# What could go in an Exo Terra Explorarium



## thomas12146 (Nov 18, 2012)

I have just seen something called an Exo Terra Explorarium and wondered what go go in it or what it was for.


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## doey (Apr 23, 2011)

I think there used by researchers/herpetologist etc for wild captures as they fold away and can hang anywhere. I suppose you could use it at home for certain reptiles that don't mind being kept at room temp.


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## werewolf (Dec 26, 2009)

They aren't very good for most of the species you could get hold of easily, maybe cresties or gargs if your ambient room temperature was fairly warm (they don't hold heat at all!) Some people keep small inverts like stick insects and larger moths no problem though :2thumb:


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## PinklySmooth (Mar 25, 2013)

I hear they're good for chameleons as the need a lot of ventilation


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## reptogirl (Apr 7, 2014)

PinklySmooth said:


> I hear they're good for chameleons as the need a lot of ventilation


That's what I heard and I wondered if it's just marketing or true? I mean... you get them in big sizes and I really like the idea of something that can be hung up. we struggle for space but would have space on top of our cresties viv in a nice sheltered corner but stacking vivs is troublesome and not easy. If we could hang one of those up for a cham, I would seriously think about getting a cham (always wanted one). I mean, I know people who have their chams out of their vivs more than they are in, so how could it harm them if they're only in the "cage" half a day?


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## TEENY (Jan 4, 2008)

The down side would be that the bottom would not hold a lot of weight and so live planting or indeed any real planting designed for cover for the chameleon would be very hard to do in this, not to mention how you would add the heat and uv ?


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## reptogirl (Apr 7, 2014)

TEENY said:


> The down side would be that the bottom would not hold a lot of weight and so live planting or indeed any real planting designed for cover for the chameleon would be very hard to do in this, not to mention how you would add the heat and uv ?


Yeah that's what I was wondering... Well you can hang a light in there so you could get one of those UV-bulbs that act both as basking spot and a source of UV. that should do for the heat... I mean... there are quite a few people who only have the Chams in at night or when they're out or so, like free-ranging Chams. To be honest, that would be something I would be looking at. I like having my animals around me if possible. They could get real UV light that way, too.

A friend of my partners has a yemen for example. I mean, I don't how they do it with things like humidity and basking spot, but he is out pretty much all the time, yet he is in superb conditions.


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## Jamie XVX (Nov 24, 2014)

The only thing I know people use them for is taking their reptiles outdoors on a hot, sunny day. They're good for beardies and whatnot if you want to take them outside and not have to constantly supervise them/stress them out with a lead. Provides enough defense against cats and seagulls for you to respond to that as well if something decides to take a pop at your pet.

I wouldn't keep anything in them permanently personally.


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## reptogirl (Apr 7, 2014)

Jamie XVX said:


> The only thing I know people use them for is taking their reptiles outdoors on a hot, sunny day. They're good for beardies and whatnot if you want to take them outside and not have to constantly supervise them/stress them out with a lead. Provides enough defense against cats and seagulls for you to respond to that as well if something decides to take a pop at your pet.
> 
> I wouldn't keep anything in them permanently personally.


My first impression was the same, that I wouldn't keep anything in it permanently. but then I thought... actually why not? Just because it isn't a traditional style square cage doesn't necessarily mean it can't be good for your pet, can it? As long as you can provide heat and UV and it is big enough (they are huge by the way), what would be the harm?


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## Jamie XVX (Nov 24, 2014)

reptogirl said:


> My first impression was the same, that I wouldn't keep anything in it permanently. but then I thought... actually why not? Just because it isn't a traditional style square cage doesn't necessarily mean it can't be good for your pet, can it? As long as you can provide heat and UV and it is big enough (they are huge by the way), what would be the harm?


It would be a really expensive way of doing things. The tank won't retain any heat, so you'll need night-time heat as well as daytime. Also humidity retention is a massive problem. You could set the tank up appropriately, it would just be much harder and more expensive than any other route. The max size is 2ft x 3ft, which in my opinion isn't large enough to create decent temperature gradients. It's definitely not what I'drefer to as "huge".

But I'm not saying it isn't possible, I just can't see why you'd choose to do it that way. It would be good for an animal that can survive the UK temperatures adequately, does't need high humidity, doesn't need substrate and it pretty small. It's a very niche product if you want to use a permanent home. I can't honestly think of a single species I would keep in there instead of a viv. Maybe some species of gecko at a push.


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## reptogirl (Apr 7, 2014)

Jamie XVX said:


> It would be a really expensive way of doing things. The tank won't retain any heat, so you'll need night-time heat as well as daytime. Also humidity retention is a massive problem. You could set the tank up appropriately, it would just be much harder and more expensive than any other route. The max size is 2ft x 3ft, which in my opinion isn't large enough to create decent temperature gradients. It's definitely not what I'drefer to as "huge".
> 
> But I'm not saying it isn't possible, I just can't see why you'd choose to do it that way. It would be good for an animal that can survive the UK temperatures adequately, does't need high humidity, doesn't need substrate and it pretty small. It's a very niche product if you want to use a permanent home. I can't honestly think of a single species I would keep in there instead of a viv. Maybe some species of gecko at a push.



I guess it depends on the animal. Some animals don't need night time heat and can tolerate it down to 15 degrees, even in winter in our (cold) house it is 18 at night. I have now found, though, that it seems impossible to have a UV-bulb and basking bulb (combined) on a dimmer stat, which would have been a requirement for this to work.

The space issue still prevails in our house so unless I can find another "hanging" solution, another reptile is a no-no, unfortunately


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## Jamie XVX (Nov 24, 2014)

reptogirl said:


> I guess it depends on the animal. Some animals don't need night time heat and can tolerate it down to 15 degrees, even in winter in our (cold) house it is 18 at night. I have now found, though, that it seems impossible to have a UV-bulb and basking bulb (combined) on a dimmer stat, which would have been a requirement for this to work.
> 
> The space issue still prevails in our house so unless I can find another "hanging" solution, another reptile is a no-no, unfortunately


You can set up an external lamp for the heat pretty easily. You just need something that resembles a floor lamp without the lamp bit and a ceramic socket and reflector head. 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stagg-MIS-0...0677647&sr=1-6&keywords=microphones+and+stand

Arcadia Ceramic Reflector Clamp Lamp | Swell Reptiles

Bit of gorilla tape on the clamp to keep it steady and you've got a home-made heated floor lamp! Or you could attach the lamp to the ceiling above the explorarium, but that might be a bad idea depending on what your ceiling is made of. I'm not an expert on ceilings by any means!

I'd set up the UV lamp internal and the heat external because heat will pass through mesh better than UV. That said, you could use a nice UV strip bulb externally on a similar set up as above. You might want to use a higher index than usual because you'll lose some of the power on the mesh.


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## reptogirl (Apr 7, 2014)

Jamie XVX said:


> You can set up an external lamp for the heat pretty easily. You just need something that resembles a floor lamp without the lamp bit and a ceramic socket and reflector head.
> 
> Stagg MIS-0822 BK Microphone Boom Stand - Black: Amazon.co.uk: Musical Instruments
> 
> ...


That's a really good idea actually. Yeah we' have to put the cresties light and basking lamp outside and then stack a mesh viv for a chameleon (which would be the new addition) on top. I actually still have the exoterra canopy that came with the crestie tank, i wonder if I could use that on top of the cham tank.


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## reptogirl (Apr 7, 2014)

I saw this the other day. Surely that would work?
KVART Wall/clamp spotlight - IKEA


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## Jamie XVX (Nov 24, 2014)

reptogirl said:


> I saw this the other day. Surely that would work?
> KVART Wall/clamp spotlight - IKEA


Possibly. I'm not sure you could guarantee it would be able to stand the heat a spot bulb creates. I'm a big believer in ceramic sockets.


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