Storage box - Luxury edition

[tsrebel]

I've made a couple of snailariums out of plastic storage boxes. The first one is quite simple:

How it looked when they first moved in:

The front "glass" came from an acrylic picture frame. I've put two spotlights in the lid.
Now it looks like this:


In the next one I made, I decided to have a pond and a waterfall (it really helps to keep the humidity up). And I wanted it to look better. If I had the patience I'd paint them. Maybe later. This is how it looked from above before I filled water in the pond:

And from the front:

I might remove some of the plants before any snails move in, because it got a little crowded. (And some of the plants are poisonous.)
Here is with the water:


I really like my designs and I'm going to make more in the future. I have one real terrarium, an ExoTerra:

I think it looks good, but it's hard to keep the glass clean so it actually gets transparent. It takes up a lot of space and was expensive.
It needs to be said that I'm not very handy and made a lot of mistakes when I made my own snailarium. I've learned a lot and plan on making each new terrarium even better. And some painting (non-toxic, and just on the outside) would make wonders.

[coyote]

Very nice! It's like a resort for snails! ;D

[rosiesnail2]

Yeah I know they're awesome you could make a DIY video *hint*

[ness]

Well I'm impressed
How did you make the waterfalls? I waterfalls in two of my tanks (made for reptiles and amphibians) but found they were quite fiddly to maintain and caused quite a bit of vibration, which I didn't would be good for any eggs. I'd like to put one back in with the megalobulimus tank, they really appreciated the waterfall.

[tsrebel]

Thanks :-)
I'm not very good at tecnical things either, so there probably won't be any DIY video.
I'm fiddeling a bit with my waterfalls. The pipes/tubes get clogged quite fast (that is why the tube on the last picture seems so out of place. I used to have a smaller one, that I had disguised as a liana, but it got clogged). I do believe in making things as simple as possible, so I never bury them, just disguise them in some way. I use an aquarium filter and a simple plastic tube. If I had bought a waterfall, I would be too afraid to breake it even worse trying to fix it if it broke. When I make my own, I know how it works and may be able to fix it ;-)
The main problem with making a waterfall myself, is to get the water to fall where it's supposed to... Still trying to figure that out for my latest...

[vallery]

Wow! Snailariums!
Patent that one. Really great work. I am not showing my snails or they will be moving to Norway. Inspired me to make a better homes for my little guys. Thank You trs.
vallery

[windowlickinggood]

WOW !!

[PennyFarthing]

Very inspiring pictures! I love 'em!

[pinkunicorn]

These are awesome. I've been looking for a kind of tall snake terrarium (those with a cool stone background and branches and stuff) suitable for snails, but I might look into making one myself now!

What kind of glue have you used for attaching the clear plastic? Any tips you could give in general?

[pearthesnail]

Wow! These are really nice! Love the waterfall!

[tsrebel]

The one in the first two pictures have now 2 "flores". I plan on getting a nice picture to show you soon.
The waterfalls did not work very well. Generally, I couldn't make the water flow where I wanted it to. But the pond is still there and works even without a pump.
Another lesson learned: Hard materials won't stick to softer/more flexible material. I used hot glue for the plastic snailariums. Silicone (I used it on the glass snailarium) wouldn't stick.
I'm now working on redecorating the large glass snailarium.

[vallery]

Hi tsrebel ,

Do you think that a fish tank air pump, having just the tube going into a terrarium and the pump on the outside would work to pump fresh air into the a snails terrarium?

vallery

Oh! And what did you use to cut the plastic storage boxes with?

[tsrebel]

To cut the plastic, I used a cutting blade for my drill to make a hole, and then a small hand saw.
I've never used an air pump in my aquariums, so I don't really know how those work.

[Katie]

Your designs are gorgeous, very beautiful tanks!
Do you know the name of the plant at the back of the tank, in the second picture from the top? I love it!

[tsrebel]

It is a Epipremnum pinnatum 'Aureum'. Very common as a house plant.

[Katie]

I'll have to find myself one of those- thankyou!

[vallery]

Hi tsrebel ,

If an air pump for a fish tank pumps air into the water of an aquarium, It might possibly work to pump fresh air into a terrarium or even a vivarium, if you stick the plastic air tube into a hole into the terrarium or vivarium.. That would be cool if that would work. Just a thought.

vallery

[pinkunicorn]

I think there are actual air pumps available. I recall having some problems with a water filter pump in my froggy-lizard tank aaaaages ago if the water level went too low, it was an aquarium pump I used for them. But it could be pump-specific and another type might work.

[vallery]

Thanks pinkunicorn ,

I think I will call a few shops to find out what they might have. if I do find anything I will definitely post it.

vallery

[vallery]

Hi tsrebel ,

How do you manage to clean such elaborate storage b ox - Luxury's

vallery

[tsrebel]

The goal is to make them into small eco systems so that there is no need to clean them. But in my glass terrarium, something went wrong and snails were dying (I suspect some unknown disease) so I had to rip out everything and start over (well, haven't remade it yet - it's been empty for over 8 months).

[vallery]

Thank You trsebel ,

I will have to look into that and work on my tanks. Your tanks look so amazing. I am glad you shared them. Do you have more photos of your tanks to share?

vallery

[vallery]

Hi tsrebel ,

I have been working on making my native snail tanks as close as possible to this area.
I was wondering if you know if Pleurodonte you have and the Pleurodonte I have come from the same environment and if you know what type of environment might serve them better.

vallery

[tsrebel]

I believe all Pleurodonte come from South America and live mostly in trees.
I tend not to take so many pictures of my snailariums. They look good when they are (new and) clean, but with all the windows, they soon become dirty and less pretty I will try to remember to take some pictures next time I clean them!

[vallery]

Thanks tsrebel ,

Looking forward to seeing some new photos of your great snailariums. You have inspired me and I have been working on making my tanks better in accordance to the species and there natural environment.

vallery