Mantid Cabinet / Enclosures

Creating a hand-made cabinet to hold enclosures, nyph cups, small adults and supplies.

[SIZE=14pt]PHASE I: Planning[/SIZE]

Final Draft



CABINET

Cost: TBA

Description: The cabinet will have 6 spaces for enclosures and the right side of the cabinet will be completely adjustable for adding small nymph nurseries, smaller species, and feeder insects. Each of the six spaces for enclosures will have a 3in hole bore out near the bottom for cables and a 3x3 square hole for a small fan which will increase airflow. The Mantid cabinet will be sitting up on top of my dresser. Which is 63"Wide x 18" 3/4 Deep x 30" Tall. (Dresser Image Link)

ENCLOSURES

Cost: $44.95 (Each) x6

Size will be variable. Though they are 12x12x12, they can be greatly altered based on the height of the substrate, the use of clear fiberglass dividers and the thickness of background wall. Here are the 6 enclosures I'm going to place inside <PT-2600>

(Image Link)

LIGHTING

Cost: $14.95 (Each) x6

Each enclosure will have a Compact Top Light Fixtures adhered to the roof of the cabinet and not on the roof of the actual enclosure. This will allow 3in of space between the fixture and the roof of the cage. Providing air flow and keeping the mantids safe from the heat.

(Image Link)

Thanks for reading!!!

David

[SIZE=14pt]PHASE II: Building[/SIZE]

Well, I've bought the wood and to resolve the air flow problem, I'm not going with solid Birch to cover the back. I"m going with peg board which has plenty of holes for air flow. As you can see from my draft plan, I've also taken everyone's advice and I have raised the height between the tops of the enclosures, and the roof of each area to get the lights off of the top of the enclosures and to allow more space for air flow.

Here it is so far (Excuse the messy garage lol)



4/8/2009



[SIZE=14pt]PHASE III: Detailing[/SIZE]

4/9/2009 - Installed the trimming and used wood putty to cover nail holes and other blemishes.





[SIZE=14pt]Phase IV: Painting[/SIZE]

4/9/2009 Painted on the primer and I'm just exhausted, will pick up painting tomorrow night.











[SIZE=14pt]Phase V: *Top Secret*[/SIZE]

::COMING SOON::

COST CALCULATOR

Cabinet:

(2) 4x8 Birch 1/2in sheets of plywood: $81

(1) 4x8 Peg Board $12

2-Piece Brush kit $4

Pack of 2 hooks for water bottles $2

Pack of brass shelf clips $2

Primer Paint $9

Paint $14

Wood putty (for blemishes and to fill in gaps) $8

Sub: $132

Enclosures:

(1) Exo-Terra 12x12x12 Terrarium: $45

(1) Exo-Terra Compact Light (sm): $15

Sub: $60

[SIZE=14pt]GRAND TOTAL: $192[/SIZE]

I'm impressed with your prospective set-up plans, David! Let's see... problems I might consider would be:

The larger terrarium-type enclosures aren't very practical for keeping most mantids. Individuals would be better kept in smaller, more mobile containers to allow for easier access to food sources, and greater ease in working with the mantids and enclosures. Those types of enclosures would be OK for sub-adult or adults of larger species, or small groups of communal mantids (not very many species, I'm afraid).

Your collection may outgrow this set-up quicker than you think, lol!

Opening the relatively large door/s at the front to feed, mist, clean, and tend (if that will be your common or only access) might cause trouble with escapee feeders.

This seems like it might add up to a lot of unnecessary expense and WORK!

You asked for it.... :lol:

Edit: Oh, and what about ventilation? Did I miss that part?

Katnapper said:

I'm impressed with your prospective set-up plans, David! Let's see... problems I might consider would be:The larger terrarium-type enclosures aren't very practical for keeping most mantids. Individuals would be better kept in smaller, more mobile containers to allow for easier access to food sources, and greater ease in working with the mantids and enclosures. Those types of enclosures would be OK for sub-adult or adults of larger species, or small groups of communal mantids (not very many species, I'm afraid).

Your collection may outgrow this set-up quicker than you think, lol!

Opening the relatively large door/s at the front to feed, mist, clean, and tend (if that will be your common or only access) might cause trouble with escapee feeders.

This seems like it might add up to a lot of unnecessary expense and WORK!

You asked for it.... :lol:

Edit: Oh, and what about ventilation? Did I miss that part?

Click to expand...

The smallest (Under 2 inches adult?) would go to the area to the right which will have very small enclosures and will be the nymph area along with feeder insects. The 12x12x12 enclosures will be cut in 1/2. So it will be 12x12x6. Now, when it comes to that long 12 inch depth, I can easily scale that down using background material, along with cut sheets of fiberglass. The 12 inch height can also be adjusted using substrate. So, I could get those enclosures down to 10x8x6. I have to admit I am a fan of the bigger species so, most of them will be BIG! (3-4+ inches). As time goes on, I might be adjusting sizes of the enclosures but I like that... I like that each enclosure shares the same lighting and front doors. For example, the giant shield nyphs I received in the mail today will start out on the right side in their own individual containers. (Ordered $40 worth of stuff from Mantisplace) and as they got bigger would be upgraded from the 8oz, 12oz, and 16oz cups. Finally, as pre-adults or adults they would each get a 10x10x6 enclosure. (normal enclosure cut in 1/2 with 2inch thick background and 2inch thick substrate). They like humidity and warmth (60% Humidity and 80-90 F) so that would be an enclosure with the added substrate warmer.

Front accessible. I have to agree with you. opening an entire WALL of your enclosure is asking for escapees! But, these enclosures do allow you to only open 1 of the 2 doors in front. That, and I'm pretty good at keeping my prisoners in their cells. (Prison guard in another life??!!). Besides, what's 1-2 crickets or... a couple of fruit flies here and there when you have literally... hundreds if not thousands!!

Very nice and very detailed. I know those tanks are not cheap and honestly they may be too large for small mantid nymphs. I once desired fancy cages but found they just didn't work well for mantid keeping. The fanciest I get is 2 1/2 gal mini aquariums with screen tops. They are much cheaper and would work with your plans. So these days I stick to the idea that simple is best. As far as lighting mantids don't need any special lights so I wouldn't break the bank for fancy UV bulbs when a standard tube flourescent light or anything really will work.

LectricBlueyes said:

The smallest (Under 2 inches adult?) would go to the area to the right which will have very small enclosures and will be the nymph area along with feeder insects. The 12x12x12 enclosures will be cut in 1/2. So it will be 12x12x6. Now, when it comes to that long 12 inch depth, I can easily scale that down using background material, along with cut sheets of fiberglass. The 12 inch height can also be adjusted using substrate. So, I could get those enclosures down to 10x8x6. I have to admit I am a fan of the bigger species so, most of them will be BIG! (3-4+ inches). As time goes on, I might be adjusting sizes of the enclosures but I like that... I like that each enclosure shares the same lighting and front doors. For example, the giant shield nyphs I received in the mail today will start out on the right side in their own individual containers. (Ordered $40 worth of stuff from Mantisplace) and as they got bigger would be upgraded from the 8oz, 12oz, and 16oz cups. Finally, as pre-adults or adults they would each get a 10x10x6 enclosure. (normal enclosure cut in 1/2 with 2inch thick background and 2inch thick substrate). They like humidity and warmth (60% Humidity and 80-90 F) so that would be an enclosure with the added substrate warmer. Front accessible. I have to agree with you. opening an entire WALL of your enclosure is asking for escapees! But, these enclosures do allow you to only open 1 of the 2 doors in front. That, and I'm pretty good at keeping my prisoners in their cells. (Prison guard in another life??!!). Besides, what's 1-2 crickets or... a couple of fruit flies here and there when you have literally... hundreds if not thousands!!

Click to expand...

I think that you are going to have great fun building your set up, and I'm certainly not going to tell you to scrap it, but these enclosure were designed for herps and not mantids.

I see three main problems:

Feeding will be much more of a problem than you imagine. When a large ooth hatches, many folks flood the enclosure with mels. You will have problems putting them in through those doors, and keeping them in if the doors aren't sealed in some way. Without a feeding port, it will be almost impossible to feed them the flying insects that you catch outside, though I guess that you could give them stunned flies. If you feed crix, you'll want to know that they have not hopped out while you were closing the doors. It's not a question of expense but of knowing that your mantids are adequately fed.

Is the top mesh? And how close to it will the lights be? Mantids like to hang from the mesh top and will be unable to do so if the light is too close to the grid. Ventillation will be further inpaired if you keep the enclosures in an unventilated cabinet.

Keeping the glass fronts clean will be another issue. You can't clean them in place with glass cleaner, and you will have to remove everything to clean the sides.

Without saying not to do this, I suggest that you first put up a four foot shelf that will take ten 32oz pots. When you successfully hatch an ooth, you will probably want to keep ten babies as breeding stock (and hope that you end up with six!). Cover the pots with cloth lids if the nymphs are taking ffs and put a 1" (2.5cm) hole low down on the side and fill it with a sponge rubber bung. Use a substrate and decoration of your choice , and you are set. You can mist one of these, put in food and have the pot back on the shelf in under 30 seconds most of the time, so that you can service forty pots in about half an hour (at least in theory. In practice, things usually get more interesting!).

You can move the pots around (I usually keep a few near the computer so that we can keep an eye on each other) and it is easy to transfer everything to another pot while cleaning the old one.

Try this and see how you like it before setting up your system. You might end up using both, but for a 2" (5cm) mantis, the pot is all you really need. When/if they get bigger, you can use sweet (candy) jars, which require the same care as the pots, but that's another story.

And keep us up to date on your project!

PhilinYuma said:

I think that you are going to have great fun building your set up, and I'm certainly not going to tell you to scrap it, but these enclosure were designed for herps and not mantids.I see three main problems:

Feeding will be much more of a problem than you imagine. When a large ooth hatches, many folks flood the enclosure with mels. You will have problems putting them in through those doors, and keeping them in if the doors aren't sealed in some way. Without a feeding port, it will be almost impossible to feed them the flying insects that you catch outside, though I guess that you could give them stunned flies. If you feed crix, you'll want to know that they have not hopped out while you were closing the doors. It's not a question of expense but of knowing that your mantids are adequately fed.

Is the top mesh? And how close to it will the lights be? Mantids like to hang from the mesh top and will be unable to do so if the light is too close to the grid. Ventillation will be further inpaired if you keep the enclosures in an unventilated cabinet.

Keeping the glass fronts clean will be another issue. You can't clean them in place with glass cleaner, and you will have to remove everything to clean the sides.

Without saying not to do this, I suggest that you first put up a four foot shelf that will take ten 32oz pots. When you successfully hatch an ooth, you will probably want to keep ten babies as breeding stock (and hope that you end up with six!). Cover the pots with cloth lids if the nymphs are taking ffs and put a 1" (2.5cm) hole low down on the side and fill it with a sponge rubber bung. Use a substrate and decoration of your choice , and you are set. You can mist one of these, put in food and have the pot back on the shelf in under 30 seconds most of the time, so that you can service forty pots in about half an hour (at least in theory. In practice, things usually get more interesting!).

You can move the pots around (I usually keep a few near the computer so that we can keep an eye on each other) and it is easy to transfer everything to another pot while cleaning the old one.

Try this and see how you like it before setting up your system. You might end up using both, but for a 2" (5cm) mantis, the pot is all you really need. When/if they get bigger, you can use sweet (candy) jars, which require the same care as the pots, but that's another story.

And keep us up to date on your project!

Click to expand...

**WOW** thank you so much for the information. I am completely grateful for the time you took and I am **literally** printing this stuff out to have on hand! (Printer at work = cheaper than at home)

I know it seems expensive but I think it's going to be a lot of fun and more than anything, I will be learning. Best thing is.. if worse comes to worse I can re-sell the Exo Terra tanks on ebay and get 1/2 or more back. Then I could use different containers in their place.

Ooths and Nymphs do not belong in 12x12x12 tanks, period. These will be kept to the right side of the cabinet, as outlined in the drawing. I just ordered $40.00 worth of supplies for Ooths/Nymphs from the MantisPlace.com.

Again, the 12x12x12's will be split in 1/2 (or smaller) as needed depending on which species I plan on collecting. I don't know how much "breeding" I'll be doing because my real interest is in collecting, and keeping them alive. I can then order more should they pass away. I'm going for variety here.

You are correct, Mantids do not need special UV lighting though the real live plants which I plan on keeping in the mantis tanks will need it.

I don't plan on having these insects hanging from the metal mesh screen up at the top of the enclosure. (That's no fun!) I plan on having plant life, vines, and other items in the enclosure for them to hang from vertically so that they can properly molt. I understand that a thin band of vaseline can be smeared along the top edges of the glass to keep the mantis from climbing up the glass and onto the top surface.

This is definately an experiment. My father has the wood, and the tools (he stores leftover wood from various projects) and he loves this stuff so were going to bond and have some fun.

As far as the cost goes... well... I don't want to sound like a snob or anything but I'm single, no kids, almost 30 years old and I make a good living. I'll just have to cut back on beer consumption (have you ever bought a beer in a major city? 1 night = 1,000 mantids worth of money! lol).

Again, thank you!

I would never deny a mantid the inside top of it's enclosure. Most of their food lives up there, it's the best place for them to molt, and they like it I think. Also, it keeps them off the floor so they don't step in poop. :lol: I'm not sure if you really want to put Vaseline in the enclosure either. Not sure if it's healthy for them in the long run.

I dont know just where the post is right now, but I made a cage with lexan and drilled feeder holes in the front so I dont have to open it to feed, if u use lexan u can drill thru it, u can also take to a glass company (or send them here) for us to drill the holes in it, but the best and most cost effective thing is, (not that I want u drinking Letric) but to order drilled tempered glass for the doors, very safe and cheaper than lexan!

LectricBlueyes said:

I don't plan on having these insects hanging from the metal mesh screen up at the top of the enclosure. (That's no fun!) I plan on having plant life, vines, and other items in the enclosure for them to hang from vertically so that they can properly molt. I understand that a thin band of vaseline can be smeared along the top edges of the glass to keep the mantis from climbing up the glass and onto the top surface.

Click to expand...

The only problem is that mantids rarely care about or abide by even our best laid plans! They will go to the top mesh if they feel like it, and usually do... even if there are plenty of plants, twigs, or whatever below.

Please don't put Vaseline in any of your mantis enclosures... it's just not a good idea. That's for roaches (barrier to keep them from climbing beyone and escaping from out of the tops of their enclosures). Even if you feed roaches to your mantids, you don't need or want Vaseline inside the mantis enclosure. Just make sure the enclosure is escape-proof (the exception being when you have the door/lid/whatever open).

About the top screen area for them to cling to. I understand they need to be upside down, that they like this behavior, and that putting Vaseline on the very topmost edges of the glass to keep them off of the screen (away from the lamp) is toxic to them (verified?). But, where in nature do mantids find "screen roof" plants growing about? Maybe I'm making an "######"umption out of myself but if I give them vines, plant life (real), or otherwise fake plants to hang upside down by... won't that suffice? Isn't that the natural way they live in the wild?

What can I do to keep them off the ceiling? Nothing? If that's the case I'll need to re-do my drawing and have the UVB lamps attached to the roof inside each cabinet. The nymphs will have all the roof space they want because they won't be in the Exo-Terra enclosures.

I discussed the ventilation with my father and he made some suggestions. Being in the computer business, I'm pretty good with cooling/ventilation and I actually know a place that caries silent fans. From 20mm up to 300mm and they are cheap ($5/each). I could run the fans to a power supply (Also cheap) and have the air flowing through the whole cabinet giving constant fresh air.

Sexy isn't always practical both fiscally or otherwise. I'm trying to find the happy medium.

hibiscusmile said:

I dont know just where the post is right now, but I made a cage with lexan and drilled feeder holes in the front so I dont have to open it to feed, if u use lexan u can drill thru it, u can also take to a glass company (or send them here) for us to drill the holes in it, but the best and most cost effective thing is, (not that I want u drinking Letric) but to order drilled tempered glass for the doors, very safe and cheaper than lexan!

Click to expand...

I can drill holes in standard glass. Tempered is rough. The enclosures I've seen have been pretty standard glass. It's a $7.00 drill bit at most hardware stores designed specifically for drilling glass. Just have to have a steady hand, set the revs real low, and be patient The bit literally chips away micro pieces of glass (glass dust) until it gets through. You have to stop every 30 seconds to let the bit cool unless you have some real pro gear with water flowing on the bit.

LectricBlueyes said:

About the top screen area for them to cling to. I understand they need to be upside down, that they like this behavior, and that putting Vaseline on the very topmost edges of the glass to keep them off of the screen (away from the lamp) is toxic to them (verified?). But, where in nature do mantids find "screen roof" plants growing about? Maybe I'm making an "######"umption out of myself but if I give them vines, plant life (real), or otherwise fake plants to hang upside down by... won't that suffice? Isn't that the natural way they live in the wild? What can I do to keep them off the ceiling? Nothing? If that's the case I'll need to re-do my drawing and have the UVB lamps attached to the roof inside each cabinet. The nymphs will have all the roof space they want because they won't be in the Exo-Terra enclosures.

I discussed the ventilation with my father and he made some suggestions. Being in the computer business, I'm pretty good with cooling/ventilation and I actually know a place that caries silent fans. From 20mm up to 300mm and they are cheap ($5/each). I could run the fans to a power supply (Also cheap) and have the air flowing through the whole cabinet giving constant fresh air.

Sexy isn't always practical both fiscally or otherwise. I'm trying to find the happy medium.

Click to expand...

I don't think Vaseline would be toxic to them, just not a good idea in my estimation. One of the main reasons I can think of offhand is grip for molting. If they have Vaseline on their feet or other surfaces, and it's time to molt, they can have problems finding and keeping a sufficient grip to a molting surface... and that is necessary. Not having an appropriate surface to molt from, or a good grip to that surface can cause them to fall during the molt. And falling during molting is extremely bad... usually causing deformity at the least, and commmonly death.

Also adults could get stuck by the wings in it. I've had adults get wings stuck to the side of a moist container from water droplet mistings, and die when they dried like that and couldn't get unstuck before I noticed them. I think Vaseline would be worse.

I'm also imagining it getting spread about the entire enclosure eventually... ruining your carefully planned aesthetics, and making everything a slippery hazard for the mantis, and a real b*tch for you to clean!

Someone else might have a different viewpoint or other imput on the Vaseline. This is only my opinion, and I've never tried it in a mantis enclosure to test it.

I like the idea of the silent ventilation fans. But with artificially forced air moving in and around the enclosures (along with the lights, and even more if you add a heat mat), you could run the risk of depleting your humidity.

Hopefully someone with experience with similar types of set-ups will come in and give you their 2 cents. That would be better than someone like me... who has no experience at all with this type of set-up.

Katnapper said:

I don't think Vaseline would be toxic to them, just not a good idea in my estimation. One of the main reasons I can think of offhand is grip for molting. If they have Vaseline on their feet or other surfaces, and it's time to molt, they can have problems finding and keeping a sufficient grip to a molting surface... and that is necessary. Not having an appropriate surface to molt from, or a good grip to that surface can cause them to fall during the molt. And falling during molting is extremely bad... usually causing deformity at the least, and commonly death.Also adults could get stuck by the wings in it. I've had adults get wings stuck to the side of a moist container from water droplet mistings, and die when they dried like that and couldn't get unstuck before I noticed them. I think Vaseline would be worse.

I'm also imagining it getting spread about the entire enclosure eventually... ruining your carefully planned aesthetics, and making everything a slippery hazard for the mantis, and a real b*tch for you to clean!

Someone else might have a different viewpoint or other imput on the Vaseline. This is only my opinion, and I've never tried it in a mantis enclosure to test it.

I like the idea of the silent ventilation fans. But with artificially forced air moving in and around the enclosures (along with the lights, and even more if you add a heat mat), you could run the risk of depleting your humidity.

Hopefully someone with experience with similar types of set-ups will come in and give you their 2 cents. That would be better than someone like me... who has no experience at all with this type of set-up.

Click to expand...

Ahh, the Vaseline idea is looking worse and worse. You make great points I hadn't thought of. I think that idea is about to go out of the window

Ventilation - I could put the power source/fans on a timer where they run for 5 minutes every hour or so.

You are correct, Mantids do not need special UV lighting though the real live plants which I plan on keeping in the mantis tanks will need it.

Click to expand...

Are you sure? I've had vivariums with lots of live plants for years and I tend to follow a number of vivarium forums closely (my own vivarium is built according to the standards used by the poison dart frog community). I have never heard of any plant that needs UV light. You save yourself a lot of trouble by skipping the UV lights.

Ventilation - I could put the power source/fans on a timer where they run for 5 minutes every hour or so.

Click to expand...

Computer fans are the usual choice in the tropical viv community. They're very cheap, reliable and easy to find in a number of sizes. In my own viv, I have cut off one of the back corners and built a mesh lid to cover it. On top of that lid, I have a 60mm computer fan. It's easy to splice the cables and hook the fan up to a suitable AC/DC adaptor. I suggest finding one that has approx. 4.5V output since the full 12V makes the fan too effective and adds unnecessary noise. By cutting down on the voltage, the fan runs more slowly and will make less noise. My fan is currently set to run about 4 times per day, 15 minutes at a time. My viv, with lots of substrate and plants, maintains a humidity of around 75-95% during the day (depending on how much I've been using the rain system). Place the fans upside down, they should suck air out of the viv, not pump air into them.

LectricBlueyes said:

Ahh, the Vaseline idea is looking worse and worse. You make great points I hadn't thought of. I think that idea is about to go out of the window Ventilation - I could put the power source/fans on a timer where they run for 5 minutes every hour or so.

Click to expand...

I'm not even sure that you want to stop your mantids from climbing any more, but I just tried out an old roach breeder's trick that obviates the need for vaseline. I just took some 2" clear, shiny packing tape and ran it round the inside of a sweater box. Then I dumped a few lobster roaches in the box and got them excited (I don't believe I'm doing this at 0300!). They are good climbers, but they were unable to climb over the tape, which was too slick. YRMV, but you might want to give it a try.

And I'm going to bed, though I was thinking of checking out one of those inexpensive humidor hydrometers, and an ooth has just began to hatch...

PhilinYuma said:

I'm not even sure that you want to stop your mantids from climbing any more, but I just tried out an old roach breeder's trick that obviates the need for vaseline. I just took some 2" clear, shiny packing tape and ran it round the inside of a sweater box. Then I dumped a few lobster roaches in the box and got them excited (I don't believe I'm doing this at 0300!). They are good climbers, but they were unable to climb over the tape, which was too slick. YRMV, but you might want to give it a try. And I'm going to bed, though I was thinking of checking out one of those inexpensive humidor hydrometers, and an ooth has just began to hatch...

Click to expand...

You can't really stop them from climbing up. NEVER use anything sticky for mantids. They WILL get caught in it and be stuck. Do not use the vaseline or any tape. I love your idea but Phil raised some great points that I forgot about. It's up to you but this hobby can be done pretty cheap. I totally understand wanting fancy cages so if you want to continue you have some changes to make.

I think Rick has it right.

Rick said:

You can't really stop them from climbing up. NEVER use anything sticky for mantids. They WILL get caught in it and be stuck. Do not use the vaseline or any tape. I love your idea but Phil raised some great points that I forgot about. It's up to you but this hobby can be done pretty cheap. I totally understand wanting fancy cages so if you want to continue you have some changes to make.

Click to expand...

Maybe I'm mistaking here but didn't he mean that the tape should be attached to the sides of the enclosure? I.e., that the mantids would not be exposed to the sticky side but to the slick backside?

Rick said:

You can't really stop them from climbing up. NEVER use anything sticky for mantids. They WILL get caught in it and be stuck. Do not use the Vaseline or any tape. I love your idea but Phil raised some great points that I forgot about. It's up to you but this hobby can be done pretty cheap. I totally understand wanting fancy cages so if you want to continue you have some changes to make.

Click to expand...

Ah so the Vaseline and tape aren't looking so good. The tape is tempting and would seem plausible if it's done **very** carefully leaving absolutely no sticky-side facing up and no air bubbles so that it would never come undone. Checking the tape on a routine basis would be required as well. It also eliminates the problem of the mantids dragging Vaseline throughout the enclosure.

Can't really stop them from climbing up. Well, you are probably correct and really, the solution is easy. Get the lights off of the top of the enclosure.

So to recap:

1. Mantids hanging on the roof - Impossible to stop, no solution, they MUST be allowed to dangle from the screen regardless of plant life available and no matter how precisely/carefully placed the tape is, they will get stuck in it. Vaseline could be toxic, will get dragged around the enclosure and could interfere with molting.

Solution - Raise the lights off of the top of the enclosure and let them dingleberry up there.

2. Money - It's unnecessary, you can save a lot of money, it's not as portable and the Exo-Terra 12x12x12 is not really a good idea for Mantids

Solution - I'm okay with the money and the enclosures can be split into 2 smaller enclosures and only the biggest of my collection go in here, the rest will be placed on the right-hand side of the cabinet.

3. Cabinet might not have enough air flow

Solution - Install computer fans and route them to a power source (AC Adap or PC PS)

Okay so with all the warnings and "dont do it" advice. I'm not going to buy the 6 Exo-Terra enclosures. I'm going to buy just 1 enclosure and see how well it works (or does not). That will reduce the cost of this thing *significantly* and is just.. a smart idea since I don't really know how well they will work. (or not).

Cost:

Cabinet - Estimated $100-$125

(1) Exo Terra 12x12x12 $45

(1) Exo Terra Compact Light fixture $15

(1) LCD Thermometer $5

$165-$190. That's a very rough estimate and it doesn't include anything that goes into the enclosure.