# Specs for a DIY acrylic enclosure?



## antinous (Jun 12, 2014)

I was wondering, does anyone have any specs for arboreal, terrestrial and fossorial tarantulas? And if you can say the approximate prices and tools used that would be great thanks!


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## xTimx (Jun 13, 2014)

size can vary depending on the size of tarantula being used,  whether they are a burrower, if they stay in one spot or wander around.   
thickness of the panels will also depend on the size of the tank.  but it should range anywhere from 1/4" to 3/8" 
a good sized enclosure (say a 10gal tank) will typically run you 40-80$ depending on thickness of material used.  Some plastics shop will cut the acrylic for you which will add to the cost.   or if you wanna 
cut it yourself,  you can use a router bit or table saw.   if you're using a table saw blade, you wanna use a 100 tooth or more blade,  the more teeth the better the cut.  
also if you wanna make it look nice for the edges, you can flame polish the edges with a propane tank with a pencil tip on it.  
welding the acrylic you need either weld-on 3 or 4 which is around 5-10$ depending on location. 

hope this helps.


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## Orpheusr0ck (Jun 19, 2014)

For me, i try to make all my enclosures of uniform sizes so that they would look good when placed together. For terrestrials, a  horizontal 8x8x8 or 8x8x12 with at least 4 inch substrate. For pokies and large arboreals, a vertical 20x12x8 with 2 inch subs. For my diggers, a vertical 15x8x8 with at least 8 inch substrate.

An example of my acrylic enclosure for my C. Darlingi.


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## Peter Parker (Aug 17, 2014)

Look in your local Yellow pages for businesses that specialize in sign making. You want real acrylic. You want to buy a large sheet on the thicker side. Sheet will cost around 100$. Which is fine because your gonna mess up a couple times but that happens its ok. You want the real acrylite solvent based glue. Comes in a red tube. You don't want hot glue or super glue. You want the solvent one that gets you high. The solvent glue melts and fuses the pieces together making them seamless and strengthen joints and corners. You need a quality drill like a dewalt. You need a coring bit which can cut plastics. You need a circular saw or what I use is a 4 inch grinder with saw blade. You need vents and hinges and you can buy them online. You need a framing sqaure and box level and T sqaure for drywall. The framing sqaure insures corners are sqaure. The level works both as a straightedge and leveling the t sqaure you use to measure and mark out pieces for cutting. It insures your cuts are measured correctly and sqaure. You need to determine size. Length× width× hieght. COPY DEMENTIONS off a glass 10 gallon.Make your cuts and start putting together.

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