Is anyone there using reptile terrarium as crabitats?

[vibe_0328]

I'm planning to use one for my crabs... Can anybody give me a brief review of the advantages and disadvantages, as well as the requirements to custom-build a good terrarium which will be well-suited for crabs? By the, can anyone put pictures of your terrarium-crabitat (the one with those sliding doors)... Thank you very much...

[suebee]

Seems the only problem people have been having is getting substrate deep enough. The doors are pretty low.. But ive heard that people have put plexi glass on the front to hold back soil and that has worked for some.. maybe some that have given it a try will post here for you.

[wodesorel]

The main difference between a regular fish tank and a terrarium with doors is the thickness of the glass. Glass on an aquarium gets thicker as the tank gets larger since it needs to be able to hold back the weight of all that water. Terrariums are made with thin glass no matter what the size as it isn't made to support as much weight.

[vibe_0328]

Soooo.... I guess it would be better to have my terrarium custom-built so I will achieve a repitat-like crabitat with specifications, dimensions and glass thickness that will suit a crabber's crabs' requirements... What's the thickness of an aquarium built to hold water... Anymore suggestions...

[suebee]

i use breeder tanks, they are not made to hold water. They are made for reptile use. Ive not had any problems with my glass not being thick enough.. I like that they have more floor space then fish tanks.. much more molting room then fish tanks.

[wodesorel]

Also, the reason why people don't make solid glass custom fish tanks is that glass is expensive - and I mean REALLY expensive.

Most home-made aquariums and vivariums use wood for three sides and the bottom, and then use one pane of glass for the front for viewing. If you can't find the size of tank you want in a terrarium or fish tank, then building your own if you can afford it is definitely an option if you can get a hold of the right products. There is tons of information from fish keepers and frog keepers who have been building their own tanks for decades. All you need to do is search online for "build my own" aquarium or vivarium to read up on techniques and to get ideas.

The wooden enclosure can be old furniture or can be build from scratch just like you would with furniture. It can be stained to be any color you'd like, so you're not stuck having plain wood, either. Wood has to be sealed with a non-toxic fully waterproof epoxy because of the high humidity of a crabitat. The two brands that come universally recommended are System 3 Epoxy and West System Epoxy.

Sliding glass doors can be bought off the internet and installed using 100% silicone like what is used for fish tanks. I do love having sliding doors, though you have to vacuum the channels often to keep them free of substrate.

The only thing that is prohibitive is of course the cost, but when you get into large tanks building your own can be much cheaper. I managed to get a 135 gallon tank from an old display case for under $100, and I had a lot of fun making it. You can read about my build here:

viewtopic.php?t=78205

Another member made a built-in crabitat a while back, and documented all her steps here. It is AMAZING!:

viewtopic.php?t=74449&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

[Jedediah]

Here's my 75g terrarium:


It allows for a substrate depth of about 5 inches at the front. I used to have a sort of hill towards the back of the terrarium, but the crabs levelled it. I like the easy access and getting humidity/temperature right without mold/condensation is easier than with a tank. The only disadvantage is that the crabs love walking on the ventilation opening at the front and they throw out substrate when they do that.

My first crabitat, a 20g terrarium

[vibe_0328]

Ahhh... I've already read both threads that you presented me, wodesorel, and I have to say that your terrarium is so awesome... curious_kitty's crabitat has just blown my mind!!! By the way, what's the thickness of the glass you used for the your custom-built terrarium?... I won't worry about the cost because my father said he knew someone back home that runs a glass and aluminum shop... I guess that would slash off the price... Also, I'm not planning on building a huge terrarium... I guess a 10-gallon cubic terrarium with sufficient height and floorspace would suffice the crabs' requirements... I'm planning to keep at most 8 small to medium crabs...

[vibe_0328]

Ahhh... I've already read both threads that you presented me, wodesorel, and I have to say that your terrarium is so awesome... curious_kitty's crabitat has just blown my mind!!! By the way, what's the thickness of the glass you used for the your custom-built terrarium?... I won't worry about the cost because my father said he knew someone back home that runs a glass and aluminum shop... I guess that would slash off the price... Also, I'm not planning on building a huge terrarium... I guess a 10-gallon cubic terrarium with sufficient height and floorspace would suffice the crabs' requirements... I'm planning to keep at most 8 small to medium crabs...

[wodesorel]

Keep in mind that crabs can and will double in size in one molt, so a small crab will become a medium sooner than you think. And if you're going to go custom, I personally think it would be easier to have a larger tank made that they can grow into rather than one that fits them perfectly now but that they'll outgrow within a year.


I went out and measured the glass on my tank:

The glass on the front and sides are 3/8 inch thick
the glass sliding panels in back are 3/8 inch thick
and the glass piece on top is the thickest at 1/4 inch thick

However, the glass is holding no weight at all from the substrate. (The weight of the substrate would push against the glass just like water does.) All of the substrate is contained with the wooden base, so I didn't have to worry about the glass thickness aside from whether it could hold the weight of the cats jumping onto it.