My 40g breeder set up.

[icelore]

I've never posted pics of any of my tanks. I don't see many people with the standard 40g breeder though, so I thought I'd post mine. XD I straightened Ridley's cage out this morning though while he was napping under the couch ( :roll: ) so now is as good a time as any.

Just a regular 40g breeder that I picked up off Craigslist for $20 near the beginning of the year. Flooring is natural slate, basking spot is part of a hardwood tree root propped up on a small plastic rock thing. Decorations are aquarium plants that we bought in multiple colors and tied together. We didn't want to go "full desert" for decorations as he'd blend in too much...so we have kind of an arid oasis thing happening. Except for the pink flowers in the right corner -- those are my boyfriend's idea. :lol:

Lights are hung over the top of the tank with outdoor hanging basket hooks. Large dome is a MVB and small dome is just a house light for heat. Also there is no lid on the tank. Ridley likes to look out at us! Ever since we put him in a tank with no lid, his interaction with people has been off the chart! He really likes watching us as we look in on him now, where as before he pretty much ignored things over him. lol Also, he gets lots of petting as we go in and out of the office. Here we go!

Tank front. MVB was off, so it looks a little dark.

Basking wood and vines. TBH, the floor is really the basking spot, as it gets a bit hotter and is directly under the MVB. He just likes to sit up on the wood to watch the world.

Better shot of the weird little corner. When he wants to nap during the day, he crams himself into this corner and puts his head under the leaves. I wonder if he thinks we can't see him?

Cool side with morning salad. The slate pieces here are smaller as this is the place he likes to throw things and dig. He rearranges the tiles about 2-3 times a week over here. Also included is random crap on the floor from cleaning the tank, and of course the pink flowers. *facepalm*

Tank occupant. Very Not Happy that it is morning and that he was hauled out from under his dark and cold den under the couch. Lots of grump face and side eye.

Turning around to warm the other side and looking *slightly* less miserable.


And that's it! The lighting isn't as yellowy as it looks irl, but I was taking them through the glass.

 

[CooperDragon]

That's a really nice looking setup!

 

[DarkwingDork]

Very nice! I love the floor

 

[icelore]

Thank you!

The floor is a PITA to jigsaw together, but it does look nice once I've bent over the tank forever doing it. XD

 

[DarkwingDork]

You are quite welcome! I would love to do a floor like that but I know how much I'd HATE to clean it.

 

[icelore]

It's super easy to clean. It's still just slate, so wipes up. Wort thing that can happen if that I have to take a piece out and rinse it. XD

 

[pia2some]

I love your setup. It is so pretty. Where did you get the tiles? I, too, have the 40 gallon breeder tank and would love to use tiles on the floor.

 

[icelore]

I got the tiles from Home Depot. They are like $1 a piece, and I used 4. I just put a dish towel over them and hit them with a hammer to break them up, and also used the hammer to blunt any sharp edges. It's a bit of a pain to jigsaw them all together, but I like the look better then plain square tiles on the floor. Looks more natural - and it *really* files down his claws!

 

[pia2some]

I got the tiles from Home Depot. They are like $1 a piece, and I used 4. I just put a dish towel over them and hit them with a hammer to break them up, and also used the hammer to blunt any sharp edges. It's a bit of a pain to jigsaw them all together, but I like the look better then plain square tiles on the floor. Looks more natural - and it *really* files down his claws!

Wow, okay. I'm actually going to Home Depot tomorrow and I think I'll look and see if I can find some. Were they in the flooring area? I thought maybe they were a garden product. I love the look. Definitely more natural.

 

[icelore]

Yep, they're in the flooring area. They have some boxes where like 5-10 tiles are bundled, but they also have some singles, and if you ask, they'll open a box and sell them to you piece-meal as well. It took us a while to go through the tiles as a lot of lower quality slate has "corruption" in it that will flake away (looks like copper deposits and is not smoother like the rest of the rock). They are dusty as all get-out, but a quick dip in some super hot water and a good rub with a scrub brush took care of that. And slate dies pretty fast too, even if it's been submerged in water. Win win!

I also like the fact that the pieces are smaller, so on the off chance he does poop on one, I can just take that little piece out to wash off, and wipe under it if need be.