"my perfect viv for me "

[tanya1974]

i have to say for a woman (not putting us down ) i am a real natural when it comes to d.i.y . so when i decided that i wanted to do my own viv i went for something special. Well for me anyway.. its not amazing by any means but it is the centre of my living room , my colony are extreamly happy and wanted to share it with you. i adore natural wood , especially oak and plan to have all solid wood floors and old oak beams in the living room. so the thought behind my viv was old and oak. after a few months of searching and landing on my feet i found this solid oak 8ft high unit for a bargin price of £80.00. i saw the same one months later for over a grand. When i first did it only the top was done then i bought two more and they are now on the bottom then the whole viv will be opened up. made my fake rock thanks to this site. i did three levels 2 basking sites and two arcadia strips. natural rocks and drift wood from the beach for climbing . the whole thing stands 8ft high and 5ft wide. for me its perfect...i would recommend anyone to do it.

fake rock

enjoying playing with the sand (giggle)

when i first did it a year ago

all done now. i am so pleased with it , and my husband wont let me near it anymore (giggle)

picture quality isnt good but you can see the levels i think....

 

[Slave2Scarlett]

wow that's pretty awesome looking! What are the demensions? I know u said its 8ft tall but then 5ft long or wide? Just curious of the inside demensions..

 

[tanya1974]

hiya, just had tape measure out lol, in side the viv bearing in mind i have fake rock background is , bottom viv 2ft high and 5 ft long and 20 inchs wide . top viv is three levels each are 20iches high 20inchs wide and 5 ft long . and thanks for looking x

 

[brow5204]

I Had a similar plan for an old Entertainment center. It isn't really wide enough for my taste, but I thought, with access to all of the compartments, that the dragons would get plenty of exercise. Thanks for posting this, I was starting to lose confidence with it! Do your beardies use the whole enclosure? That was my other fear: that I would build this really cool viv and they would stay in one spot!

 

[tanya1974]

yeah most definatly, for the first week or so they were glued pritty much then they have got there own spots at diffrent times, they come together on the main basking light on the left hand side on a morning for around a couple of hours then ******* spot is on top of the arch and her feeing bowl is on top shelf , ******* and ******** are hang abouts and stay in middle and do more exploring , they mix again at diffrent intervals during the day so find them all at top or all middle , cooling down on bottom layer and sometimes hide out down there , last year a put warm peat on the bottom and luna layed her eggs down there , she has since been rehomed.. it works really well with them being natural climbers and if they cant be arsed with each other they have loads of space to go to. it works amazing for me and for them. I often sit and watch them for hours taking note of behaviors and querky moments.. i have since bought i smaller version which is in my bedroom , i havnt got round to it yet but will be three baby rearing sections... the reason i have blocked names is because i dont want peeps passing judgement hun ....

 

[brow5204]

Well it is quite an inspiration! I actually have 2 dragons, and 4 project vivs because I have had all of these great ideas. I tend to go for overkill every time, hahaha. I figured I could finish them all, see which one I like the best, and sell the others (at least this is what I told my boyfriend, I really would like to get one or two more dragons, and if I have the space...). I have an old record player cabinet, the entertainment center, a display case, and some old barn windows that I have big plans for. I will post pictures of each project as I get them started/done. I really am quite happy that you posted pics of your lovely enclosure so i could get some good ideas.

You only have the one basking spot? Are the lights on each level UV lights? And how do you keep it warm at night? Is each level vented? Sorry about trying to play 20 questions, but I love chatting with/learning from other handy folks!

 

[tanya1974]

lmao a girl of my own heart ,,,, lol , i am the same i have a wall half built outside, a 20ft long kennel needs finishing new walls to put in my sitting room as well , d.i.y heaven, there are vents on the sides of each level hun , and two basking lights one top left and one bottom right , uv ligts on each level (2). so there always have u.v apart from bottom level which is kept dark for them ,,, keep in touch with the projects two heads are better than one (giggle)

 

[brow5204]

Great! Thanks for the info. We really got going on the display case last night. Got it almost finished, all I need to do is get my butt in gear with the rock wall, but it is really shaping up. I can't wait to do the other two! It really is quite fun. We have nearly a gazillion projects as well, with cross fencing for horses, chicken coops, lizard cages, dog kennels...it sounds like we are in the same boat. Not to mention I also knit, crochet and sew (plenty of projects going there) and My boyfriend rebuilds cars...lol never a dull moment!!!

 

[jodyberry]

Very Cool!!

I also built mine with levels and it only took a few days before our girls were going all over the place! In fact, they actually like their logs and hammocks better than the floor!

If I have the patience, I'd like to make it warmer like yours with the fake rocks, etc. But when I built mine, I was impatient and needed it done in 2 days!!

 

[brow5204]

Very Cool!!

I also built mine with levels and it only took a few days before our girls were going all over the place! In fact, they actually like their logs and hammocks better than the floor!

If I have the patience, I'd like to make it warmer like yours with the fake rocks, etc. But when I built mine, I was impatient and needed it done in 2 days!!

That is how mine is going. We got the viv done, the glue just needs to air out all the way, and the girls will move in tomorrow. But the fake rock build is a work in progress at this point!

 

[brow5204]

Very Cool!!

I also built mine with levels and it only took a few days before our girls were going all over the place! In fact, they actually like their logs and hammocks better than the floor!

If I have the patience, I'd like to make it warmer like yours with the fake rocks, etc. But when I built mine, I was impatient and needed it done in 2 days!!

That is how mine is going. We got the viv done, the glue just needs to air out all the way, and the girls will move in tomorrow. But the fake rock build is a work in progress at this point!

 

[tanya1974]

that looks really good hun,,, my viv tho dosnt have a full floor though, the drift wood acts as ladders so the whole viv (top) is classed as one.god am going blind , do you have little holes in the floor ??? so they can get up the levels ??? and i really did notice a diffrence on temps when i put the rock backgrounds in . so be prepared for less watt bulbs lol.

 

[Lucindatheterrible]

Hey! I was thinking of doing the same kind of thing, but with an armoire. It has the same sort of design on the doors, and I was wondering how you put the glass in your doors. Thanks ahead of time!

 

[PuffPuff11]

That is really neat... about how much did all that cost you? supply wise? I was thinking of doing something with a bookshelf or something but I want it to look like a nice peice of furniture and I think it might just be cheaper to get this guy to build it for me and to make sure it will look right.

 

[Livey]

That looks great!