Viv pics only thread

[adufink]

I used acrylic sheets, cement, insulation foam, silicone, exo terra sand and eco earth.

I used a vinegar and water mixture for everyday cleaning and bleach once in awhile for major disinfecting. They poop comes off fairly easily.

 

[andrewlloyd]

Thats seriously amazing..

Do you mind sending me a PM, or sharing with us with how you actualy created it?

Are those real cactus's too?

 

[adufink]

Sure, I'd be happy to.
I started by getting some acrylic from Lowes; a 4x2 sheet 0.22" thick is about $40. They can cut the sheets at the store and I ended up with:
2 - 24"x24" - sides
2 - 4"x48" - the border for the door
1 - 16"x48" - the door
1 - 24"x48" - back
1 - 24"x47.5" - bottom

I also bought some thinner acrylic to act as a 4" border around the top for added stability.
Then I ordered some cement/weld from TAP plastics as well as acrylic hinges, knobs, and clasps. The clasps are strong enough for dragons and the like,
but couldn't hold anything larger, like monitors or snakes.
http://www.tapplastics.com/shop/product.php?pid=465&
They have a good video explaining how to weld acrylic.
First I taped the pieces in their place.

Then I welded them and removed the covers.

Next, I used some black insulation foam (which is spendy) and tube mortar for the first layer. This isn't necessary, but I didn't want the yellow foam showing on the sides because I think it looks bad.

I finished the landscape with yellow Great Stuff (very cheap at Home Depot). I carved that with a utility knife.

I mixed Exo Terra red sand and Eco Earth and attached that with silicone. Make sure you use strong silicone, because my dragons have managed to damage the cheaper stuff I used. Silicone 2 is good stuff.

I filled the pits with Exo Terra Turtle Gravel (large enough to not be eaten accidently). The long pit is meant to look like a dry river bed. The others were used for planting. The plants I used were thornless prickly pear, geraniums (which were promptly destroyed by the dragons), cissus quadrangularis vines (a succulent vine), and a bursera/elephant tree. I got these from doleaf.com and ebay. I let them grow out for a couple of weeks prior to planting in the viv. For planting, I used the gravel in the bottom, then a layer a good organic soil, and then sand a eco earth mixed for the top. The plants, minus the geraniums, are growing well so far. All are drought tolerant plants, to keep humidity down, that I found on Melissa Kaplan's website http://www.anapsid.org. She has a good list of reptile safe plants. I have a 4' fluorescent fixture from Lowes, very cheap, with two 6500k lights. That rests on the cage. My two mercury vapor lights are suspended by Zoo med's lamp stands. I use an Exo terra solar glo on the left and a trex on the right. The temps on the left basking spot sit between 110-115 and the ones on the right at 100-105. The ambient air temp sits at 80-85 during the day. I made sure to provide two hides, one is the cave in the cliffside, then other is the hollow log. The dragons took a little bit to adapt, but seem to be doing better than I've ever seen them before. All in all, it cost about $300. You could, for price and stability, use melamine for the bottom and back. But, this would require a drill bit that can drill acrylic without cracking it and some acrylic screws. It may also be easier and cheaper to use flat sheets of insulation foam as your main structure and just use Great Stuff to attach, fill and give it a natural shape.
The final product:

 

[rammsteinfreaky]

i'm currently making a fake rock, very simple compared to the one above which looks amazing!!! i'm really struggling to find a non toxic sealant, anyone help? cheers x

 

[andrewlloyd]

Thanks so much for replying mate!
It honestly looks amazing!

Im going to attempt something similar to this, and try to attach it to my already made melamine enclosure.

Again.. WOW! lol

Cheers,

 

[adufink]

Thanks so much. I really appreciate the encouragement.

 

[Eljay]

Here is my finished viv its my first one, and made very cheaply! but I think I did okay....

And here is Yoshi enjoying his basking spot!

 

[Eljay]

i'm currently making a fake rock, very simple compared to the one above which looks amazing!!! i'm really struggling to find a non toxic sealant, anyone help? cheers x

hey,

B&Q do a few non toxic sealants.

http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.j...refview=search&ts=1273785669669&isSearch=true

http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.j...refview=search&ts=1273785747282&isSearch=true

hope that helps

 

[robson0587]

 

[rammsteinfreaky]

i'm currently making a fake rock, very simple compared to the one above which looks amazing!!! i'm really struggling to find a non toxic sealant, anyone help? cheers x

hey,

B&Q do a few non toxic sealants.

http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.j...refview=search&ts=1273785669669&isSearch=true

http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.j...refview=search&ts=1273785747282&isSearch=true

hope that helps

cheers thanks alot thats great!! going to paint my fake rock over the weekend will probably start sealing in on sunday, had fun making the fake rock but not sure if i'd do it again, the supplies haven't been as cheap as i thought they were going to be.

 

[beardie osk]

Nice looking viv, Eljay.........and Welcome to the site!

 

[puppytoes72]

All your vivs look GREAT everyone

 

[BlueDevil]

Got this 4x2x2 terrarium from Cornel's World (Calgary, Alberta) last week, didn't have a chance to take pics till now! I got my HerpStat connected to my laptop. Will post more pics once I get it all set up!

 

[jeserah]

Mine's not completely finished, mostly because I need furniture (I want to get rid of that ghastly log taking up the middle of the viv, but it's all I have for the moment), so here's the "almost finished" version:

 

[rammsteinfreaky]

Done more decorating in my beardies tank i probably get more enjoyment out of it than he does...lol finally put my fake rock in as well, please let me know what you think any feedback appreciated cheers.