harv's new house

[sar]

harvey's new big-boy digs, great spot under a window and in front of a heater

he's so cozy in there... i wish the rest of the house was this warm

....hi everyone!!

i've checked out a lot of viv pics here on in the forums, and though i usually ogle the pics more than i read the construction details, :wink: i figured i'd share a few tips for people trying to get nice big roomy vivs for their scaly critters on a budget.

the whole front of harv's enclosure is glass from three old windows. we cracked the plastic casings off them (that was the most laborious part of the build) and used the measurements of the glass to set the size for the rest of it. everything else was scrap wood acquired from friends, family and renovation sites around the neighborhood--plywood, 2x4, 1/4 round etc. we paid for nothing but grout, paint and glue. we're actually thinking of making more, checking out the market for them here in newfoundland.

it totally pays to root around in your parents' and friends' junky basements, and stop by reno sites in your area--they throw out lots of good stuff. just make sure it's actually 'junk' before you load it into your car--especially if someone is watching.... :lol:

 

[shinedown]

Wow... I love it! What lighting are you using?

 

[sar]

i'm using a 160w MVB and a 100w daylight basking spot bulb... i'm thinking of installing a ledge or something more comfy up towards the left-hand side of the MVB, so he can get close and cozy up top there. make more use of all the vertical space.

 

[pimmsoclock87]

Looks good!

But how do you get in there!? looks like the glass is fixed.

 

[sar]

...sliding panes of glass, we epoxied a little silver handle right onto the glass.

 

[KristineKooyman]

Hey, I have a custom made tank for my Pheonix and was wondering if you had any ideas for building at lid that can house the lights and heaters. IT is a 60 inch x 18 inch. I would like to use wood for insulation as the tank does not stay that warm being so big. I have added another 60 watt ceramic heater to try and warm it up but still not as warm as I would like it (just under 90 degrees).
Any suggestions for a home made top for this tank???

 

[acwood04]

Hey, I have a custom made tank for my Pheonix and was wondering if you had any ideas for building at lid that can house the lights and heaters. IT is a 60 inch x 18 inch. I would like to use wood for insulation as the tank does not stay that warm being so big. I have added another 60 watt ceramic heater to try and warm it up but still not as warm as I would like it (just under 90 degrees).
Any suggestions for a home made top for this tank???

I drilled holes in the ceiling and then constructed a box made of wood to house the fixtures for the bulbs.. Then with the box on top you can screw the bulbs/heat emitters in and they will be somewhat inside the viv but the fixture outside. This gives more space inside the viv and it helps keep it from getting too hot.

 

[BAMAbeardie]

How did you make the background ? Its something i would like to do in our tank.

 

[KristineKooyman]

I drilled holes in the ceiling and then constructed a box made of wood to house the fixtures for the bulbs.. Then with the box on top you can screw the bulbs/heat emitters in and they will be somewhat inside the viv but the fixture outside. This gives more space inside the viv and it helps keep it from getting too hot.

Thanks!!! I have actually been trying to figure out ways to either house it in the wood or suspend it from the ceiling. I will have to see what I can do. Thanks for the tips!!

 

[sar]

....as for the housed light/heat system for the top of the tank, the above advice sounds good to me. there's also a couple of designs in the 'Viv pics only thread' where a couple of people show the template for the sort of thing you might be looking for. (as you can see in my first pic, we sort of just half-assed it and drilled a hole in the top so that we could attach the light inside the tank but trail its cord-end outside.)

as for the background.... that's the fun part! and it looks like i lied about what supplies we bought--because we did purchase a large sheet of styrofoam. for my first viv i got some for free, but for this one i was too impatient to hunt some up, so i bought a big sheet from a hardware store and gouged the ridges in it with a knife and spoon. then i covered the whole thing in brown grout (a few layers, and thick in the deepest parts of the cracks), left to dry a couple of days, painted and sealed it with Mod-podge glue.

my first one was styled by burning the ridges in the styrofoam with a bbq lighter--which gives AMAZING looking rock detail to the piece, but the fumes are supposedly extremely toxic, and bad for the environment to boot. i couldn't justify doing the same thing again once i knew the difference. i guess that would come down to a personal decision....

for the paint, i blended two brown acrylics (burnt umber and raw umber, i think) so that the darker one is in the deep clefts and the light one covers the broad portions of 'rock.' the more time you spend at this stage (adding colored sand, sponging on the paint, etc.) the better the background looks. my first one was just one coat of two blended paint colors over the burn-sculpted styrofoam and really looked fantastic, not so shiny as this one i have now.

if i can find pics of the old background, i'll post them.