RUB versus Faunarium

Split from 'The set up at SML' thread.

What are the pros and cons of rubs then? I get that they are small and don't give the leos alot of room.. but what else is a bad side to it?

Pro's would be erm...
- Easy storage
- good for racks
- available in lots of different sizes
- stackable? lol.
- Clear..
- secure


Cons would be
- Don't come with holes in, you have to drill em in or use a soldering iron.
- maybe considered unethical? i dunno..
cant think of many...

Persnally i disagree that they are small, they are only small if you buy the small ones lol. They come in great big sizes to tiny sizes.

I also rarely use rubs anymore, i use exo terra faunariums now, as they are just nicer aesthetically for me, makes it seem like a nicer home for the gecko.
The breeding tub is a 50Litre RUB, and Coffee's house is a 12Litre RUB.

awesome. I prefer vivariums.. I love how you can decorate them and make them resemble the natural habitat of leos as much as possible in captivity.

that's awesome ^ ^ i love the all white blizzards.. but I still love the ones with the yellow colour on their backs

I know I'm new here, but thought this would be a great place to ask my question on RUB's/Faunariums!

Faunariums are just like RUB's aren't they? So this must mean you can use it as a 24/7 home like a normal vivarium, most likely with that heat tape stuff as opposed to a heat mat as most Faunariums/RUB's don't have little raised legs? Although I'm guessing you could maybe put a small thing under each corner if you wished to use a heat mat? Such as perhaps a drinks coaster or something to that effect?

And surely, unlike what gothicgurrrl said, it is possible to make RUB/Faunarium homes aesthetically similar to their natural habitat, to the same extent as a normal vivarium?

For example if you bought the biggest "Exo Terra Flat Faunarium" which dimensions are at 18x12x16.5" (46x30x17cm, which converts to around 5 UK gallons/just under 20L and 1.49 foot long) you would have a home that is deemed an average size to keep adult Leopard Gecko's in. I know there are people who keep geckos in smaller vivariums/terrariums (such as the "Leopard Gecko Terrarium Starter Kit & Accessories" which only has 30cm length in floor space), but what I'm getting at is that surely it would be possible to add plants/decorations to the Faunariums/RUB to make it look like any other vivarium equivalent, perhaps even more easily as it's longer? I've checked the sizes and, especially that longest Faunarium, it is possible for nearly all types of decorations to easily fit in there; making it no different to that of a glass/wooden vivarium in terms of 'decoration'.

However, I would like to clear one thing up. On a website I was looking at it claimed that Faunariums were a good temporary housing. So can you/can you not use them just like RUB's for permanent housing?

Much thanks, and I'm sorry if it seems like I was having a stab at gothicgurrrl, it was purely more of a question so I can extend my knowledge.

Hi and welcome to the forum

the first thing about a RUB is that 'RUB (Really Useful Box)' is of course a brand name, not only that, it makes stationary boxes, not gecko boxes.
And a faunarium, is a type of enclosure, and Exo Terra make them especailly for small lizards. So from that, it clears up a lot of the reasons why faunariums are much better than RUBS.

In terms of which is better for housing gecko's in, they are pretty equal, they are both plastic tubs of similar size's and fit nitcely on a rack and can be heated easily.

But what i personally think makes the faunariums a lot better (and worth that extra bit of money) is the fact that they are more convenient and better suited in small details.

A faunairum; has all necessary air holes already built in, a rub doesnt. Has a secure lid, a rub does but it can be very loose on occasions. Has nice clear plastic, a rub has is clear but nowhere as clear as faunariums. A faunarium has an opening bit on the top of the lid for quick and easy access, a rub doesnt. A faunarium does have little feet on the corners, raising it from the heat source a little, a rub doesnt. Another plus is the faunariums lid can be sprayed through for easy misting.

So when you ask if a faunarium and RUB are the same thing the answer is YES and NO.
They are the same in the sense they perfectly capable of doing the same job, but different because a faunarium was made for this purpose and so is a lot better.

Its like a car and a wheelbarrow, they can both ultimately get you from A to B, but one of them was made for the job. lol.

Lol, thanks, that's cleared it up very nicely for me! So you could effectively keep gecko's in the Faunariums? I understand although adult Leopard Gecko's may be kept in something the size of the largest Exo Terra Faunarium, they are better suited to 36x15x15" terrariums/vivariums. Is this true or more in the case of keeping multiple gecko's together?
Sorry, I know this is slightly off topic, it's just bugging me how, on here both are accepted as OK, where as on websites they are listed as all purpose as well as being only suitable for temporary housing. I'm guessing this is just a ploy to get people to buy the much more expensive vivarium's? I think they should look into making the Faunarium's in vivarium sizes. I think it would be more appropriate if the gecko's are bought for younger children as there is less chance of them breaking it, like they may do with glass. Just my opinion though!

Laura.ox wrote:

And surely, unlike what gothicgurrrl said, it is possible to make RUB/Faunarium homes aesthetically similar to their natural habitat, to the same extent as a normal vivarium?

Much thanks, and I'm sorry if it seems like I was having a stab at gothicgurrrl, it was purely more of a question so I can extend my knowledge.

Don't worry..I know you weren't having a stab at me or anything. But I just wanted to clear up that I didn't mean that you couldn't make faunariums resemble their natural habitat.. because you can and jordan has done an awesome job with his RUBS...

.. I just personally love vivs because you add loads of deco in and they have alot of space to roam around in. They look nice and I didn't know about RUBS when I bought my gecko. I'm only just learning about keeping leopard geckos in RUBS and I'm really like the idea.. I might possibly keep my leopard geckos like that one day if I
get some more.

I hope you show us some photos of your faunarium or RUB when you get it all set up. Do you already have a gecko or are you planning on getting one?

Welcome to the forum btw =]

I use faunariums mostly Sarah, most of the tubs you see in the pics in this thread, are faunariums.

Yeah leopard geckos can be kept in the tubs (either RUB or faunarium) permanently, i do, and so do most breeders.

Well leo's can be kept in any size faunarium with a very minimum of sort of 12inch x 12 inch floor space, so the bigger one's could very well be used to make a gecko happier in terms of space, or adding more decoration or even used for housing multiple geckos together.
A great example of this last point, is i have 50L RUB, which i use as my breeding tub, i keep normally a 1.2 group in there to breed for a week or 2.

Ahh! I think I miss interpreted slightly gothicgurrrl! But you did stress a good point about decorations in Faunariums, it pays to check their heights and stuff as some wont fit; better than ending up disappointed when you get home!

And also in response, hopefully about this time next year after I've had some good reptile work experience, finished my A-Levels, done a good amount of research and understanding and got myself into a stable job. I see no point getting them now as I won't have a good enough income to properly look after them/always have money on hand for any unexpected vet trips.

Plus, being the kind of person I am, I like to get everything right from the start, which would mean having all the money saved up and all the equipment bought so I can get a small collection I really like from the start. (and yeah, these will most likely be a few of the more expensive ones from TheUrbanGecko.com, such as the Onyx, which I think is a great alternative to a ridiculously expensive Black Pearl!)

Not only that I very much like most Reptiles, Amphibians, Fish and don't want to get my self too excited about it now when I don't have proper space; I'd rather wait 'till I've moved out and my step mum can't complain that way. (she would because we don't get on.)

Awesome I think its great that you want to make sure everything is perfect before you get a leopard gecko. there are too many people that just buy pets without any knowledge.

hahha I know how you feel about the complaining.. my family are not into reptiles at all.. or animals in general tbh. and it's sooo annoying because I'm a major animal lover! They complain all the time that I have too many pets and that they take up too much room.. I can't wait until I move out.. I will get soo many different reptiles.

Coool, which A-levels are you taking? I was going to take A-levels with all my friends but I decided to be adventurous and went to an college called Myerscough to study animal management. And I don't regret it at all! I learnt soo much and if I didn't go there I wouldn't have even known what a leopard gecko was! They have soo many animals there

What sucks though is that I can't get into uni with the course I took.. soo I have to do a year of AS at another college before I can get accepted on the zoo biology course.. and I have to take 4 subjects even though I only need 20 more UCAS points lol

Yeah, I'm the same with that feeling really, like with people who want to buy fish; there's so much more to them and their needs than just a water and a tiny plastic tank.

Haha, I'm a massive animal fanatic, pretty much any animal really. My favourites are horses, leopard geckos and dogs. Although I love pretty much all animals really. I think one day I shall have to live on a small holding to accommodate them all :S
And in all honesty it's more just my step mum being awkward as we have never got on. She was fine for me to get my hamster (which I ended up spending about £70 on in hamster housing..) rather than a gecko. It was my money I spent but she was all like no she wont look after it properly I don't like lizard things blah blah blah, even though it would never really of come out of my room and would of been 10x quieter than Beast who wakes me up most nights with his wheel and what not. Ah well. Lol.

For my A-Levels I'm taking Religious Studies, English Language, Geography and Sociology. I also have to sit a General Studies paper. I completely understand about you wanting to go to college! I've always hated school and the only reason I stayed on at 6th form was because, living where I live, it was the most easily accessed option. I really wanted to get an apprenticeship or college course where I could learn about Horse therapy and husbandry, as I took a keen interest in Hydro/Magnetic/Heat therapy.

I'm honestly not sure if I want to go to university. Not because of the rise in fees, I'd just really like to be out there working with animals. Although I appear a very academic person, it's really not my style, for some reason I'm just good at it!

Anyway, rather than going off topic here, if you'd like to find out/ask more about me, feel free to drop me a PM! Good luck with all your pets!

haha awesome. Good luck with getting your leopard gecko eventually lol :P

Laura.ox wrote:
Anyway, rather than going off topic here, if you'd like to find out/ask more about me, feel free to drop me a PM! Good luck with all your pets!

Thank you haha

i love naturalistic enclosures. i also use alot of rack systems. my leo rack has a footprint of 16'' x 28" so i think this is plenty of room for an adult leo witout question in my opinion. i have a few hides and some other things in there for the gex to explore and climb on. i dont think they are inhumane as long as you have enough room and appropriet perameters as far as belly heat, temps, humidity, ect. if you have more animals than a few, i think racks are amazing as long as they are big enough. i personally like to give my animals more room than most people i know, but this is just me. my favorite thing is the ease of heating the whole unit, instead of having to heat a hundred single units!