May 5, 2026 · Dana Whitfield

Invertebrate Enclosure Guide: Beyond Spiders

Our enclosure line was built around jumping spiders first, but the acrylic terrarium format — clear panels, secure magnetic lid, built-in ventilation — is a common choice across the wider invertebrate-keeping hobby, not just for spiders. This guide is for anyone searching "invertebrate enclosure" because they're keeping (or considering) something other than a spider: a scorpion, a millipede, isopods, or another small terrestrial invertebrate. We'll go through what changes by animal type and what stays the same.

What actually varies between invertebrate species

The practical takeaway: if you're moving from jumping spiders to something like a burrowing scorpion, the substrate depth alone changes the math on which of our sizes makes sense — you'll want more usable floor depth than the shallow layer that works fine for a jumping spider. For a species that needs 8-10cm of substrate to express natural burrowing behavior, our L (25x15x15cm) leaves more usable space than the S or M once that substrate layer is factored in.

Why the acrylic format still works across species

This is the part of enclosure design that doesn't really change by animal. A scorpion is arguably an even bigger escape risk than a jumping spider in some respects — many species are strong, persistent, and will exploit a loose-fitting lid over time. The magnetic-close lid we use isn't spider-specific; it's a general answer to "how do I keep a small, determined invertebrate from finding a gap," which is why the same enclosure line works reasonably well whether you're housing a jumping spider, a small scorpion, or isopods as a bioactive cleanup crew.

Ventilation trade-offs by species

This is one place where we'd push back gently on a one-size-fits-all approach. Heavy cross-ventilation is great for preventing stagnant air in a jumping spider or scorpion enclosure, but a millipede species that needs consistently damp conditions can dry out faster in a heavily ventilated space, requiring more frequent misting to compensate. If you're setting up for a moisture-dependent species, it's common practice among keepers to partially cover ventilation (with plastic wrap or tape over a portion of the mesh) rather than assume more airflow is always better.

Sizing by animal, not just by "small" vs. "large"

Our three sizes (S: 10x10x10cm, M: 12x12x20cm, L: 25x15x15cm) were designed first for jumping spiders, and that shows in the height-forward M size especially. For a floor-space-dominant animal like many scorpions or millipedes, the L size's larger footprint tends to be the better starting point even for a juvenile, since these species generally prioritize ground area over vertical climbing room. If you're keeping something notably larger than the animals this line was designed around — an adult emperor scorpion or a large millipede species, for instance — you may outgrow even our L size, and a dedicated larger enclosure built for that species specifically is the more honest recommendation.

Feeding differences across invertebrate types

This is another area where "invertebrate enclosure" advice can't be generic without becoming useless. A jumping spider or scorpion enclosure needs to be small enough and open enough that live prey — fruit flies, small crickets — doesn't have anywhere to hide indefinitely, which is part of why compact, well-lit enclosures work better than large, densely planted ones for predatory species. Millipedes and isopods work almost the opposite way: they benefit from more leaf litter and decaying plant matter left in the enclosure longer, since that's the food source itself rather than an obstacle to it. If you're keeping both a predatory species and a detritivore species (isopods as a bioactive cleanup crew alongside a spider, for example), it helps to think of them as having different jobs in the enclosure rather than identical care needs.

Feeding frequency follows the same split. Predatory invertebrates are typically fed every 2-4 days depending on species and life stage, with keepers watching the animal's abdomen or body condition to judge whether to feed more or less often. Detritivores kept as a self-sustaining cleanup crew are usually not fed on a schedule at all — instead, keepers periodically add a small amount of fish flake, vegetable scrap, or additional leaf litter and let the population regulate itself. Confusing the two approaches is a common beginner mistake: overfeeding a detritivore population manually, or underfeeding a predatory species because it "hasn't looked hungry."

A note on care advice across species

We keep and review enclosures — we're not veterinarians, and the setup notes above are common practice reported by amateur keepers across the invertebrate hobby, not a species-specific care guarantee. If you're setting up for a species not covered directly here, cross-reference a care sheet specific to that animal before finalizing substrate, humidity, or feeding schedule; general invertebrate guidance can only get you so far once you're outside the jumping spiders this line was originally built for.

Related pages

See the jumping-spider-first version of this enclosure line on our jumping spider enclosure homepage. Housing a tarantula instead? Our tarantula enclosure page covers sizing by life stage. Curious how the acrylic itself is built? Read acrylic terrarium. For general setup steps that apply across species, see our spider habitat guide and jumping spider terrarium setup guide. Considering a self-sustaining, planted setup? See bioactive spider enclosure guide.