do you know anywhere to buy supplies and decor for creating natural enclosures.


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## Nonnack (Nov 30, 2017)

Real plats looks great but needs extra care, but you can buy fake ones that are looking nice, you may look in florist shops.
I second using natural stuff, you can buy it but most of stuff I use for decoration, I gather myself. Just go to forest if you take a good look you will find lot of interesting things that can be used. Best way to learn how to setup interesting enclosure will be to imitate others work, look for setup pictures and try to mimic it. Also there is lot of tutorials on youtube that you may learn from.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Lil Paws (Nov 30, 2017)

VaejovisCarolineanusSDS said:


> I am terrible with real plants. I can't even keep cacti alive.Do you know anywhere to buy supplies and decor for creating natural enclosures.


Most people find fake plants at Michaels or some other craft store (and you can find a good 40% coupon online for the fancy stuff). I actually have a talent for killing off plants via neglect, but I think I could remember better if I am also caring for something that is living with it. Feed the spider? Water the plant. A desert plant? Well then, it gets watered when the T molts. Finding a plant that hasn't been treated with pesticides or fertilizers that could kill a T seems like it could be a challenge, though (I'm up for advice on that).


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## Chris LXXIX (Nov 30, 2017)

What (IMO, I need to say IMO, sadly) matter aren't the aesthetics, but the set up/parameters offered. A kinda 'spartan' enclosure with the _right _parameters is *always *better than a fancy enclosure full of useless crap (that btw makes, sometimes, routine maintenance more annoying).

It's always a question of right parameters and right set up, not a question of 'better looking enclosures', if you ask me. This is a secondary issue, like those folks that purchase a $800 Paul Chen Katana and pretends to have a real _Nihontō_ blade: what they have is only aesthetics.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Nonnack (Nov 30, 2017)

Well, tarantula will do well in just a small plastic box with few inches of dirt. Most of big dealers keep their Ts in that way, and that works well. But I am trying to give them really good looking enclosures, reminding their natural environment, that I can put in my living room as decoration. Having only more than a dozen I can afford that



Chris LXXIX said:


> A kinda 'spartan' enclosure with the _right _parameters is *always *better than a fancy enclosure full of useless crap


Are you sure? Which one would you like more in your room?

Reactions: Like 7


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## Mojo288 (Nov 30, 2017)

VaejovisCarolineanusSDS said:


> I am terrible with real plants. I can't even keep cacti alive.Do you know anywhere to buy supplies and decor for creating natural enclosures.


I use amazon and home depot, that's about it

Reactions: Like 1


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## Chris LXXIX (Dec 1, 2017)

Nonnack said:


> Well, tarantula will do well in just a small plastic box with few inches of dirt. Most of big dealers keep their Ts in that way, and that works well. But I am trying to give them really good looking enclosures, reminding their natural environment, that I can put in my living room as decoration. Having only more than a dozen I can afford that
> 
> 
> 
> Are you sure? Which one would you like more in your room?


I'm not a fan of aesthetics when it comes to T's. I'm not a fan of aesthetic in general. The more 'fancy' enclosure I have is this one v




and for a reason: inside there's my 0.1 _Scolopendra subspinipes_ and 'pedes really needs to feel secure, they need to 'disappear/crawl' under little stones, cork bark, fake leaves etc (especially in the case of gravid females, otherwise there's high chances that mommy cannibalize the whole stuff).

When it comes to T's my collection at the moment is 80% made of (few NW's only, mostly rescued and received for free from others) so called 'pet holes' T's, my fav. kind of spiders. Therefore when inside there's inches of dirt, a piece of cork bark (can't stand to view an enclosure without one) and a water dish, it's done (with the right humidity/temperature parameters, of course). 

Rarely I offer fake leaves, unless the _Theraphosidae _in question is a 101% certified heavy webber (_P.murinus_, _C.fimbriatus, E.murinus_ etc).

I follow the old rule: the less inside an enclosure, the better always is for routine maintenance.


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## Nonnack (Dec 1, 2017)

I agree with the rule, but I don't follow it And as you said, right setup and parameters are always priority, and thats all T really needs. But, if someone can provide this *and* nice looking fancy enclosure, that works well and looks great, there is nothing wrong with it Its more to a personal preferences of keeper, you like it simple, I like it fancy. Ofc it requires more time, money, makes maintenance harder etc but for me making naturalistic enclosures is also fun part of this hobby.

As for enclosures you can check also pictures of this guy. Its Morph from spidersonline.pl. I like his approach, he have hundreds of females, most of his enclosures are pretty simple and minimalistic, but he still have space for nice one for display.
http://morph.terrarium.pl/g/terraria/87.html

Reactions: Like 2


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## Arachnophoric (Dec 1, 2017)

Chris LXXIX said:


> This is a secondary issue, like those folks that purchase a $800 Paul Chen Katana and pretends to have a real _Nihontō_ blade: what they have is only aesthetics.


Not that you didn't have it already, but this comment just earned a TON of respect from me. Always nice to see someone who realizes the difference between a functional blade and an expensive wall decoration.

Reactions: Like 1 | Love 1


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## Chris LXXIX (Dec 1, 2017)

Arachnophoric said:


> Not that you didn't have it already, but this comment just earned a TON of respect from me. Always nice to see someone who realizes the difference between a functional blade and an expensive wall decoration.


Thank you my man


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## Chris LXXIX (Dec 1, 2017)

Nonnack said:


> I agree with the rule, but I don't follow it And as you said, right setup and parameters are always priority, and thats all T really needs. But, if someone can provide this *and* nice looking fancy enclosure, that works well and looks great, there is nothing wrong with it Its more to a personal preferences of keeper, you like it simple, I like it fancy. Ofc it requires more time, money, makes maintenance harder etc but for me making naturalistic enclosures is also fun part of this hobby.
> 
> As for enclosures you can check also pictures of this guy. Its Morph from spidersonline.pl. I like his approach, he have hundreds of females, most of his enclosures are pretty simple and minimalistic, but he still have space for nice one for display.
> http://morph.terrarium.pl/g/terraria/87.html


It's ok, man  nothing against that or personal taste. Way back then, when I started, had a similar view as well but then, when the collection started to raise in numbers (and when you have to deal with other hobby, work and Mr. Time acting always as a ruthless badass etc) what I seeked was 'quality and convenience', basically


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## thefatunicorn (Dec 3, 2017)

I’ve only just started keeping T’s not long ago. But I’ve found my basic methods of keeping heavily planted/natural aquariums work well enough for me...

Decide which side of the enclosure will be the “front” and start decorating from the back, taller decor at the back and shorter in the front/middle. Most of my T enclosures have been simple so far. Just hot glueing a few fake plants and some moss to a piece of cork ark that fits well and/or looks interesting. I’ve also been making the substrate have a bit of a slope. Just a little shorter in the front than in back.

I’ve yet to try live plants with a T. Simply because from my own experience keeping live plants in vivariums with geckos, watering the plants always makes the substrate very, very moist eventually... Though I’ll admit. Live terrestrial plants aren’t my forte! 

Of course then, some T’s will dig up all your hard work. No matter how much thought you put into it


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## justice1986 (Dec 4, 2017)

Mojo288 said:


> Try using natural products as much as possible (real plants, branches rocks ect.)
> 
> Nature doesn't line things up in straight lines, ever, the messier the setup the more natural looking it will be.I don't mean just throw things all over the place, but try to "randomize" your placement.
> 
> If all else fails, try looking at pictures of places you want to emulate, that's where i always start.





Nonnack said:


> Well, tarantula will do well in just a small plastic box with few inches of dirt. Most of big dealers keep their Ts in that way, and that works well. But I am trying to give them really good looking enclosures, reminding their natural environment, that I can put in my living room as decoration. Having only more than a dozen I can afford that
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## justice1986 (Dec 4, 2017)

Nonnack said:


> Well, tarantula will do well in just a small plastic box with few inches of dirt. Most of big dealers keep their Ts in that way, and that works well. But I am trying to give them really good looking enclosures, reminding their natural environment, that I can put in my living room as decoration. Having only more than a dozen I can afford that
> 
> 
> 
> Are you sure? Which one would you like more in your room?


We’re can I find these boxes ????


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## Mojo288 (Dec 4, 2017)

justice1986 said:


> We’re can I find these boxes ????


they look like custom glass

Reactions: Like 1


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## Nonnack (Dec 4, 2017)

The ones from Morph site are custom glass, plastic ones I have no idea, I took picture from google But I have seen some ppl here using it.

Reactions: Like 1


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## viper69 (Dec 5, 2017)

The best advice is to keep looking at pics, keep reading, and speak in person to people who do this. That's exactly what I do.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Vandertern (Dec 5, 2017)

Lil Paws said:


> Finding a plant that hasn't been treated with pesticides or fertilizers that could kill a T seems like it could be a challenge, though (I'm up for advice on that).


Here in Europe at least this isn't a problem, most supermarket chains, particularly Lidl, Aldi, Tesco and the like, source the majority of their plant stock from massive Dutch factory nurseries. 
All of these nurseries typically use completly sterile media and systemic pesticides. 

This means you can just rinse off the foliage and plant it directly into an enclosure. 

But if you were excessively paranoid about pesticides, contact or systemic, all you need to do is set aside the plant you are concerned about and water it as normal for 1-3 months and rinse the foliage off occasionally. This will leech out anything harmful. 

All of this is still unnecessary in my opinion, unless you are worried about your spiders becoming vegetarian and eating the plants

Reactions: Like 1


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## Nonnack (Dec 5, 2017)

Most of my plants are just random stuff that I see in supermarkets while shopping, 'hey, this would look nice in terrarium, let me just google what the hell it is..' ;P It is also usually quite cheap, so its not a big waste if T will destroy it. 
I heard that crickets are good, how to say it in English... test objects? They are more sensitive than T to negative effects, and if they survive few days in enclosure, its all good. Don't know if its true just read about it somewhere.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Jmanbeing93 (Dec 10, 2017)

Nonnack said:


> test objects?


Close, test subjects.

Reactions: Like 1


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## OhGeezRick (Dec 29, 2017)

The enclosure should look as natural as possible without requiring additional upkeep. Just what I prefer...


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## tarantulagal66 (Dec 31, 2017)

With my first half dozen tarantulas, I kept them in 10-20 gallon aquariums. When the population ballooned tp 20+, that idea turned sour fast. These days, most of my matures are kept in the large breeder boxes sold for that purpose, a few I made -keeping it simple keeps it easier to maintain. I did recently clean one of my larger glass Exo-terra enclosure and 'scaped it with some beautiful faux succulent plants and plastic dinosaurs for one of my subadult female GBBs. Would love to use real plants again. Tried it once and it didn't end well.


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## Storm1028 (Dec 31, 2017)

IMO, adding some type of background adds really nice dimension and aesthetic to the terrarium. Also, if you are worried about Ts digging up your real plants, I would suggest adding some type of cork tubes and using it as a pot for the plant.


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