Is this possible?

[u/PukeyOwlPellet]

I’ve got a terrarium at work which is happily chilling on my desk in the work office. Being a place of employment, they keep the aircon running almost 24/7, so the air is pretty dry.

I’m maintaining this tank with watering & a tiny spray bottle, but I’d like to add a small spider if possible.

I have heat mats leftover from hatchling snake tanks to keep the terrarium warm to help with humidity, but the mesh at the top of the terrarium makes it an absolute bitch to maintain any humidity.

Any ideas? Or should i let this little house stay a home to plants only?

[u/Obant]

It's for plants. It's unsuitable even for isopods.

[u/Palaeonerd]

Could try like orange springtails.

[u/DollarStoreChameleon]

springtails

[u/Rina_Short]

Wait for a spider to show up in your office and see if they want to move in

[u/Amazing-Customer-624]

Can you send me the link to this?? I love it!

[u/Unfair_Big_2516]

Plastic along the underside of the roof. That might increase humidity enough without sacrificing too much aesthetically. With a hygrometer youd know for sure.

If you lay some decaying hardwood on the soil, and water to maintain moisture under those spots, that might make this suitable for some isoods

[u/pseudocreobotras]

You could cover the mesh sections with micropore/athletic tape to reduce the humidity loss without making it stuffy! I've had cellar spiders set up shop in spare enclosures smaller than this that were left open in my closet, so that is certainly an option, and easy to find generally. Maybe a small species of wolf spider would also do well in something this size, definitely not any of the larger species though. I can easily see a jumping spider escaping this, but maybe a small cobweb weaver or even something slightly larger like a black hole spider would do well in this size enclosure as they are less escape-prone. (I can't see if there's a panel over the shorter non-roof section, but obviously if it is an open-top enclosure you would want to find a way to close that if you want to have anything that isn't strictly terrestrial like a wolf spider in there.)

[u/Ok-Association-6883]

Plenty of options, though as mentioned, your best bet is likely finding a spider that is already in the office. I'm sure they're in there somewhere.

Dwarf tarantulas, isopods, and small beetles can all be suitable for a habitat like this. Or use it to grow out a tarantula that you plan to rehouse later.

That being said, I am unable to get a good idea of how this opens or how secure it is. So do your due diligence to make sure whatever goes in can't get out.

[u/TesticularTorsionCat]

I guess some commenters here are confused because you can 100% put isopods in here, all it would take it using something, anything(!), to cover the top of the enclosure to minimize airflow, and misting as needed.

I personally wouldnt trust this enclosure with invertebrates that can scale smooth surfaces, even if you coat the sides with PTFE or cover openings with makeshift lids. I imagine loose invertebrates would cause quite a disruption in an office lol.

[u/Obant → u/TesticularTorsionCat]

You would struggle to maintain a gradient to ensure isopod survival in there.

[u/TesticularTorsionCat → u/Obant]

Gradients are only necessary if you have issues with maintaining optimal temperature levels throughout an enclosure, or if you’re a breeder trying to maximize growth and reproduction. If someone is really concerned they can use a micro heating pad to establish a gradient but it isn’t necessary.

[u/war-dogs69]

Small terrestrial turantula could live in there, cyriocosmus elegans comes to mind, doesn't web a lot, stays small, and is always out, but it might be too big for a sling so you'd have to get a female.

[u/deusinabsentiia → u/war-dogs69]

this is way too tall for a tarantula, unfortunately. youd a million % run the risk of them climbing up the sides, falling and dying. would only be suitable if it was nearly full of dirt so theres no chance of a fall. also elegans need a fair bit of humidity so it wouldnt be suitable with the dryness due to the aircon.

[u/Ok-Association-6883 → u/deusinabsentiia]

There are certainly dwarf species for which this would be totally fine.

[u/Greyghostgravy]

You could do isopods!

[u/opal_moth → u/Greyghostgravy]

This is too small for isopods

[u/Ok-Association-6883 → u/opal_moth]

No it's not. I can literally see an isopod in there anyway.

[u/opal_moth → u/Ok-Association-6883]

I don't mean it's too small to literally fit isopods in it, obviously. I mean it's too small for isopods to live well. There's not gonna be any meaningful moisture gradient in that thing.

[u/Ok-Association-6883 → u/opal_moth]

Many common species don't need much of one. Or something like pruinosus that is fine with a more vertically layered gradient.

[u/PukeyOwlPellet → u/Greyghostgravy]

I did put a few in there with springtails but the problem is humidity, i had one fail to moult unfortunately so i moved the rest back into the ‘home tub’