Building a terrarium

Roper · Senior Bucketkeeper

Building a terrarium

rayb · Hot Air Balloon

The web is perfect for researching this sort of thing. I don't know the details, but one thing I learned once when I took my kids catching pollywogs and then came home with a Salamander nymph, as that salamanders were carniverous and really difficult to keep alive, you had to essentially grow pond bugs (water fleas) to feed them... so I wasn't too surprised to find it dead the next day (heartbroken daughter... but whatever) and so before you get "too ambitious" you ought to check into what's really practical to try and do. You'll need to think about how much light the plants get, etc... Some amphibians will actually eat your plants... so there's that to consider too... Still it sounds like a lot of fun, I've wanted to do a terrarium for a while now, but our stupid goldfish won't die.

We haven't cleaned the tank for over two years, we forget to feed them for a week, and still two are alive and kicking...

--Ray

-- Edited by rayb at 22:26, 2007-12-07

hiddentreasuredotws · Senior Member

Sadly someone else is living one of my dreams. See..
http://www.jworlds.net/intro.html

I have started to build a large aquaterrarium (also less comonly known as a vivarium) but resources and time have prevented it from being finished.

Are you a teacher?

-- Edited by hiddentreasuredotws at 13:21, 2007-12-08

-- Edited by hiddentreasuredotws at 19:02, 2007-12-08

Roper · Senior Bucketkeeper

Yes, I'm a teacher. I teach K-1 loop, which means that I have the same students for two years--Kindergarten this year then first grade next year. Then I'll loop back and pick up a new Kindergarten class the following year.

Thanks for the link. Realistically, if I want something like that, I'm gonna have to build it. No way I can afford four grand for something like that. I have some cabinetmaking skills. If I can find a good glass supplier, I think I could do something similar for a whole lot less.

What I'd really like to do is find an old wardrobe with quality joins. Then I'd remove the panels and replace them with glass. I need to learn how to work with silicon for joining the glass, I imagine.

Cocobeem · Keeper of the Holy Grail

I kinda like the "smaller ones linked together" idea. That way, if you need to get rid of it someday for some reason, it'll be more flexible and easier to find new homes... Plus, you could have little connector tunnels and maybe a slightly different ecology in each one, different temperatures and moisture (depending on how fervently the inhabitants pray for it, of course) ... see where they like to hang out the best, see if the crickets prefer one place or another. Plus you have the flexibility of adding on or taking off as you see fit. I loooove the idea of live plants and maybe other critters, too. Right now our "terrarium" (not much) is home to a praying mantis cocoon dealie we're hoping will hatch out this spring.

We've been able to find several "smaller" ones of various shapes at the DI for quite cheap. Recycling.

Whatever you do, it should be mega-cool!!

-- Edited by Cocobeem at 17:56, 2007-12-08

hiddentreasuredotws · Senior Member

sending a PM
Roper wrote:

Yes, I'm a teacher. I teach K-1 loop, which means that I have the same students for two years--Kindergarten this year then first grade next year. Then I'll loop back and pick up a new Kindergarten class the following year.

Thanks for the link. Realistically, if I want something like that, I'm gonna have to build it. No way I can afford four grand for something like that. I have some cabinetmaking skills. If I can find a good glass supplier, I think I could do something similar for a whole lot less.

What I'd really like to do is find an old wardrobe with quality joins. Then I'd remove the panels and replace them with glass. I need to learn how to work with silicon for joining the glass, I imagine.