Well after a long painstaking 3 months my first atempt at building a fake rock enclosure is finally finished.
I started off with an empty 4ft x 2ft x 2ft viv and built the structure out of polystyrene. I then grouted the whole
thing with about 3 layers of grout. Yes I grouted the whole thing whilst it was glued into the viv. It was a
nightmare trying to do all behind the pilars and in the caves. I had to use mirrors and torches so I could see what I
was doing. And brushes with the handles cut of so I could get them into small spaces at the right angles to get the
grout on. I then sprayed it all with acrylic paint with a pressurised spray gun. I think it has about 25 layers of
paint on it. I've only sealed some of it with pva, like in the caves, but I didn't want to make it look all shiny. But
if it proves too problamatic to clean then I might have too at a later date. Most of the plants in it have been
modified and cut up into smaller pieces. And I linked them on with screw hooks.
Unfortunately I found out today that the poor guy that was going to be moving in today now has coccodia. So I need to
keep him in a sterile easy to clean enviroment for now. But his new homes waiting for him when he's all clean.
Here it is....
I actually cheated on the dragon statues. They are pen holders that I glued in and painted.
That bit on the right hand side of the temple is actually a spiral staircase going from the bottom floor to the top.
And the alcove underneath is a shaded feeding area. Their food lasts longer if you keep away from the heat light.
The cave under the mountain goes right back into the corner. So despite the fact it looks like there isn't much floor
space in the viv. He can actually run all the way from the front right corner, to the back left unubstructed.
And Zeus. The guy who should hopefully be moving in soon.
Well hopefully you all like it. Fortunately my mum did so she's been more accepting of the mess I made making it
I plan to make another one in a few months. Maybe a grand canyon style thing or I might end up doing a ruined
greystone temple....
I started off with an empty 4ft x 2ft x 2ft viv and built the structure out of polystyrene. I then grouted the whole
thing with about 3 layers of grout. Yes I grouted the whole thing whilst it was glued into the viv. It was a
nightmare trying to do all behind the pilars and in the caves. I had to use mirrors and torches so I could see what I
was doing. And brushes with the handles cut of so I could get them into small spaces at the right angles to get the
grout on. I then sprayed it all with acrylic paint with a pressurised spray gun. I think it has about 25 layers of
paint on it. I've only sealed some of it with pva, like in the caves, but I didn't want to make it look all shiny. But
if it proves too problamatic to clean then I might have too at a later date. Most of the plants in it have been
modified and cut up into smaller pieces. And I linked them on with screw hooks.
Unfortunately I found out today that the poor guy that was going to be moving in today now has coccodia. So I need to
keep him in a sterile easy to clean enviroment for now. But his new homes waiting for him when he's all clean.
Here it is....
I actually cheated on the dragon statues. They are pen holders that I glued in and painted.
That bit on the right hand side of the temple is actually a spiral staircase going from the bottom floor to the top.
And the alcove underneath is a shaded feeding area. Their food lasts longer if you keep away from the heat light.
The cave under the mountain goes right back into the corner. So despite the fact it looks like there isn't much floor
space in the viv. He can actually run all the way from the front right corner, to the back left unubstructed.
And Zeus. The guy who should hopefully be moving in soon.
Well hopefully you all like it. Fortunately my mum did so she's been more accepting of the mess I made making it
I plan to make another one in a few months. Maybe a grand canyon style thing or I might end up doing a ruined
greystone temple....
