Making a terrarium can be done in 1000 ways. Plexiglass is ideal for this. For example, a plastic terrarium weighs half the weight of a glass terrarium, plexiglass lets more light through than regular glass and it is also 30 times stronger. In this DIY we show you how to make the base of an open terrarium from Plexiglas. Ideal to use as a gerbilarium, insect terrarium, reptile terrarium or paludarium (for aquatic turtles).
Before you start making your plexiglass terrarium…
Unlike when making a plexiglass aquarium, when building a plexiglass you don’t have to worry about whether your tank is waterproof. The way of making it is pretty much the same. Are you going for a paludarium? Then it is wise to seal your terrarium with a transparent sealant so that no water flows out of your terrarium. The optimal conditions for keeping reptiles, insects or plants are simulated in a plastic terrarium. Normally a terrarium is closed, of course with the right ventilation and humidity that your pet needs. Before you start, it is therefore advisable to read carefully as the conditions differ per animal. We explain how you can make the base of your terrarium.
Step 1: determine the size of your plexiglass terrarium
Before starting your terrarium, it’s important to think about the volume and sizes of your tank. The following applies: the larger the container, the thicker the Plexiglas. Always use cast plexiglass and not cheap extruded plexiglass. It is also useful to determine in advance whether you want to make an open terrarium that you will later put a lid on or whether you want to make a closed terrarium with sliding doors at the front. For the latter you also need sliding profiles.
Step 2: order plexiglass for your open terrarium
As soon as you know the dimensions for your Plexiglas terrarium, you can order your sheet material directly in our webshop. The plates are cut to size by us in any desired shape. We do this with special sawing machines that ensure a nice cut. This makes it very easy to glue the plates with Acrifix acrylic glue, which melts the plates together, as it were. Gluing Plexiglas with Acrifix is therefore also called cold welding. Terrarium op maat, is a terra building company for the ones who want a betonplex terrarium instead of plexiglass.
Do you have your plexiglass sheets at home? Then you can start building your terrarium. For an extra nice finish, we recommend that you polish the edges of the visible ends of the front and back wall.
