Viv is finally complete!

[gregorydragon]

I finally finished the last touch of Mango's viv this weekend, which was the middle section of the rock wall. He hung out on it all day so I know he loves it. The viv itself took me a few weeks because I could only work on it a few hours at a time every couple of days. As you can see, I started on the fake rock idea before the viv was complete. And I grouted the tile in. This bad boy is HEAVY!!! I have to fixtures installed to provide two basking spots, but the main basking spot (under the MVB) gets up to the 115-117 range with both of them on. It also makes the cool side stay in the 90-95 range so I only have one light on at a time. I want to add more, but I just can't figure out what to do yet. N-E-Way, here are the pics:

Shell

Drafting for fake rock

Lights

Tile

I finished this piece of the fake rock first and used some old furnishings from his smaller tank. I needed to test the temps and elevation under the MVB before I started making the fake rock on the left side.

Finally Complete!!!
I only have both basking lights on for the pic.

Loving it!

Oh! I just remembered something. The very last piece that I completed was actually the little rectangular piece on the left of the viv between the ramp and the stairs. This is a cave. I put the ramp/stair piece in there for two days before I completed the back bridge. He didn't want to come out of there. I kept taking him back out and was considering making a whole new piece for that side. My brilliant wife asked why wouldn't I just make something to cover it up during the day. So I made a "door" to block it during the day. I ended up taking the big piece out until the door was done. When he is out, he is active and walks around a lot. Some day, if he starts to brumate, I'll just let him stay in there.

 

[Goonie]

WOW! What a viv! Shoot, looking at that makes me want to be a beardie :wink:
Mango looked like he really liked his new home. Lucky duck!

 

[haleygirl272]

BRILLIANT!

on a scale of 1-10, how hard was building a custom viv?

 

[gregorydragon]

BRILLIANT!

on a scale of 1-10, how hard was building a custom viv?

Hmm...I have a few different thoughts on this. In the beginning (when I was researching and just getting started), I would say an 8. I think that has more to do with nerves and anxiety about doing something wrong. Once I got into it and started to enjoy it (all the way up to now), I would say a 4 or a 5. As I was recently told, I do everything at 150%. I added to the complexity with grouted tile and fake rock. All things considered on this viv, I would say a 6. The biggest part for me was time. I could only work on it for a few hours at a time. It was really fun though. I enjoyed it. I want to make another one, which means I need another beardie. I have been told that we are getting a dog first though.

I have been turned into a minor handyman though. The concept of building and tiling has made me want to do other stuff. It's almost like the viv was "practice". Now I want to build a stand for the viv (and another viv), a toy box for my kids, and I am considering putting in some tile in a hallway in my house. Did I already mention that I had fun?

 

[gregorydragon]

I almost forgot. The most complicated part for me was fitting the tile into the viv just right. I did not have access to a tile cutter, so I had to measure and re-measure and make several trips to Home Depot to get just the right combination of tile sizes to fit in the bottom. You can see all of the different tile sizes I used (and the pattern) in the one pic with the white spacers in between the tiles.

 

[haleygirl272]

Well, the tile cutting must have been fun! :roll:

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

Very impressive!!! You did an amazing job. Mango looks right at home in there...

 

[gregorydragon]

Very impressive!!! You did an amazing job. Mango looks right at home in there...

Thanks! He realy likes the bridge

 

[gregorydragon]

Well, the tile cutting must have been fun! :roll:

No no! I did NOT cut any tile. This made it harder because I had to find tile that was just the right size.

 

[haleygirl272]

Well, the tile cutting must have been fun! :roll:

No no! I did NOT cut any tile. This made it harder because I had to find tile that was just the right size.

oh, I misunderstood, I thought you meant you had to cut by hand.

 

[gregorydragon]

Haley,
I've noticed your dragons in the sig line for a while now. What are those?

 

[haleygirl272]

Haley,
I've noticed your dragons in the sig line for a while now. What are those?

Those are for a site called Dragcave.net where you can adopt dragons and breed them 8)

 

[Barrettxx]

I LOVE THAT !!
Thats really nice, congrats I hope you like it most importantly I hope your beardy enjoys it
Question, how did you make that fake rockk? It looks beautiful.

 

[gregorydragon]

I LOVE THAT !!
Thats really nice, congrats I hope you like it most importantly I hope your beardy enjoys it
Question, how did you make that fake rockk? It looks beautiful.

Very quickly:
styrofoam (left over from other things that I bought recently)
Hot glue gun (low temp gun or it will melt the styrofoam)
Great Stuff gap filler
knife for cutting and shaping
Sanded grout (powder mis without the mold guard stuff in it)
Paint brushes
non-toxic polycrylic sealer (satin)
acrylic paint

think about what you want it to look like. Glue your pieces together in a general shape of what you want. fill in extra gaps with "Great Stuff" gap filler. Use the knife to trim it and cut grooves, etc. mix some grout with water so that it is "soupy". Paint on a layer and make sure you get some in all of the cracks and crevices. Each time I applied a layer, I made the consistency thicker. Each coat sits overnight to dry.The last coat is just a little bit of grout mix, but this is where I mix in the paint (burnt umber is the color I used). I apply a coat. After it dried, I started applying sealer. The sealer can be applied in one day because you can put on a layer every 2 hours, but you need to let it sit to dry and air out some fumes for a few days before putting it in the viv. Also, on the first layer of sealer, I sprinkled some playsand while it was still wet to add texture. Then I applied three to four more coats of sealer after that. Here is a link that tells you how to do this. I followed these instructions as far as supplies and how to, but I used my own idea for the design:
http://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=75&t=90519&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

 

[Barrettxx]

Thanks a bunch, you made me REALLY want to re-design my whole encloser.. to bad I cant swap my front for the slidey doors Im gunna make a new post so i dont bug on this topic.