building temperature and humidity controlled cabinet

[bradpaden]

Ive been planning on building a temperature and humidity controlled cabinet. i was planning on building out of wood but when faced with the cost of plywood i started thinking of other methods. i had an idea to use a refrigerator box lined with styrofoam and painted inside and out with drylock concrete sealer to guard against humidity. i would use a 2x2 in each corner and around the top for added stability. shelves attached to these supports. a zoo med reptifogger would be placed on top and run thru a hole to provide humidity. i have a zoomed temp and humidity controler that would be hooked up as well. a glass cabinet door on front. the whole thing would be placed inside one of those big trays u get to go under ur washing machine so any extra humidty would go there instead of the floor. would elevate the box about 2 inches so it wouldnt be sitting in any water collected at the bottom. also 4 computer fans will be wired and placed on a timer to cut on every six hrs or so for a couple of minutes. to me this sounds like a good idea but i wanted some opinions from the community. also im not sure how to heat this beast. as humidity will be high im concerned about a short resulting in fire. any ideas or critiques to the design would be greatly appreciated

 

[rob0t]

Sounds like total overkill to me. Why would you need such an elaborate set up to keep tarantulas?

 

[bradpaden]

im breeding p metalica. a couple of sets. as well as keeping other species that like high temp and humidity. in order to avoid having to maintian temps and humiditys for individual cages. i can put all inside and they will all stay same temp and humidity

 

[jakykong]

I just bought a plastic hardware cabinet, and used plexiglass panels to replace most of the door. In my case, it was more for aesthetics (e.g., have them all in one nice place) than about humidity, but I don't see why such a cabinet couldn't be used for retaining humidity as well.

Still not sure why you need such an elaborate setup, though - just keep a water dish in the cages, cut ventilation somewhat for the humid ones, and raise the room's temperature to a suitable level. Although I haven't done any breeding yet, it seems unlikely that maintaining individual temperatures for cages is necessary for that.

 

[bradpaden]

well i already have a fogger and temp and humidity controller but only one of each. i do keep my room at about 78 but the 85 that they prefer during reproduction is quite uncomfortable for me. i also find that at those temps it is quite hard to maintian high humidity. in addition to that. i will only have to monitor one set of gauges this way and can expect very consistent temps and humiditys.

 

[poisoned]

That's an overkill, unless you'd be doing some scientific research. Ts are simple creatures, don't overthink your care.

 

[Introvertebrate]

well i already have a fogger and temp and humidity controller but only one of each. i do keep my room at about 78 but the 85 that they prefer during reproduction is quite uncomfortable for me. i also find that at those temps it is quite hard to maintian high humidity. in addition to that. i will only have to monitor one set of gauges this way and can expect very consistent temps and humiditys.

Paul Becker has suggestions on his website:

http://petcenter.info/petcenterstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=5&products_id=524