Enclosure Making Time

Trenor

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Well I have been going crazy rehousing Ts since I found these new shoe box enclosures the other week. A lot of my terrestrial Ts are already in their new homes.

The new problem was with the arboreal Ts like my bigger pokies and finding something for them. So I took a lot of the deep shoe boxes and modded them to make them into arboreal enclosure.

I just got done with them and they turned out pretty good IMO. Here are a few photos of the finished enclosures. I'll post more when I get them set up.



 
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Cassiusstein

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Well I have been going crazy rehousing Ts since I found these new shoe-box enclosures the other week. A lot of my terrestrial Ts are already in their new homes.

The new problem was with the arboreal Ts like my bigger pokies and finding something for them. So I took a lot of the deep shoe boxes and modded them to make them into arboreal enclosure.

I just got done with them and they turned out pretty good IMO. Here are a few photos of the finished enclosures. I'll post more when I get them set up.



Awesome! There's one I haven't seen, almost exactly how I build my arboreal enclosures :D
 

Trenor

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Awesome! There's one I haven't seen, almost exactly how I build my arboreal enclosures :D
Yeah, I did some of the smaller ones for my slings/juvies. These are 7.25 X 12.75 X 9 inches so they are pretty big. It should handle my larger pokies and other arboreal Ts pretty well.
 

viper69

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@Trenor How are you cutting the lids where the hinges are attaching too? That is, cutting enough so the lid actually bends back, meaning towards you when opened.

To me it looks like you are leaving a gap, essentially making the lids a bit shorter technically.

@bryverine seems to be doing that one part a bit differently here in his thread. Pretty sure it has the PDF file for instructions too

http://arachnoboards.com/threads/cheap-enclosure-8-16-9-x4-x4.280587/

Source for those shoe boxes in the first post?
 

sdsnybny

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@Trenor How are you cutting the lids where the hinges are attaching too? That is, cutting enough so the lid actually bends back, meaning towards you when opened.

To me it looks like you are leaving a gap, essentially making the lids a bit shorter technically.

@bryverine seems to be doing that one part a bit differently here in his thread. Pretty sure it has the PDF file for instructions too

http://arachnoboards.com/threads/cheap-enclosure-8-16-9-x4-x4.280587/

Source for those shoe boxes in the first post?
This link uses model display cases from Hobby Lobby (different manufactures) and the shoe boxes Trenor is using look different where the lid closes
 

viper69

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This link uses model display cases from Hobby Lobby (different manufactures) and the shoe boxes Trenor is using look different where the lid closes
Yep I know the boxes are different, but not owning those boxes I cannot tell the info re: the lid. I almost bought those HL containers a while back as I saw them in person. I haven't seen these boxes from Trenor.
 

sdsnybny

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I would like to see a close up of the hinge area and where/how he modified it to work with the acrylic hinge. I have 16 of the HL "mini helmet" display cases and i like them very much.
 

viper69

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I would like to see a close up of the hinge area and where/how he modified it to work with the acrylic hinge. I have 16 of the HL "mini helmet" display cases and i like them very much.
Same here SD, I'd like to see a close up as well @Trenor ;)

I THINK I've seen those too, I was thinking about those...
 

Venom1080

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13" tall is a little short IMO. i think those would be great for Avics.
either way they look nice. :)
 

Trenor

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@Trenor How are you cutting the lids where the hinges are attaching too? That is, cutting enough so the lid actually bends back, meaning towards you when opened.

To me it looks like you are leaving a gap, essentially making the lids a bit shorter technically.

@bryverine seems to be doing that one part a bit differently here in his thread. Pretty sure it has the PDF file for instructions too

http://arachnoboards.com/threads/cheap-enclosure-8-16-9-x4-x4.280587/

Source for those shoe boxes in the first post?
The shoe boxes are linked in the 1st post. The tall(9 inch) I used for this project and shorter (7 inches) ones I used for the terrestrials.

As far as working with the hinge that came with the box well --- I didn't. It was in a bad spot to be useful.

As you can see from the photo the hinge is made into the box is on the back side. I wanted a panel in the bottom to hold the dirt so the hinge was useless.



So I used a table saw to make two cuts in the lid. One 2 inches from the hinge. The other 3 inches from the lip on the other side. Then glued them into place on the top and bottom. The original hinge on the bottom just helped to hold the bottom on.
TOP:

Bottom:


That left me with a 9 or so inch door made from the middle piece. I then glued two hinges on the bottom part and a hasp on the top part.


There is a gap at the top and bottom of the door the width of a table saw blade. Since I'll be keeping Ts larger that 5 inches in these it's not a big deal. I decided because of the gaps I didn't need to drill extra air holes.

I learned a lot about brittle plastic cutting on a table saw. Some of the eariler cuts needed a lot of clean up but all of them were ok. I'd have preferred using a band saw but I didn't have access to one.
 

Trenor

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13" tall is a little short IMO. i think those would be great for Avics.
either way they look nice. :)
Thanks. Eventually, I might have to up size some after they get bigger but they should do fine for now. My 5 gallon converted tank is only 16 inches so it's not that much smaller. All in all I'm pleased with how they turned out.
 

viper69

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@Trenor I think these boxes are a great find. I haven't seen them. I didn't realize you had a link up there, sorry about that. That color blends to easily when reading quickly ;)

I think this is the first clear container I've seen that has it's own hinge- useful I think.

1. For the terrestrials, did you just drill holes into the lid or sides, thus using the lid's hinge for the terrestrials?

2. What type of glue did you use?

3. Curious what vendor you used for the hasps? - not critical as I can find those all over, just curious though.

If we didn't need sub for say Avics, these containers would be perfect as is, minus the need for holes.

I agree w/the above that for some Pokies a larger setup is "needed". I know people who keep adults, including some Asians like Lvs in something of this size or smaller (too small for me). The more space the better. For now I these these are a GREAT find and I will add them to my exotic shopping list :D:cool:
 

Trenor

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@Trenor I think these boxes are a great find. I haven't seen them. I didn't realize you had a link up there, sorry about that. That color blends to easily when reading quickly ;)

I think this is the first clear container I've seen that has it's own hinge- useful I think.

1. For the terrestrials, did you just drill holes into the lid or sides, thus using the lid's hinge for the terrestrials?

2. What type of glue did you use?

3. Curious what vendor you used for the hasps? - not critical as I can find those all over, just curious though.

If we didn't need sub for say Avics, these containers would be perfect as is, minus the need for holes.

For now I these these are a GREAT find and I will add them to my exotic shopping list :D:cool:

1. Yeah, they worked out great that way. I drilled holes close to the lip near the lid. That way you got great ventilation without the holed blocking your view of the T.

2. I used https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003HNFLMY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

3. Just some hasps I found on Amazon. They were a little more than I expected them to be but I was able to get them here during my time off.

I agree w/the above that for some Pokies a larger setup is "needed". I know people who keep adults, including some Asians like Lvs in something of this size or smaller (too small for me). The more space the better.
That was my thinking as well. However, I've been having a friend translate that German Pokie book for me and here is a quote from The Terrarium – Furnishings and Maintenance section.

In Poecilotheria spp. it is mainly uncomplicated care. Even terrariums in the dimensions 20x30x40 cm (length x width x height) (7.9x11.8x15.748 inches), are sufficient to their keeping and breeding. For smaller species (for example, P. subfusca) even enclosures of 20x20x30 cm (length x width x height) (7.9x7.9x11.8 inches) are sufficient. Such small terrariums do not have any negative effects on the well-being of the animals, which also show a rather limited movement and space requirement in nature.
 

G. pulchra

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Again, nice job making these Trenor. Between work, life and caring for my collection I can never seem to take the time to put make these.
 

Trenor

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Again, nice job making these Trenor. Between work, life and caring for my collection I can never seem to take the time to put make these.
Thanks. I know how you feel man. I got to these cause I have some time off. The cutting and prep work took 3 weeks to find time to get it ready. :)
 

viper69

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1. Yeah, they worked out great that way. I drilled holes close to the lip near the lid. That way you got great ventilation without the holed blocking your view of the T.

2. I used https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003HNFLMY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

3. Just some hasps I found on Amazon. They were a little more than I expected them to be but I was able to get them here during my time off.


That was my thinking as well. However, I've been having a friend translate that German Pokie book for me and here is a quote from The Terrarium – Furnishings and Maintenance section.

In Poecilotheria spp. it is mainly uncomplicated care. Even terrariums in the dimensions 20x30x40 cm (length x width x height) (7.9x11.8x15.748 inches), are sufficient to their keeping and breeding. For smaller species (for example, P. subfusca) even enclosures of 20x20x30 cm (length x width x height) (7.9x7.9x11.8 inches) are sufficient. Such small terrariums do not have any negative effects on the well-being of the animals, which also show a rather limited movement and space requirement in nature.
Thanks for that. Re: the German book and tank size. I always recommend larger over smaller, not for the T, but for the owner's safety. The more space one provides between you and the T, the safer one is regardless of their tendency to go down into their burrow. The above statement from the book IMO is really addressing the size of the container in regards to the health of the T.
 

Trenor

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