A Highland Terrarium

[Vibhuti Shyam]

Hi Guys!

So I want advice on how to make a good highland terrarium. I don't want to spend too much but I also don't want the terrarium to be very ugly looking or not uniform. I can't purchase a aquarium chiller as it costs a ton!

My budget is $350..I can spend some more money if you guys insist but not much..

So any advice for cooling,lighting,humidifying,fogging and air circulation?

 

Regards

[Plantsman89]

Hi there,

For a terrarium I'd check eBay or local selling sites. I've bought a couple really cheaply that way. With regards to the size of the terrarium the bigger the better. Big tanks are less likely to have sharp fluctuations in temperature and humidity and it's easier to maintain them.

For humidity I use a fogger which can be bought quite cheaply and finally the lighting, I use T5 lamps made by Arcadia called Plant Pro. Normal florescent lamps aren't ideal as the light and uv output can be all over the place. With a lot of the reptile lighting they put a graph on the packaging showing how much of what wavelength is emitted. It is also worth noting that too much yellow light can stress plants out. 

 

What species are you thinking of growing? It's worth keeping in mind the size of adult plants too. I researched the length of lamina and petioles and the internodal distance on mature plants.

[manders]

You biggest problem might be temperature, what will it be at night were you are placing it?

otherwise it can be done very cheaply, an old fishtank will do, if you have a good fitted top then humidity will be naturally high.  You nay need to buy some lighting, flourescent or LED, but thats all you need to get going.

[Picavorus]

Definitely have a look on eBay or similar.  A vivarium can make an excellent terrarium, and often has the light fittings already in place - they maintain good humidity whilst still being well ventilated.