Terrestrial exo terra 12x12x12

[ReleaseTheQuacken]

So this is how it is coming along. Going to let it dry and add either an aphonopelma or a brachy. Not sure yet. I mixed this excavator clay with some basic substrate from this place called marshalls arachnids, the basic mega mix. I also mixed it stoney river tan colored sand, and then I packed it tight. Once it dries out I will fill a little bit of the hide with the basic mix so that she may be able to "dig" a bit of her hide and its not 100% bone dry...

Ignore the lid. I am using it to dry the enclosure first and prevent insects from getting inside... As we have stink bugs from time to time.

The lid I will be using is safe for tarantulas.(not pictured)

I put the water bowl in first to make a hole for it.


Any suggestions? Comments?


Its currently a mix of mostly clay, sand, and whatever is in that megamix basic soil.... Once it dries itll probably be more solid. The sand and soil is to give it more texture...


By the way, I am putting it in an area that stays 85 degrees farenheit up to 95f so it dries out faster...


Edit: Pushed the substrate down a bit more and used paper towels to remove the excess liquids. I will provide here. I will likely be adding this young female a. anax that someones selling. Not sure yet.

 

[JonnyTorch]

If I were you I would cut the gold tube in half lengthwise and use half, as an arch shaped tube. That way it'll be a shallower hide, the hide doesn't need to be that tall compared to the T, and T's like it nice and cozy. The way you have it now, it can't burrow deeper than the bottom of the tube and it would be forced to stay "in the tube." using half of it will allow a full substrate bottom of the hide and it can burrow to the depth it wants, and bottom will be more natural than plastic tube.. And definitely let it dry out. Might take a long time for it to fully dry lol.

 

[ReleaseTheQuacken]

If I were you I would cut the gold tube in half lengthwise and use half, as an arch shaped tube. That way it'll be a shallower hide, the hide doesn't need to be that tall compared to the T, and T's like it nice and cozy. The way you have it now, it can't burrow deeper than the bottom of the tube and it would be forced to stay "in the tube." using half of it will allow a full substrate bottom of the hide and it can burrow to the depth it wants, and bottom will be more natural than plastic tube.. And definitely let it dry out. Might take a long time for it to fully dry lol.

I was actually going to add soil inside the tube so it would have like you said a more cozy space.

But yes definitely going to let it fully dry out. Wonder how long itll be.

I used that tube because I wanted to stuff it with substrate(megamix arid with some megamix basic) so that she can pick at that burrow. Not sure if it looks that great as it stands. But its my first t enclosure so i feel a tad proud.

 

[JonnyTorch]

I was actually going to add soil inside the tube so it would have like you said a more cozy space.

But yes definitely going to let it fully dry out. Wonder how long itll be.

I used that tube because I wanted to stuff it with substrate(megamix arid with some megamix basic) so that she can pick at that burrow. Not sure if it looks that great as it stands. But its my first t enclosure so i feel a tad proud.

I would still suggest cutting it in half. If it wants to burrow deeper it won't be able to in a tube with a plastic bottom.

 

[ReleaseTheQuacken]

I would still suggest cutting it in half. If it wants to burrow deeper it won't be able to in a tube with a plastic bottom.

Its not a full tube. Sorry missed that for a second.

Its already a half tube. its not completely cylindrical.

 

[JonnyTorch]

Nice. The pics were a little deceiving before. That should work. Just a little swamp-like right now. let it dry out a lot. You may even find that a T will tear down or rearrange those plants too, many of my T's have. Looks nice though. Usually for terrestrials 12" high is a bit much, but it isn't impossible. If there should be a fall from it climbing, it could possibly hurt itself on those plants. Just be cautious. Also, I tear down the mesh lids and replace the mesh with drilled acrylic. T's can tear and chew the mesh, terrestrials are known to get stuck on them or chew a hole.

 

[ReleaseTheQuacken]

Nice. The pics were a little deceiving before. That should work. Just a little swamp-like right now. let it dry out a lot. You may even find that a T will tear down or rearrange those plants too, many of my T's have. Looks nice though. Usually for terrestrials 12" high is a bit much, but it isn't impossible. If there should be a fall from it climbing, it could possibly hurt itself on those plants. Just be cautious. Also, I tear down the mesh lids and replace the mesh with drilled acrylic. T's can tear and chew the mesh, terrestrials are known to get stuck on them or chew a hole.

the plants feel rather soft not like soft soft but not like rock like? is that still hard? From the back of the enclosure its only 5 inch talls iirc. or 4.5? Forget. I was measuring it. Ill measure it once it dries. I did some remodeling a little bit and by that i mean I just fixed it. I now dug a deeper hole in the burrow and will fill the bottom bottom of it with the basic mix for a little moisture retention(it wont be swampy or anything) and the rest will be filled with the arid mixed in with the excavator clay . All of this compacted. I know people said not to worry about moisture but I believe the deeper you go theres a minute amount of moisture. Not like a forest but you know a little bit. So if she wants to be a little damp she could and if she doesnt she has a whole hole.

Also sorry for it not making sense at first. I always seem to forget to mention key details as I do things in a bit of a hurry.

Here's a bit of an update. I know you can't see it well but the hole is now significantly deeper. Once the clay hardens i will again put the soil in there and pat it down a bit.

 

[JonnyTorch]

That looks a lot dryer than before. Softness of plants.. it could be soft but the height of the fall may hurt the T and I'll reiterate that the screen mesh should be replaced. T's definitely chew them and make holes or get stuck and lose legs. The setup looks nice though and a lot more dry than before.

 

[ReleaseTheQuacken]

That looks a lot dryer than before. Softness of plants.. it could be soft but the height of the fall may hurt the T and I'll reiterate that the screen mesh should be replaced. T's definitely chew them and make holes or get stuck and lose legs. The setup looks nice though and a lot more dry than before.

I took paper towels and manually soaked up excess water.

The lid I am going to be using is not an exo terra lid. But this one.

I got it from a store that specifically makes them for tarantula enclosures. They said the holes are a lot smaller than the exo terras' and they are made of a strong 3d printed plastic and according to them they said there's no way for it to be chewed through because nothing can fit in there and unlike the mesh its not tiny strands of metal. Do you personally think itll still not work?

 

[JonnyTorch]

I have those lids too. Bought them on Etsy. They work great.

 

[ReleaseTheQuacken]

I have those lids too. Bought them on Etsy. They work great.

Oh thank god. Here I thought I had to return it.

Is there a way to keep the fake cactus but make it safer on them? Like do you have any creative ideas on keeping the theme but maybe making it safer? Like same plants but maybe if I add something to the tall cactus.

P.s. the screen lid that came with exoterra I am only using it until the clay dries out. This is to provide more ventilation while keeping any hitch hikers out.

 

[JonnyTorch]

Oh thank god. Here I thought I had to return it.

Is there a way to keep the fake cactus but make it safer on them? Like do you have any creative ideas on keeping the theme but maybe making it safer? Like same plants but maybe if I add something to the tall cactus.

P.s. the screen lid that came with exoterra I am only using it until the clay dries out. This is to provide more ventilation while keeping any hitch hikers out.

I'm not too sure to be honest. I don't use too many thick fake plants. If the spikes are harder on the cactus you can remove them. If they're super soft its probably fine, just worried about the tall glass. It can be fine if they're fake. If they're real cactus it's definitely a no-no. I'd ask @cold blood if he has any input of those cactus. The only thing I can really think of is the height of the cage and the possibility of a fall. The rest seems fine and dandy if the cage dries out.

 

[ReleaseTheQuacken]

I'm not too sure to be honest. I don't use too many thick fake plants. If the spikes are harder on the cactus you can remove them. If they're super soft its probably fine, just worried about the tall glass. It can be fine if they're fake. If they're real cactus it's definitely a no-no. I'd ask @cold blood if he has any input of those cactus. The only thing I can really think of is the height of the cage and the possibility of a fall. The rest seems fine and dandy if the cage dries out.

Maybe I should add more clay? Bah thought I had it. The cactus are like rubbery to be honest. The "needles" are easily pliable. These are all fake plants, because I kill live plants.

 

[8 legged]

Well done (although the tube is beyond my liking)! Another tip: with clay soil, I fill up the first third with normal substrate, I only mix the top layer with clay, which means that my animals dig more.

 

[ReleaseTheQuacken]

Well done (although the tube is beyond my liking)! Another tip: with clay soil, I fill up the first third with normal substrate, I only mix the top layer with clay, which means that my animals dig more.

Thank you. Wait so you like the tube or dislike it? English isn't my first language.

So I ended up using more of the clay. I am officially out of it. Means the hide out is now even deeper than before. Going to extract as much water as I can and then clean off the clay off the plants and such. As for the clay, being top, I used the whole bag because the ornaments are heavy and did not want her to hide under them and be crushed by it. She will have a very deep burrow now. Now its drenched again. Such a pain to build. I hope I don't break the bottom glass trying to lift this up. I suppose in hindsight I could had just placed a barrier at the bottom, and not use as much clay. That way it would dry faster and yeah be less heavy. I think to transfer it I will grab a plank of wood and push the enclosure into that once it dries out and then push it into the bookshelf. Which would mean it would be more stable and less chance of breaking. But you live and learn I guess. it is now 6 inches at the lower end. It now looks like it has a bunker.

 

[JonnyTorch]

Thank you. Wait so you like the tube or dislike it? English isn't my first language.

So I ended up using more of the clay. I am officially out of it. Means the hide out is now even deeper than before. Going to extract as much water as I can and then clean off the clay off the plants and such. As for the clay, being top, I used the whole bag because the ornaments are heavy and did not want her to hide under them and be crushed by it. She will have a very deep burrow now. Now its drenched again. Such a pain to build. I hope I don't break the bottom glass trying to lift this up. I suppose in hindsight I could had just placed a barrier at the bottom, and not use as much clay. That way it would dry faster and yeah be less heavy. I think to transfer it I will grab a plank of wood and push the enclosure into that once it dries out and then push it into the bookshelf. Which would mean it would be more stable and less chance of breaking. But you live and learn I guess. it is now 6 inches at the lower end. It now looks like it has a bunker. View attachment 412644

That looks a lot better with substrate height. Make that look all fancy and it will be better, I believe.

 

[JonnyTorch]

@ReleaseTheQuacken I'm getting nitpicky now just because I am, but I think you could put some substrate into he tube and make the hide shallower, and let the T decide how deep it wants to be. Dust off some of those rocks and terrain and I think you'll have it much better than before.

 

[viper69]

Sure seems the distance is too big

 

[JonnyTorch]

@viper69
Has these vents on the front and the back.

 

[ReleaseTheQuacken]

@ReleaseTheQuacken I'm getting nitpicky now just because I am, but I think you could put some substrate into he tube and make the hide shallower, and let the T decide how deep it wants to be. Dust off some of those rocks and terrain and I think you'll have it much better than before.

That's actually what I was planning on doing. I made it deep so I could fill it with soil and let her dig if she wants.