Housing Ideas?

[ihooklow]

Hello all. I am just getting back into spiders and keeping several. Because I have never kept more than one, I have never needed more than one enclosure.

Anybody have ideas for displaying multiple enclosures in some sort of compact, reasonably attractive, cost effective mannor?

I like the Neodesha 12" cages but cannot seem to find any now that they have pulled the plug.

Another option I was thinking of are the clear plastic shoeboxes. Not the 'frosted' type sold by Rubbermaid, Sterlite, etc. A friend had a shelf-type reptile rack with these and you could see into them, even in the relatively dark shelves. I have not been able to find these either. Anybody know where to get them?

Finally, I was thinking about the divided Betta breeder aquariums. The units are attractive (and large enough for my 1" spiderlings now) and the dividers fit well but my local pet store wants $40 for the 5 gallon model (enough for four of my spiderlings) and that is before I fashion some sort of top.

Any ideas or sources?

Thanks in advance.

- Michael.

 

[Yuri]

Before the middle of January, I will have well over 100 tarantulas,of various species, and I plan on using sterilite shoe boxes, because the ones you desire are not being sold/made anymore, and the ones with em charges 3x as much as a sterilite box 3x its size, if you dont plan on keeping a larger scale collection, then I ould encourage to buy it, because you wont need 10-100+ of em.I remeber I have seen people pop up with em for sale every once in a while.(mainly on kingsnake)
Yuri

 

[John Apple]

I keep the majority of my theraphosids in deli cups
except for the adults which are in 1.5 gallon aquariums
I also keep some in a rack system I made around shoeboxes I got from of all places a Dollar Store here in Ann Arbor, yup the boxes are clear.
A place called Gordens Food Services sells deli cups of all sizes
from 1 oz to 10" round and all sizes in between
It all depends on how many you are keeping and what your preferences are.
Yes inverts rock

 

[Laura S.]

I keep alot of my Ts in plastic critter keepers. They are inexpensive and come in all sizes. The only exceptions to this are the tiny ones still in vials, my L. parahybana who is just too big for a critter keeper and is kept in a glass tank, and one local species that i keep in a great little invert keeper i got from www.bugcontainers.com . They have two sizes, both are very nice and not terribly expensive. I ordered one just to see how they are, and I really like them. They are less expensive than the $40 you are paying as well.

Hope that helps.

Laura

 

[ihooklow]

Thanks all. I actually found little clear plastic boxes (6x6x6) from a local plastics shop that look like they will work well. They will take 180F (not that my spiders will) and the lids fit well and tight.

These are very similar to the boxes used by Beanie Baby collectors to protect their 'investments'

I am going through trials now (heating and cooling to make sure the lids don't warp and leave a gap or pop off) and have found a bit of difficulty drilling holes in the thin plastic. But at $3 - 4 each, I can't beat them. They have sizes from 1Wx1Dx3T all the way through a 1.5 gallon size (about $6 if I remember correctly). Should be good for the collection for years to come!

If anybody wants more details (or even to have me pick a few up for them), let me know.

Thanks again.

 

[Laura S.]

OOOOO! I'm definately interested! Could you please take some pics next to a ruler or something for size reference so I can see if they might suit my needs as well? I'd sure appreciate it.


Thanks,

Laura

 

[The Real XXX]

Just thought I would add to the ideas. This is one of my Euro style vivariums that I make. It has bottom front and back top ventilation. The glass front hindges forward. I have used them to house everything from my poison dart frogs to my trinidad chevrons. I have more pictures if you like. Hope this helps everyone. - Alex

 

[scorpionking525]

Critter Cage's

I've found that these critter cage's may not serve everyone's purpose but i've found them to be perfect for all my invert's,i keep T.blondi in the largest one and other size's for the smaller,also the short and long critter cage's are ideal for my scorpion's and these are all stackable,that's just my opinion.Take care
George