Arboreal Glass Tanks

[rospin]

Hi guys, i hope someone can help me out here..i am a newbie & will get my first tarantula next month..i am also from manila, philippines...i have been lurking the past couple of days, reading & learning from the previous discussions made..

but i need help with the enclosure, i have seen tanks like the one in the attached photo, glass tanks with sliding glass/screen mesh doors for an arboreal T...

i know there are a lot of you who make your own glass tanks , and well i was kinda hoping if you can share with me the dimension, specifications, & layout of your glass tank..

the reason for this is that, i will have one fabricated for my a.versicolor and the person who is making it is asking for specific dimensions which i cannot provide...

close up photos would really help a lot.. thanks

ps. i dont know who is the owner of photo i am using, i hope you dont mind i am using it as an example..

 

[Mushroom Spore]

How big is the animal you're getting? That's important.

 

[pinkfoot]

Just about to ask the same...

Welcome to the forum, though!

 

[fyic]

Don't know if this will help or not but if you check out the Eight website there is some info on Plexiglass Container

http://www.eightlegs.org/general/housing/houses.html

 

[rospin]

well, the one i am getting will only be 3/4" which i plan to put in a salt shaker, but i believe i cant be TOO well prepared, so i am starting canvass ing which glass/aluminum maker has the cheapest offer for the design i will show them....

i was planning the size to roughly the same for a 5 gallon tank (mabe a bit taller) when it gets bigger since i noticed a lot keep their adults in those sizes..

fyic,
yeah, i saw that..but notice glass has those metal railings that wasn't used for the plexi glass enclosure..also, glass is cheaper here compared to plexi glass...perfect example, our 5 gallon tanks cost about USD 2.50 only..

 

[ghost6303]

well if your geting a 3/4" versicolor your going to have a good amount of time before it needs a full size tank, 8 -16 months or more depending on how you feed it. i guess you cant be over prepared but you definately dont need it immediately

 

[Pyst]

Here's a great page on building one. I hope this is what you're looking for. Let us know how it turns out.

http://giantspiders.com/fossorial.html


-Mike

 

[rospin]

mike,

yup, i have a similar shaped tank that i plan to use when the T is sub adult..but instead of a glass lid, i will use a screen mesh top..

this tank measure h-8" l-"8" w-4"

 

[Mr_Baker4420]

this is the tank/cage i built for an arboreal, but everyone keeps telling me that it's too big..........by the way it is 9x9inches and 3feet tall.

 

[rospin]

Mr_Baker4420 ,

hi! is this glass or acrylic ? how do you open it? does it have space for only 1 ventilation screen?

 

[Mr_Baker4420]

it has a hinged door that is lined with magnetic strips like a refrigerator i guess and there is the screen near the bottom on the side and the top is a screen to get a sort of chimney effect and keep air circulating. it's made of plexiglass, very lightweight aluminum angle iron, and self tapping screws(i cut the tips off with a dremel tool). do you think it's nice? yeah so do i. lol just kidding...i have to warn you before you go off and build your own...everybody tells me that it's too tall. But this is the bottomline: i built it, it's too late, and something is going in it. ps. if you look closely on the left side you can see the hinges. and on the right side the black strip......thats the magnet.....just opens like a fridge. i plan on making a smaller one now(mostly to redeem myself and not be ragged on by the pros lol)

 

[metzgerzoo]

Since A. versicolor reach an average adult size of 4 to 5 inches, what I would suggest you do is have a tank made that is about 15 inches tall by 8 inches wide and 8 inches deep. Also, you'll probably want a front opening door rather than a top opening lid because arboreals tend to do most of their webbing at or near the top and thus, you might find yourself tearing up their webbing every time you open the lid. Also, I would suggest that you have a lid that is half screen (use a heavy metal guage screen so the spider can not chew threw it) and half glass or, if you use a full screen door, cover half of it with plastic wrap to help hold in humidity while still allowing for good ventilation. In addition, you may want to have a hinged door that can open from the top half as well as the bottom half, that way you can choose which half you want to open without having to open the entire lid and thus, providing the spider with an easier means of escaping. If you have a hinged door, you can open just the bottom half for removing discarded food remains, shed exivua and filling the water dish, or, you can open the top half for doing whatever maintence needs to be done in the "canopy".
Oh, also, since you will be getting a small s'ling, make sure that the holes in the shaker are not very large. Tarantulas are very skilled escape artists and can squeeze a very fat butt through a very small opening, even as small as one quarter the size of their abdomen.


$2.50 for a 5 gallon, wow, that is cheap!

 

[rospin]

thanks metzgerzoo...in your opinion what kind of opening is better? a sliding door, or one with a hinge?

really? they can go through something like that? so the salt shaker i get better have like toothpick sized holes?

 

[Thoth]

Mr Baker4420, yeah its about 1.5 feet too tall. But it might be workable for the larger arboreals, like P.ornata that can get to 9 inches in length.

Though looking at the picture its seems like the door is the entire height of the enclosure. Thats not good first if you have taht big an opening everytime you open the door you risk escape. Also the is 50% that the t might build its tube web along on of the coners adjacent to the door, so th everytime you open the door you'd destroy the web.

 

[rospin]

if their web is destroyed, would they make a new one in that same spot? or move somewhere else?

 

[syndicate]

this is the tank/cage i built for an arboreal, but everyone keeps telling me that it's too big..........by the way it is 9x9inches and 3feet tall.

that looks nice man.fill it with live plants and bark/wood then setup a communal avic or pokie colony!

 

[lilhildy]

Sweet tank

That tank is awesome!! :clap: The heck with two big! I love it... hey honey i got you a new ceterpiece.... hehe. A colony would be supurb. You may be able to just cut the door between hinges and add two more hinges for support and you would have a dual door for top and bottom access. Definetly like it though.... i am planing a larger one for my Avic. I may borrow some of your design if thats okay.

 

[Mr_Baker4420]

thanks syndicate, i planned on putting a live tree in it and set it in the corner of my room. that's why i made it so tall, and really it doesn't seem that tall in person. and yes lilhildy feel free to borrow any aspect of it you want. thanks to both of you guys. that is the first and only tank i've ever built. i didn't use plans or even have help. just off the top of my head. cutting the plexiglass was the hardest part really. and everyone keeps saying that since the door is so large the t will jump out and eat me or something, but i figured it would make its web at the top that's why there is about a 3.5 inch buffer zone above the door. i kinda guess i made the tank more for me than a tarantula:wall: oh yeah and i managed to drill a hole in my finger <----idiot

 

[rospin]

im more worried with something that tall, it might get knocked over accidentally

 

[Mr_Baker4420]

so make one.........just make it shorter. you don't have to use any adhesive at all. it's easy. just don't drill a hole in your finger