Sectioning off an enclosure...

Hey guys. I am sectioning off a 30G long enclosure to house multiple desert species that all require the same environmental conditions (deathstalker, Egyptian green, yellow thicktail, desert hairy, etc). I have seen many pictures of other enthusiasts that have done the same thing and I noticed that they used clear glass for the dividers. That is for sure the easiest and safest way to do it that I can think of, as glass is pretty cheap, easy to work with if you're careful and a slick surface so the scorps can't climb it, but I started thinking about it and have one concern...

They'll be able to see each other through the glass. The species I mentioned above, with the exception of the desert hairy and even they do better alone, are all more solitary, aggressive species. Won't they get stressed out if they can see an enemy on the other side of the glass? I realize this is a novice question, but I've always kept my animals in separate enclosures and have never come across or thought about this concern. I'm expanding my collection and need to save some space so I thought I would consolidate.

The other alternative I was thinking of was to paint the glass black to make it opaque. I'm just worried about the paint providing a course enough surface for them to climb. I'm sure my girlfriend would rather not have a deathstalker loose in the bedroom. Lol.

I got some info from a local pet store/breeder in my area that I very much trust.

In case anyone was curious- clear glass can most definitely cause some stress issues. He recommended using privacy tint and applying it to the glass to make it opaque. He said just to be careful with what you use for tint because it can get dirty and cause problems later if it gets scratched easily or something. He said he had never tried painting the glass, but shared the same concern as me with the scorps climbing it if it's too course.

Anyone have any other info on this they would like to share?

I wanted to do the same exact thing, convert a 10 gal enclosure into two seperate enclosures for non communal species. I must acquire plexiglass first though.

Also you could make the divider into a backdrop too. It looks nice, provides natural scenery, and won't bug the scorps if they sense each other. I had an idea of getting excavator clay (or whatever clay-thing you have at your disposal) and packing the clay on a cut piece of plastic screen. Then you just let it dry, and use a silicone gun to anchor it on the back. If it crumbles over time, pack more clay on! its easy. And the stuff gets hard as rock too if its not mixed with other substrates.

I hope it turns out well for you.

Thanks! It's actually turning out pretty great. I had a bit oh a "duh!" moment in the middle of construction. I hope it helps you and gives you a good idea on what to do if you don't want your guys to climb the sides of the enclosure, althought I like your idea of the clay background and I would use that for sure for less dangerous species. With some of these guys, however, I need to make sure they can't climb up.

I went to Lowe's and bought some 12"x12" pieces of single strength glass. I originally bought some peel and stick vinyl window tint, but it wouldn't stick very securely and it was still somewhat transparent (although, I figured that the transparency really wouldn't matter considering scorps don't really have the best eyesight in the world, but eh... better safe than have a stressed deathstalker!).

That was a bust so I painted my glass panels with acrylic paint. After letting it dry, the paints brush strokes (no roller) made it very rough and I was worried that things would be able to climb it. I was about to break out the razor blade and say to hell with it and scrape the paint off and let it be transparent when I came up with a good plan.

My glass panels were only painted on one side so I took two and put them together with a piece of window tinting between them, painted sides in so the slick glass was on the outside. The paint combined with the tint made the glass completely opaque and having two pieces instead of one adds more strength and a thicker barrier that will carry less vibrations. The tank is 30" long, so I made 4 walls and put them at 6" intervals, creating 5 6"x12" units. I caulked the walls in place using regular silicone caulk. Once they dry I'm gonna go in and cut the caulk so that it looks all purty. I'll post pics once it's all done and I have everything all set up.

Glad it worked out for you! I'm gonna have to hit up a Lowes in my area for some glass so I can section off some of my 10 gals. Did they have plexiglass there per chance? I need to still be able to stick a heat lamp on top and I'm afraid regular glass would crack. (If all else fails, I'll section it off and use a lower wattage Halogen IR bulb on both sides of the sectioned enclosure.)

Yep. They have a good selection of plexi, actually. Glass is just cheaper. I don't think the heat lamp will bother it. Especially since I doubled it. I have a water monitor also and I custom made the top of his cage with the same type of glass and have not had any problems at all. I have had heat sources on top of and very near the top glass for a while and haven't had issues. I dunno... I'm kinda partial to the feel of the glass, personally. Plus, it's easier to keep clean.

Btw... total cost on all the supplies for this was like $50. That includes glass, caulk, tint and acrylic paint.

Ok good to know. Thanks man! Post pictures soon.

They also make smoked (tinted) glass for table tops and such. Not sure if it would be cheaper than 2 pieces of single strength + tint film, however. And, I've only seen it in 1/4 inch thickness.

I had thought about that. That kind of glass is tempered, though, so you can't cut it unless you have a kiln or a laser cutter. Tempered glass is more expensive than single strength and tinted tempered glass is even more expensive. By the time you buy the glass and take it somewhere to get cut you have probably already spent more than the way I did it. I will say, though, that your idea is gonna give you much better heat resistance and strength.

Here's the finished product. It's not beautiful, but it's functional and works perfectly for what I needed. Let me know what you guys think. There's nothing going in the empty units quite yet, hence why there are no plants or rocks. Tactful critique is appreciated. Going in this thing are the deathstalker, yellow thick-tail and Egyptian green. Eventually there will also be a desert hairy and something else to be determined. Thinking some sort of hottentotta.

This is AWESOME!!! Looks great...very impressive set up.

looks great!! definitely gave me some ideas

I really like it.

Awesome, looks good.

Thanks, guys! Glad you like it. Now that I got it all heated up and ready to go it's time to see if the scorps like it, too.

Alright questions on your current setup:

Is the glass you're using getting cracked or damaged by the lamps? What wattage of lamps are you using? And could you rest the lamp over the spot where the divider is so it can heat both sides of the enclosure?

I'm ready to customize my enclosures soon, so I just wanted to ask.

No cracks. The glass is working great. I'm using 75 watt GE Reveal incandescent bulbs. No need for expensive pet store bulbs since scorps can't do UV and all I really need the lamps for is heat and day cycles. I don't have them placed directly on top of the screen because it's too much heat. Instead, I have them resting on two spaced apart 4x4's. This is temporary, though. I bought a new shelf for all my specimens and the clearance between shelves isn't enough to fit the lamps on top of the enclosures. I have some flex watt on the way that I'm going to use for heat and then I'm going to install some LED fixtures in the bottom of each shelf for the day cycles.

And yeah... you can totally place a lamp on top of the dividers and split it between two units. Works extremely well. I'm currently doing that. 93 degrees in each unit and no cracking glass at all.