This Terrarium has plants, an underground section and a working waterfall. It is the Ultimate Terrarium and a lot of fun to make. It is perfect for keeping small reptiles.

What is the Ultimate terrarium? There are several things we are going to accomplish with this terrarium. First of all it has to look good so it can be shown off to friends! And there are several components we are going to add that will make it special.

1. It is going to have a nice selection of colorful plants
2. It is going to have some kind of a creature in it - maybe a reptile
3. We want it to have a working waterfall for aesthetics and for the reptile to drink from
4. We will add some nice little ornaments to give a great look
5. It will have a nice underground section that we can see from the front and the reptile will be able to go in there.

The Ultimate Terrarium - Here is how we start - With an empty fish tank. You should clean the glass thoroughly but be very careful; any chemical cleaners you use can leave a residue that is poisonous to your plants and animals so use very little cleaner and rinse it out thoroughly with plain water.

Design Your Terrarium on paper first

How do you start the terrarium project? The first thing you should do when starting this project or almost any other project that I have here on my website is to make some sketches and get an idea of what you are trying to achieve. This sketching process will help you to come up with ideas and it will help you to see what the final project will look like. It will be a sort of a template that you can follow as you build the terrarium. Draw your ideas in light pencil as you are working out the details. This way you can erase them and make changes as you come up with ideas. Here is an blank drawing of my terrarium It shows an front view and a top view. Don't skip this step it will pay off in the future!

Here is the plan for the terrarium - It looks pretty good and we may have to make changes as we go but it is a good starting point. Notice a few things: The waterfall is in the back on the right side - this is because we will have to run the pump wire up and out of the tank, it will be less noticeable this way. Also notice that the entrance to the underground lair only takes up some of the top surface. We don't want a big hole taking up all our plant growing and reptile running space. This gives it bit of a secret-cave kind of feel.

Let's start building this terrarium! The first thing we do is build the underground den for our pets to hide and take a nap in!

Here are some great examples of a big terrarium that was created by a web visitor (Badia A.) Thanks Badia for the great picture. This shows that there are lots of possibilities and the sky is pretty much the limit. You can create just about any kind of terrarium that you want.

Here is a stunningly beautiful Wine Glass terrarium. These were made as gifts for a bridal shower. They came out great and I have lots of pictures and instructions on how to do this. Not hard to do and relatively easy but oh so nice. They make a perfect gift for many occasions. Wine Glass Terrarium

A Conch Shell Terrarium - This is another relatively easy project to do and it very much hits the mark that I always talk about. Using creative containers to make a beatiful and unique terrarium. All you need a shell and a couple of plants - The Conch Shell Terrarium