My Exo-Terra plastic cage has cracked.

[Andrew Ferguson]

I was checking over my smithi last night and noticed on the plastic exo-terra cage I have has little cracks on it. Its never been dropped, placed in direct sunlight or cleaned with anything harmful; always a weak washing up solution and rinsed well in cold water.
My wife jokingly said I did it to get a new one!! Not true. But has anyone else ever noticed this happen before? I don't want to shell out for a larger glass one as in my opinion its too small (currently about 3" leg span), but then I don't want another one of these if it will crack again. My main concern is cracks lead to less secure containers, which can lead to inquisitive tarantulas going for walks where they shouldn't be.

[Craig Mackay]

Hi Andrew, do you use a heat mat? I've heard that the heat from those can crack glass tanks but I don't know if the same is true of plastic ones. Your best bet, if you don't want to get a glass one is just to get another plastic one since they're cheap. My 3-3.5 inch G.Rosea is in a 12x12x12 exo terra glass tank. I just raised the substrate to avoid the height problem which gives her plenty room to burrow and no where to fall from. It means you need to sacrifice the front opening doors however. It seems a good size for her and she doesn't have problems finding her food or anything. You can usually get those tanks for around £30 and they look great.
Good luck with whatever you decide and fingers crossed she doesn't go walkabouts, lol.

[Andrew Ferguson]

I have used a heatmat, but it was never in contact with the tank. Especially at the front or on the bottom where the cracks seem to be. Oh well!!! I'll just have to splash the cash and get something else.

[matthew spooner]

the cracks can be caused just by natural temp changes in the room, the hot weather of late probably hasnt helped the situation. its just where the plastic expands in the heat

[Lisa Baines]

yeah i had one of my plastic ext-terra tanks crack on me a couple of summers ago. but at the time i had a few of these and only one cracked. it may just be a manufacturing flaw.

[SylviRigden]

Lots of my glass tanks have cracked, I just tape them up on the inside with insulating tape to make them safe for the T's. Its too expensive to keep replacing the tanks.

[Colin D Wilson]

I use the cheapo "pet pal" style tanks from Wilkos. never had one crack yet (they seem to be a little more supple than others) and to be honest i recommend them highly for a fiver each. (if you can put up with the over colourful lids)
I don't use heat mats myself but heat the room when needed which could be the reason they have lasted so well too.

[James Box]

or if like me there's no Wilko's in reasonable distance for buying a new tank practically every week...try your local pound shop for plastic storage tubs!