# The Eight Enclosure creations from Talonawd



## TalonAWD (Jan 9, 2010)

I have made so far eight (8) enclosure creations and they are posted all over. This thread is to include the eight I have made to date (2007-2009) I will show some pictures and a link to the enclosure creations found on the forum where there are much more detailed on how they were created step by step. This way you can access all of them in one place without searching all over.
I'm going to post each one in its own post to make it more organized.

In the begining I made the enclosures for each tarantula I planned to place there. For the first one I did not have my own thread. It started as a question and ended up being a creation.

*#1 Green Bottle Blue ExoTerra.*

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=101657&page=3
(My creation on page 3 post #37 and page 4 post #48)

Close full View. Notice I added a small curved branch (Following the curves of my wall design) to make the wall higher to hide it more under other branch. (I'm referring to the hide I created on the left wall. This small curved brach goes all the way into the ground behind water dish to appear like it grew like that.







Top view. 







Bridge view and hiding area behind Branch.







Cave view.


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## TalonAWD (Jan 9, 2010)

*#2 A. geniculata ExoTerra.*

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=124163&page=2
(My creation Page 2 starts post # 27)
Also here: http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=127708

This one also did not start on its own thread. Again I was asking for ideas and it turned into an obsession.


















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## TalonAWD (Jan 9, 2010)

*#3 B. boehmei ExoTerra.*

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=130033

I got the hang of imagining the enclosure features and started my own threads.

Frontal view.







Step style platforms







Description of all the steps.


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## TalonAWD (Jan 9, 2010)

*#4 P. regalis Exoterra.*

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=147843













Than I redesigned it for more space.


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## TalonAWD (Jan 9, 2010)

*#5 B. vagan Exoterra*

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=162658

This one I took Enclosure #4 and transformed it. Redesigned it using existing furniture and new landscaping.

*Heres top angle*






*Angle sides pics*











*Here are the two caves. The one on the left is the main deeper cave.*






*And the second floor.*


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## TalonAWD (Jan 9, 2010)

*#6 L. parahybana Exoterra*

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=163791

The 6th enclosure is a redesign of enclosure #2







Heres where I made the transition. (removed floor behind the branch from previous design)


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## TalonAWD (Jan 9, 2010)

*#7 2.5gal series enclosure*

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=169998

These are a new enclosure type I started to use. I used Aquarium style tanks. Smaller but filled with options.












I added plants as cover to make it have an enclosed secluded feeling to the areas of lounging. 
Second floor platform







Second floor transition stairway. Looking downward (1st pic) than from bottom up (2nd pic)












Overview. Notice the empty space in front of the transition floor. This will be the area for the water dish.


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## TalonAWD (Jan 9, 2010)

*#8 2.5gal series enclosure*

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=170920

Front view 







Cave view







Ledge/loft view. kinda hard to see but similar to #7. Plants make a cover to make it feel safe. You can also see the grass suspended. Substrate will come over the grass up to this ledge/loft area. This is the transistion point.







Top view


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## zonbonzovi (Jan 9, 2010)

These are tight.  I love the cave access between levels.  You make fake plants look less...fake.  :worship:


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## Redneck (Jan 9, 2010)

Awesome job on all these enclosures.. Awesome... Yea thats all I can say..


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## Struckanerve (Jan 9, 2010)

Dsm owners dont know how to make enclosures!! lol  nah just playing they all look really good. Your T's will be very happy.


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## Teal (Jan 9, 2010)

*Love your designs! Very cool  *


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## Hobo (Jan 9, 2010)

Now it's all in one place. Just bought some corkbark, gonna start making hides and then gonna make a small 2.5 gallon enclosure, a la Talonawd.

So I'll be posting either some pictures of mediocre-good enclosures, or a silicone covered, foamed up Hobo mess sometime in the near future!


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## StephanieH (Jan 9, 2010)

Those are FANTASTIC!!!  I really need to try to do this, but I think I may make a foam mess as well.:clap:


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## Arachnoholic420 (Jan 9, 2010)

Remarkable... that's a very neat way to use insulation...... very beautiful enclosure's.... but i got a question?? what type of foam and what type of silicone do u use?.... the reason i ask is... how are they in long term use? cuz it is a none natural product??.... they are made from chemical's.... can they harm or cause anyside effects on your t's? i know a having a nice home would be ideal... but would not want to sacrifice a t's health just for look's...


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## TalonAWD (Jan 9, 2010)

Thank you all for your kind words. I will be making more to add to my collection of designs. I have a dream enclosure that is in the works for a biig  18" cube Exoterra. I have the enclosure and design planned, now I just need the time.



Arachnoholic420 said:


> Remarkable... that's a very neat way to use insulation...... very beautiful enclosure's.... but i got a question?? what type of foam and what type of silicone do u use?.... the reason i ask is... how are they in long term use? cuz it is a none natural product??.... they are made from chemical's.... can they harm or cause anyside effects on your t's? i know a having a nice home would be ideal... but would not want to sacrifice a t's health just for look's...


For your question, I use Great stuff foam insulation. If you go to Enclosure 7's link, there is a picture of the materials I use. The foam only deteriates when in direct sunlight. In all my enclosures I wait till the foam is dry. When dry its totally harmless and does not emit a smell. I then cover the foam completely with silicone. This seals the foam in and keeps it away from any light. Than on top of that, I throw the substrate on top of the wet silicone and let dry. When the silicone dries it also becomes totally harmless. I wait up to a month before moving my T's in just to be sure all traces of chemicals are gone. My very first enclosure was made back in 2007. Still looks like the day I made it except that my GBB webbed it all up and the moss is brown instead of green. My GBB, "Destiny", grew up in that enclosure. She was only 3" when I placed her there and now she is all grown up and I even mated her in that enclosure.
There is no sacrifice to any of my T's health. The only sacrifice was taking the time to make it and that was well worth it. Its now more a hobby for me to make these enclosures for my T's. To me it adds to the hobby of tarantula husbandry and its very fun to make.


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## 8by8 (Jan 9, 2010)

Very nice. Looks natural.


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## Arachnoholic420 (Jan 9, 2010)

TalonAWD said:


> There is no sacrifice to any of my T's health. The only sacrifice was taking the time to make it and that was well worth it. Its now more a hobby for me to make these enclosures for my T's. To me it adds to the hobby of tarantula husbandry and its very fun to make.


Well then those enclosure's are perfect!!!! if ther's no harm to the T.  I totally agree i does come hand in hand to the hobby.... thanks for entertaining my post.... i've learned alot and hopefully one day ill try it out...

 What is a T without a beuatiful enclosure.....
 What is an enclosure without a beautiful T.....


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## Kirsten (Jan 9, 2010)

Those are truly amazing!.  You are very talented and creative.  I'm just happy I can chew gum and tie my shoes at the same time...well almost-jk!


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## Fasciatum (Jan 10, 2010)

they are very good! Well done!


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## Hobo (Jan 11, 2010)

Question!

So when making floors and stuff you usually use the styrofoam... Do you silicone and substrate up the _underside_ before putting it in?
Or do you have some kind of method/magic way of doing that after it's already all in?


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## TalonAWD (Jan 11, 2010)

Hobo said:


> Question!
> 
> So when making floors and stuff you usually use the styrofoam... Do you silicone and substrate up the _underside_ before putting it in?
> Or do you have some kind of method/magic way of doing that after it's already all in?


For these small tanks yes I prepare it with silicone and substrate before placing in their final positions. But in the larger tanks where I have more ways of getting to it with my long fingers, I don't always prepare it before hand. To decide if it should be done beforehand I build it but by using toothpicks to hold it in place. This enables me to see the "look" before setting it firmly in place permanently. Not all my floors are made with styrofoam pieces. Some are with the foam and its gets harder to put on the silicone because of the hard to reach areas. But I use whatever it takes to get everything covered with silicone. 
I do it in steps because you basically have roughly 15 minutes max before the silicone starts curing and loses its "Stickyness". So plan to start in the most difficult area first with the silicone. Than after you have an area, throw your substrate on top. Pack it down than empty the tank. The siliconed areas will have substrate stuck on it. Than I repeat. I keep a vacuum right next to me to vacuum up excess to always keep my next work section clean before putting on the silicone. Eventually the whole thing will be covered with your silicone and substrate. It can be a long process dependant on your landscape design.


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## Hobo (Jan 24, 2010)

At last!
My first, feeble attempt at a 2.5 gallon enclosure à la Talonawd. I'm glad to say I didn't get hot glued to anything, though my caulking gun has definitely looked better!

The only difference in methods was that I didn't use foam, and I used just regular caulk. Figured that I'd get a feel for it first just in case I calk myself (I did) and I figured it would be a lot easier cleaning off regular caulk than something silicone based (it was)!

No pics of the process, unfortunately, I didn't want my camera to accidentally be a permanent fixture in my new enclosure!

Anyway, here she is! It was originally for a C. fasciatum, but now it's for a B. boehmi, so I was going for a scrubland roots-of-a-dead-bush-exposed type look. 






Here's the side view (These are hard to take pictures of! The contours and stuff don't appear if it's too bright or if you have flash on!)






From the top






I used styrofoam on both sides and carved them together to make a kind of vertical burrow shaft in conjunction with the wood that will lead down to the first floor. I'm going to put lots of substrate around here, especially to fill in that gap towards the bottom of the photo, as well as the bottom part of the enclosure so she can move some dirt to her liking.






The "terraces" provide the second floor as well as a place to rest if she choses to use the top entrance of the burrow, as well as a roof for an enclosed area, or the cover for her alternate burrow entrance if she decides to stay on the floor.






I'm still doing small touch-ups, but it's essentially done. I might add some dead looking grass in the front right corner, though I'm currently looking for plants that fit in with my scrubland type theme. With the added floorspace for a second floor, it seems like even an adult T of medium-large size can live in here comfortably!

Anyway, making these "Talonawd-esque" type enclosures is GREAT fun. It still smells pretty funky so the worst part is waiting for it to cure. I am dying to see what it would look like with actual substrate! Oh, and a tarantula too, almost forgot that part!!

Thanks for the tips, pointers, and pics and stuff. Now I know why you love making these things.


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## TalonAWD (Jan 24, 2010)

OH MY GOD!!!

HOBO, that looks super* AWESOME!!!*

You did an excellent job. WOW! I love it!!! B. boehmei for sure! I love your drift pieces!  For that hole in the corner....I would opt to leave it there if its large enough for the tarantula to use it. My B. boehmei tank has a similar hole in her ExoTerra enclosure design and she uses it alot! She prefers to go through there to go up to the second floor.


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## Faing (Jan 24, 2010)

wow, that makes my Tupperware and Sterilite look pathetic  lol

Looks Great! I love the designs, very inspiring.


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## Judd (Feb 4, 2010)

Amazing enclosures! These really gave me great ideas on the whole process coz i  was thinking of doing the same thing. Probably won't look as good as yours tho! Anyway I have one question: what do you do when it comes to changing the substrate?


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## TalonAWD (Feb 4, 2010)

Judd said:


> Amazing enclosures! These really gave me great ideas on the whole process coz i  was thinking of doing the same thing. Probably won't look as good as yours tho! Anyway I have one question: what do you do when it comes to changing the substrate?


Thanks.

For the substrate, I actually vacuum the substrate when I want to clean it out. Its faster and less messy. I use the vaccum tools with the hose. I never reuse any substrate as I buy it by the bale (2.2 cu ft of Sphagnum peat moss) I always have lots to spare and its always ready to use.


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## forrestpengra (Feb 4, 2010)

I did some similar things with a ExoTerra 12x12x12.  I 'painted' black silicone along the bottom sides about 4" up.  I then basically filled it up about 4" worth of spray foam, cut out the center, hollowed underneath (made a cave), made an entrance hole, then using a razor I cut a 4"x2" viewing window in the black silicone to see inside the burrow.

I'm going to try to get  some pictures but the G. rosea in there blocked the window with substrate.


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## Arachnoholic420 (Feb 5, 2010)

Wondeful creation!!! Hobo!!!.... Good job thats an awsome... i love the terrace's... now the only thing your missing is substrate, also which one of your lucky T's will occupy this space?...


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## robd (Feb 15, 2010)

Good stuff Talon. It's kind of motivating me to get of my ass and make the 11 vent 10g tank I've been planning on making for a while now for my P regalis. Thank you for posting these pics. I think I will document my progress on that as well, when I get around to it.


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## TalonAWD (Feb 15, 2010)

robd said:


> Good stuff Talon. It's kind of motivating me to get of my ass and make the 11 vent 10g tank I've been planning on making for a while now for my P regalis. Thank you for posting these pics. I think I will document my progress on that as well, when I get around to it.


Good, I'm glad I motivate people to do this. Check out my newest creation #9. Also a 2.5 series enclosure. Posted on the forums and a direct link in my signature (EC#9)


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## Tiggy (Feb 15, 2010)

Those are som gorgeous enclosures. 

You are one very talented individual!


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## AbraCadaver (Mar 28, 2010)

Amazing.. Imma try this in the tank I bought the other day. Dumpling is still too small to move in there, so I have some time for trial and errors.

She's a versi, so she's gonna love it if I make a shelf for her to eat on, and drink on, so she wont have to go near that pesky floor =p

Quit question though.. For a versi, that never leaves the roof of her enclosure, could I make a plate, similar to you styrofoam backdrops, on the bottom? And how well does these enclosures hold moisture?


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## TalonAWD (Mar 28, 2010)

AbraCadaver said:


> Quit question though.. For a versi, that never leaves the roof of her enclosure, could I make a plate, similar to you styrofoam backdrops, on the bottom? And how well does these enclosures hold moisture?


You can make anything you are able to. I have a A. versicolor and she too never leaves the top area of her enclosure. As for humidity, I worry little about it. I do not keep the substrate moist and occassionally mist her enclosure (top portion) and she is doing great.


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## Frostbite (Mar 29, 2010)

Awesome work Talon!!! I love your enclosures!


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## AbraCadaver (Mar 29, 2010)

TalonAWD said:


> You can make anything you are able to. I have a A. versicolor and she too never leaves the top area of her enclosure. As for humidity, I worry little about it. I do not keep the substrate moist and occassionally mist her enclosure (top portion) and she is doing great.


Sweet, thanks! I'm gonna try and fiddle about with it, and see what I can do!

I live in Norway, and we don't have the same brands of foam and silicone as you. What kind of silicone would be safe?  Like the stuff you use in aquariums or something?


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## TalonAWD (Mar 29, 2010)

AbraCadaver said:


> Sweet, thanks! I'm gonna try and fiddle about with it, and see what I can do!
> 
> I live in Norway, and we don't have the same brands of foam and silicone as you. What kind of silicone would be safe?  Like the stuff you use in aquariums or something?


Any kind of silicone would work as long as it does not have the mold/mildew additives. You want 100% silicone. The aquarium silicone is idea but more pricey because its for "Aquariums". They use the fact that its for Aquariums to jack up the price.


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