What to do with a 10 gallon terrarium ?

[rabbitseason]

Hi everyone!

I have a 10 gallon terrarium. I bought it to try to create a incubator for my slings, but they seem to do fine without it with how warm it is in my room, I keep it toasty. So Im trying to figure out what to do with it. Im thinking of potentially putting feeders in it, but my feeder of choice are crickets, and I don't want to be fighting a army of crickets hanging on the mesh ceiling, my small room will go up in flames immediately if they escaped.

Realistically, Im not too fond of using crickets, I'd rather use dubias, but I heard they burrow and I really don't want to end up having to dig for them. Maybe mealworms would be a good choice? I heard they're low in nutritional value though. Seems theres pros and cons to all feeders, I just hate chasing the crickets.

Let me know what you guys think!

 

[Arachnophobphile]

Hi everyone!

I have a 10 gallon terrarium. I bought it to try to create a incubator for my slings, but they seem to do fine without it with how warm it is in my room, I keep it toasty. So Im trying to figure out what to do with it. Im thinking of potentially putting feeders in it, but my feeder of choice are crickets, and I don't want to be fighting a army of crickets hanging on the mesh ceiling, my small room will go up in flames immediately if they escaped.

Realistically, Im not too fond of using crickets, I'd rather use dubias, but I heard they burrow and I really don't want to end up having to dig for them. Maybe mealworms would be a good choice? I heard they're low in nutritional value though. Seems theres pros and cons to all feeders, I just hate chasing the crickets.

Let me know what you guys think!

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[viper69]

Get a small reptile

 

[Charliemum]

Feeders are only as good as the food you put in them doesn't really make that much difference what you choose to gutload with good food as long as you do, the spood will get that goodness.

As for the tank I am with viper a small reptile would do better and the tank would need less modifications for a reptile then a t.

As a random idea you could always make a native viv, like a forest floor viv or desert viv whatever it is you have, they always make a good conversation point. Could probably just take sub from your garden and get a mini ecosystem with all sorts of creatures and plants in it .

 

[Wolfram1]

10 gallon terrarium

what are the dimentions?

 

[rabbitseason]

what are the dimentions?

20 x 10 x 12

 

[Wolfram1]

any large terrestrial then, i like to keep my AF Lasiodora sp. at those dimentions, but it is already on the smaller side for them.

It's such a nice size though, one that should fit almost any adult spider, you could even go for a nice planted setup for a smaller species 4-6" dls. All youd need extra is a bright LED strip.

And as @Charliemum said, you could turn it into a forest floor vivarium that becomes an enclosure once it has developed a while and/or a spider has grown into a decent enough size to fit.

i am imagining a leaf-turret by an Ephebopus sp. for example. Flanked by a few herbacious plants, maybe even smaller flowers like snowdrops.

what type of ventilation does it have? only top ventilation?

edit: that is LxWxH right?

 

[Charliemum]

any large terrestrial then, i like to keep my AF Lasiodora sp. at those dimentions, but it is already on the smaller side for them.

It's such a nice size though, one that should fit almost any adult spider, you could even go for a nice planted setup for a smaller species 4-6" dls. All youd need extra is a bright LED strip.

And as @Charliemum said, you could turn it into a forest floor vivarium that becomes an enclosure once it has developed a while and/or a spider has grown into a decent enough size to fit.

i am imagining a leaf-turret by an Ephebopus sp. for example. Flanked by a few herbacious plants, maybe even smaller flowers like snowdrops.

what type of ventilation does it have? only top ventilation?

I like your idea better didn't even occur to me you could grow snowdrops or bluebell in a viv and with an ephebopus cyanognathus in there making those baby blues pop I may have to pinch this idea for my girls adult viv .

 

[Wolfram1]

I like your idea better didn't even occur to me you could grow snowdrops or bluebell in a viv and with an ephebopus cyanognathus in there making those baby blues pop I may have to pinch this idea for my girls adult viv .

well, i havent tried yet and they may need more light than we can provide or need a winter cool off period, they do go dormant usually

it was just an idea off the top of my head, there are bound to be plants from more tropical regions that will fill the same niche

african violets maybe


@rabbitseason
sorry we got a bit carried away, i have no idea where you stand in terms of experience, so if you do decide to try a vivarium dont put a spider in it right away

get some experience with it first to see if you can maintain conditions that fit both the vivarium and the animal you may want to choose for it.

 

[Charliemum]

well, i havent tried yet and they may need more light than we can provide or need a winter cool off period, they do go dormant usually

it was just an idea off the top of my head, there are bound to be plants from more tropical regions that will fill the same niche

Yes but they don't hold as dear a place in my heart as snowdrops and bluebells, they have been a favourite since I was a child. I wonder if I could use wildflowers things like cowslips n violets. You give me ideas I know what I am researching in my spare time today

 

[spideyspinneret78]

I think a desert themed enclosure would be interesting. You could use Excavator clay mixed with sand and create some really cool caverns and hiding places. Add some small succulents, some red rocks, some gravel, and some dried leaves/ grasses to complete the look. You could add a desert hairy scorpion or some smaller critters like blue death feigning beetles. I used artificial plants, but I set up a similar enclosure for my scorpion and I love how it turned out.

 

[rabbitseason]

I think a desert themed enclosure would be interesting. You could use Excavator clay mixed with sand and create some really cool caverns and hiding places. Add some small succulents, some red rocks, some gravel, and some dried leaves/ grasses to complete the look. You could add a desert hairy scorpion or some smaller critters like blue death feigning beetles. I used artificial plants, but I set up a similar enclosure for my scorpion and I love how it turned out.

Thats a lovely idea! I think thats going on my to-do list, Ive been meaning to have some scorpions.