HybridReplicate
Spectrostatic
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2017
- Messages
- 107
Full disclosure: I have stolen many ideas from other people to make this. It is an entirely unoriginal melange, inspired by browsing pictures of Socotra Island. Idea is to have a minimum of substrate & a centralized structure which can be used as scaffolding for a webbed den.
On to it, the first step was modifying the Exo Terra's mesh screen top. I took the lid to Home Depot, had a piece of Plexiglass cut to size.
According to the instructions on the wrap, slower is better. Leaving the wrap in place helps prevent cracking & splitting, or so my brother-in-law tells me, & it was a handy place to mark. With a sharpie, not sure where that pen came from. I marked off where the bifurcation is & then marked off a 1" x 1" grid on the rest. The wrap did come loose at some point & I attempted to hold it in place but the alignment of my holes ended up a little dodgy. Regardless, I didn't destroy it which in itself is a major achievement. Hot glue gun & done.
Picked up random driftwood sticks from LPS, screwed together, scrubbed with a bristle brush. Hot glue & coco fiber covering the screws didn't fare too well.
Mixed excavator clay & sand, apparently fifteen pounds was too much, made a base, planted the stick structure then packed it firmly around & down. Tossed some about for a more natural look. Cured it in front of a space heater. I had found a pitted rock that reminded me of a picture of Socotra Island & I fancy that I can use it as a water dish.
Stark, minimalist, desert island. Has everything a tarantula needs, which isn't much. Definitely a departure from the coco fiber/cork bark/sphagnum moss/greenery formula. & overall I don't think functionally it differs a great deal other than a perilous height, which does worry me to some degree.
Criticism welcome!
On to it, the first step was modifying the Exo Terra's mesh screen top. I took the lid to Home Depot, had a piece of Plexiglass cut to size.
![WP_20170207_18_59_41_Pro.jpg WP_20170207_18_59_41_Pro.jpg](https://arachnoboards.com/data/attachments/169/169671-fc81315f1c7c2537bd30cd2993af0a03.jpg)
According to the instructions on the wrap, slower is better. Leaving the wrap in place helps prevent cracking & splitting, or so my brother-in-law tells me, & it was a handy place to mark. With a sharpie, not sure where that pen came from. I marked off where the bifurcation is & then marked off a 1" x 1" grid on the rest. The wrap did come loose at some point & I attempted to hold it in place but the alignment of my holes ended up a little dodgy. Regardless, I didn't destroy it which in itself is a major achievement. Hot glue gun & done.
![WP_20170207_19_46_09_Pro.jpg WP_20170207_19_46_09_Pro.jpg](https://arachnoboards.com/data/attachments/169/169672-58b3fa485bca05c1dfd283e6261ec2e1.jpg)
![WP_20170207_19_58_14_Pro.jpg WP_20170207_19_58_14_Pro.jpg](https://arachnoboards.com/data/attachments/169/169673-773b71131e451aa564f50e6fdd4109d2.jpg)
![WP_20170207_19_58_27_Pro.jpg WP_20170207_19_58_27_Pro.jpg](https://arachnoboards.com/data/attachments/169/169674-1f73c5870ba395a1e16ad6d287a2b037.jpg)
Picked up random driftwood sticks from LPS, screwed together, scrubbed with a bristle brush. Hot glue & coco fiber covering the screws didn't fare too well.
Mixed excavator clay & sand, apparently fifteen pounds was too much, made a base, planted the stick structure then packed it firmly around & down. Tossed some about for a more natural look. Cured it in front of a space heater. I had found a pitted rock that reminded me of a picture of Socotra Island & I fancy that I can use it as a water dish.
![yemen-socotra.jpg yemen-socotra.jpg](https://arachnoboards.com/data/attachments/169/169669-b07d1e68c371e0f9388566642a3efbb1.jpg)
Stark, minimalist, desert island. Has everything a tarantula needs, which isn't much. Definitely a departure from the coco fiber/cork bark/sphagnum moss/greenery formula. & overall I don't think functionally it differs a great deal other than a perilous height, which does worry me to some degree.
![WP_20170208_01_12_24_Pro (2).jpg WP_20170208_01_12_24_Pro (2).jpg](https://arachnoboards.com/data/attachments/169/169679-74b29d042cda130bddd76f5b4fc62d23.jpg)
![WP_20170208_01_10_41_Pro.jpg WP_20170208_01_10_41_Pro.jpg](https://arachnoboards.com/data/attachments/169/169676-75bf51b7c6cdf9c534e46b0ddc133ee8.jpg)
![WP_20170208_01_10_02_Pro.jpg WP_20170208_01_10_02_Pro.jpg](https://arachnoboards.com/data/attachments/169/169677-be85142f311c25a5acc0f2ac642974e0.jpg)
![WP_20170208_01_11_08_Pro.jpg WP_20170208_01_11_08_Pro.jpg](https://arachnoboards.com/data/attachments/169/169678-03764396fcc10d632280a0cfe05f0dcf.jpg)
![WP_20170208_01_09_35_Pro.jpg WP_20170208_01_09_35_Pro.jpg](https://arachnoboards.com/data/attachments/169/169680-2b57702f2b246453a588306b3e869bc6.jpg)
Criticism welcome!