B. Hamorii enclosure guidance

snarboy

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:rofl: :rofl: just wait until it torments you by fasting and not molting for months
:rofl: :ro
Glass glass hahahahaha.

Building your own one? They are pretty easy to build, and will last way longer than any acrylic enclosure.
Ooh I've been hearing that a lot of people make their own, do you have any advice on how to go about that? For me acrylic is just easier to manipulate and make holes in, I live in an apartment so I don't have power tools for glass
 

Dorifto

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:rofl: :ro

Ooh I've been hearing that a lot of people make their own, do you have any advice on how to go about that? For me acrylic is just easier to manipulate and make holes in, I live in an apartment so I don't have power tools for glass
I'd ask at the local glazier about how much charges for cutting some custom glass panels. I made mine (one of them) for 40 bucks in material. You only need glass panels, some perforated aluminium grilles and some plastic guides or hinges, depending on the desired stile, sliding door vs front opening.

This is the blueprint of one of my enclosures and the final result.


 

snarboy

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I'd ask at the local glazier about how much charges for cutting some custom glass panels. I made mine (one of them) for 40 bucks in material. You only need glass panels, some perforated aluminium grilles and some plastic guides or hinges, depending on the desired stile, sliding door vs front opening.

This is the blueprint of one of my enclosures and the final result.


Oh wow that looks incredible, that's so cool! I appreciate the advice I'll definitely look into doing a DIY, it sounds a lot cheaper and more flexible than buying one.
 

Dorifto

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Oh wow that looks incredible, that's so cool! I appreciate the advice I'll definitely look into doing a DIY, it sounds a lot cheaper and more flexible than buying one.
Feel free to ask any questions about the build!! Measures on the blueprint are in centimeters and with a glass thickness of 4mm. When you see a xx.6 it means that that glass overlaps with another panel and when you see a xx.2 that it overlaps with two. Global size 60x40x40 cm 24x16x16 inches if I'm not wrong.

You can build them out of acrylic or glass, I simply prefer glass due to it's resistance to scratches and ease to clean.
 

snarboy

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Feel free to ask any questions about the build!! Measures on the blueprint are in centimeters and with a glass thickness of 4mm. When you see a xx.6 it means that that glass overlaps with another panel and when you see a xx.2 that it overlaps with two. Global size 60x40x40 cm 24x16x16 inches if I'm not wrong.

You can build them out of acrylic or glass, I simply prefer glass due to it's resistance to scratches and ease to clean.
Oh awesome that clarification helps a lot. I've never done a build like this before, so after I make a solid blueprint (I'll be referencing yours!) I would get the panels cut, what kind of adhesive were you using to put the panels together?
 

Dorifto

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Oh awesome that clarification helps a lot. I've never done a build like this before, so after I make a solid blueprint (I'll be referencing yours!) I would get the panels cut, what kind of adhesive were you using to put the panels together?
Aquarium safe silicone.

Put some masking tape before adding the silicone, so once you apply it and remove any excess of it, it leaves a nice look. If not it could leave some remains, easily removable in glass (with a razor blade) but not so easy on acrylic.

There is no need for referencing me, it's a common design here in europe. Regarding it, I'd raise the doors support so it allows you yo have more depth at the front, remember that reduce the same amount of height from the doors!! 😉
 

snarboy

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Aquarium safe silicone.

Put some masking tape before adding the silicone, so once you apply it and remove any excess of it, it leaves a nice look. If not it could leave some remains, easily removable in glass (with a razor blade) but not so easy on acrylic.

There is no need for referencing me, it's a common design here in europe. Regarding it, I'd raise the doors support so it allows you yo have more depth at the front, remember that reduce the same amount of height from the doors!! 😉
I'll be sure to get ahold of some! I was thinking of doing this with acrylic but I might try with glass since it looks cheap enough in my area. And true about the door depth, I'm debating between a front door or a top door, I'll have to play around with some ideas to know for sure. I appreciate the help and advice!
 

Dorifto

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I'll be sure to get ahold of some! I was thinking of doing this with acrylic but I might try with glass since it looks cheap enough in my area. And true about the door depth, I'm debating between a front door or a top door, I'll have to play around with some ideas to know for sure. I appreciate the help and advice!
If you want to go top door you can mod an aquarium easily, @hardminder did it that way.

Drill some holes down low and use the same design for the lower ventilation. This will create an upward air current, preventing some issues with Ts.
 

hardminder

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If you want to go top door you can mod an aquarium easily, @hardminder did it that way.

Drill some holes down low and use the same design for the lower ventilation. This will create an upward air current, preventing some issues with Ts.
I followed advice and principle shared by @Dorifto as well when building/setting up my enclosure. I adapted it to my needs, skills and with what I had available and did that. I won't say it's easy or simple by any mean but it's doable and I also live in an apartment. The glass cutting was done with a drill and a glass cutting hole saw kit I bought on amazon for 20$. It also involves silicone, gluing, cutting acrylic etc.

I am not an experienced tarantula owner but I did quite a lot of thorough research building and setting up this enclosure, anywhere from drilling glass to cricket breeding, specific plants needs, different soil composition, isopods species, background styrofoam building, lychen and mosses, lighting. Took me over 6 months to complete this 40 gallons bio-active LP enclosure and did every single thing myself. I'll be happy to share with you if you need any help. 20220527_030135.jpg
20220527_030201.jpg

The top lid is the weakness of my setup. It doesn't look good, it's warping in new directions every week, exposing new cracks and gaps. Not ideal when it's meant to contains a sneaky animal. You wouldn't have that problem with a 1/4 inch or 1/2 inch thick acrylic sheet but those are extremely expensive (at least they were a few months ago.....when every store had to have them for covid shields). I'll have to figure something out because my T might not stay shy and tame growing up and my try to escape. The four corners are held with very strong magnets but still, it's not ideal.

20220527_032931.jpg
 
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Dorifto

He who moists xD
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2,681
I followed advice and principle shared by @Dorifto as well when building/setting up my enclosure. I adapted it to my needs, skills and with what I had available and did that. I won't say it's easy or simple by any mean but it's doable and I also live in an apartment. The glass cutting was done with a drill and a glass cutting hole saw kit I bought on amazon for 20$. It also involves silicone, gluing, cutting acrylic etc.

I am not an experienced tarantula owner but I did quite a lot of thorough research building and setting up this enclosure, anywhere from drilling glass to cricket breeding, specific plants needs, different soil composition, isopods species, background styrofoam building, lychen and mosses, lighting. Took me over 6 months to complete this 40 gallons bio-active LP enclosure and did every single thing myself. I'll be happy to share with you if you need any help. View attachment 419526
View attachment 419530

The top lid is the weakness of my setup. It doesn't look good, it's warping in new directions every week, exposing new cracks and gaps. Not ideal when it's meant to contains a sneaky animal. You wouldn't have that problem with a 1/4 inch or 1/2 inch thick acrylic sheet but those are extremely expensive (at least they were a few months ago.....when every store had to have them for covid shields). I'll have to figure something out because my T might not stay shy and tame growing up and my try to escape. The four corners are held with very strong magnets but still, it's not ideal.

View attachment 419532
Love it!!!


For the lid, I'd use two glass panels about the same size of the top (minus the ventilation grille size), so the lateral, front and back panels support all the wheight of the panels. Then cut the hinge to the inner size, and glue it in between.
 
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snarboy

Arachnopeon
Joined
May 20, 2022
Messages
16
If you want to go top door you can mod an aquarium easily, @hardminder did it that way.

Drill some holes down low and use the same design for the lower ventilation. This will create an upward air current, preventing some issues with Ts.
Oh tight! I'm guessing I'd have to try and find a plexiglass aquarium to mod in that case so I can drill the holes (I know it's possible with glass but way too sus for me). I just bought some acrylic hinges and hasps so I'll definitely do what I can with what I can get
Edit: OH I missed a whole comment nvm

I followed advice and principle shared by @Dorifto as well when building/setting up my enclosure. I adapted it to my needs, skills and with what I had available and did that. I won't say it's easy or simple by any mean but it's doable and I also live in an apartment. The glass cutting was done with a drill and a glass cutting hole saw kit I bought on amazon for 20$. It also involves silicone, gluing, cutting acrylic etc.

I am not an experienced tarantula owner but I did quite a lot of thorough research building and setting up this enclosure, anywhere from drilling glass to cricket breeding, specific plants needs, different soil composition, isopods species, background styrofoam building, lychen and mosses, lighting. Took me over 6 months to complete this 40 gallons bio-active LP enclosure and did every single thing myself. I'll be happy to share with you if you need any help. View attachment 419526
View attachment 419530

The top lid is the weakness of my setup. It doesn't look good, it's warping in new directions every week, exposing new cracks and gaps. Not ideal when it's meant to contains a sneaky animal. You wouldn't have that problem with a 1/4 inch or 1/2 inch thick acrylic sheet but those are extremely expensive (at least they were a few months ago.....when every store had to have them for covid shields). I'll have to figure something out because my T might not stay shy and tame growing up and my try to escape. The four corners are held with very strong magnets but still, it's not ideal.

View attachment 419532
This looks amazing!! I can tell how much work went into it, this is super cool and definitely gives me some ideas. I appreciate everyone's guidance! I'll probably post an update when I eventually do a build.
 

Dorifto

He who moists xD
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Messages
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Oh tight! I'm guessing I'd have to try and find a plexiglass aquarium to mod in that case so I can drill the holes (I know it's possible with glass but way too sus for me). I just bought some acrylic hinges and hasps so I'll definitely do what I can with what I can get
Edit: OH I missed a whole comment nvm
Glass is not hard to drill, you only need patience and a steady hand.

You will end up having a much better enclosure overall. Less prone to warping under moisture, hard to scratch, easy to clean... etc.

I'd personally go for a glass enclosure.


I made this tuto, you can clearly see how easy it is. Instead of the misting bottle, like @Malum Argenteum suggested, you can use wax, plasticine, plumbers putty etc and make a doughnut like ring around the hole to contain the water.

 
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