BUGGY PRODUCT REVIEW: Lorex Plastics’ Tarantula Enclosures

Lately I have been hearing a lot about communal set-ups for the Socatra Island Blue Baboon Spider, Monocentropus balfouri. After listening to a few podcasts on the subject, thanks to Tom’s Big Spiders, I decided to try it myself. Though there was no shortage of the tarantulas themselves, I wanted to make sure to get the best enclosure possible for this project.

I checked a variety of places and the biggest problem I ran into was size. I just felt that everything I found was going to be too small to house the planned seven tarantulas. Again, thanks to Tom’s Big Spiders I was turned onto a company called Lorex Plastics, out of Connecticutt.

After visiting their site, it wasn’t long before I found exactly what I needed. I went for the 15-gallon, 24″ L x 12″ H by 12″ D. I found all of their enclosures to be quite reasonably priced, especially for what you were getting. This design features two acrylic hasps and two 1.5″ screen vents on each end for great cross ventilation. Something else I had yet to see in an acrylic enclosure was that there was 1/2″ clearance at the bottom in case you wanted to add a heat pad. Though this is great for reptiles, for tarantulas not so much. For me though, this added someplace to grab and hold when wanting to pick up off of a table.

When the package arrived, my heart sank a little as there was a hole in the side of the box, from obvious mishandling by the driver. Thankfully though the enclosure was packed so well that there was little chance of any damage happening. These guys truly know how to pack their enclosures.

Everything about this enclosure was perfect. The acrylic is crystal clear, and everything is made of quality parts. It is so clear in fact that after I set the enclosure up, I went to feed the tarantulas not realizing that the lid was down and dropped the crickets right onto the lid! I cannot recommend Lorex Plastics enough. Great turnaround time and a high-quality product. If you really want to showcase some of your tarantulas, this is a great way to go.

~David Albaugh