Pimp my Vivarium - Pic Heavy

[spatte88]

Originally Posted by a1dzcannon

The light blue is that meant to be ice if so looks great! But personally i think it would look better all rock :P Personal view then because it would be more of cave looking. Still AMAZING viv

Thanks and yes it is meant to be ice!

[a1dzcannon]

Originally Posted by spatte88

Thanks and yes it is meant to be ice!

Sweet ypur welcome imma have a shot at one of these some time did you hand carve it? or machine

[cordylidae]

well done

hows the underfloor heating going then it was a very clever idea

[pymn nice but dim]

Originally Posted by jabba1967

It's a shame that out of 163 posts, only 4 I think mention that this viv is a nice work of art, but it's no beardie viv

Jay

yeah i guess it would be ok for a hatchling for a few weeks but a adult juvy even a young dragon would probably be uncomfortable if that was in a bigger viv with some floow space then i wouldnt hesistate on saying one of the best vivs i mean 10/10 for looks but 4/10 for actual use.


i dont mean this in the wrong way i just think its a shame theres no real comfort factor

[LiamRatSnake]

It's amazing... Just debating with myself what I'd put in there... My leos would look good in there...

[Indieflow]

Originally Posted by pymn nice but dim

yeah i guess it would be ok for a hatchling for a few weeks but a adult juvy even a young dragon would probably be uncomfortable if that was in a bigger viv with some floow space then i wouldnt hesistate on saying one of the best vivs i mean 10/10 for looks but 4/10 for actual use.


i dont mean this in the wrong way i just think its a shame theres no real comfort factor

Well if your Beardie is anything like mine (just sunbathes all day and that lazy even waits for the food to come to him ) then I'm sure there will be plenty of room in your new viv, which looks ace by the way. Hope you'll post your stack creation as well when you start it?

[Indieflow]

Originally Posted by LiamRatSnake

It's amazing... Just debating with myself what I'd put in there... My leos would look good in there...

Why not Lucy?

[Mujician]

Its a shame people dont read things thoroughly!

I dont suppose you could take a photo of it next to something could you, just to put it into perspective. It really doesn't look 4 feet long! It looks more like its 2'! It looks amazing. Can I ask where you got your polystyrene from? It doesn't look like its goin gto break into those liitle balls, is that because you used the wire to cut it? Or is is a denser kind of polystyrene? Thanks, Ben

[Skyespirit86]

Ive a couple of concerns over the long term survival of a rock build like this. Don't get me wrong it is an amazing piece of art and the thought you put into the various materials/tools you would need and the heatng system is fantastic.

However I attempted to make some simple hides a while back using the polystyrene-greuting-painting-varnishing method and so I know what these things feel, and look like in person. Grout is a very gritty substance whih doesn't stick increadibly well to polystyrene. The runnier you make it to preserve detail, the weaker it is, and even after several coats, you find bits dropping or chipping off. I remember thinking-why grout? It stuck to the knife I as usng better than the polystyrene! I got through two bags on some tiny little hides and they were pretty expensive!!

Finally I painted and varnished it. They feel very light,and to be fair in places wherethe grout is thinnest (even after several coats) you can still feel springiness if you press it. Every now and the vivs need to b cleaned and disinfected, and detailed parts need to be done properly-especially if you have covered the surface with sand making all kinds of mini nooks and crannies. They may need to be scrubbed a bit for example. If there is the smallest hole in the varnish or grout, water penetrates making it weaker. Scrubbing makes weaker parts come off, or sand if you use it. Even after being varished it is not entirely waterproof, you can never soak pieces unless you want to ruin them and varnish can go kind of 'soft'. Knocks and scratches reveal plain polystyrene underneath after all that hard work. These things aren't like real rock. They are hard work, very expensive...and not premanent. Give it a couple of years and I expect it'll be looking a bit worse for wear. So continual maintenance is needed as ar as keeping it pretty is concerned.

Are there other materials which can be used that are more permanent and durable?

[Crestie Chris]

Originally Posted by Skyespirit86

Ive a couple of concerns over the long term survival of a rock build like this. Don't get me wrong it is an amazing piece of art and the thought you put into the various materials/tools you would need and the heatng system is fantastic.

However I attempted to make some simple hides a while back using the polystyrene-greuting-painting-varnishing method and so I know what these things feel, and look like in person. Grout is a very gritty substance whih doesn't stick increadibly well to polystyrene. The runnier you make it to preserve detail, the weaker it is, and even after several coats, you find bits dropping or chipping off. I remember thinking-why grout? It stuck to the knife I as usng better than the polystyrene! I got through two bags on some tiny little hides and they were pretty expensive!!

Finally I painted and varnished it. They feel very light,and to be fair in places wherethe grout is thinnest (even after several coats) you can still feel springiness if you press it. Every now and the vivs need to b cleaned and disinfected, and detailed parts need to be done properly-especially if you have covered the surfae ith sad making allkinds of mini nooks and crannies. They may need to be scrubbed a bit for example. If there is the smallest hole in the varnish or grout, water penetrates making it weaker. Scrubbing also makes weaker parts come off, or sand if you use it. Even after being varished it is not entirey waterproof, you can never soak pieces unless you want to ruin them. Knocks an scratches reveal plain polystyrene underneath afterll that hard work. These things aren't like real rock. They are hard work, very expensive...and not premanent. Give it a couple of years and I expect it'll be looking a bit worse for wear. So continual maintenance is needed as ar as keeping it pretty is concerned.

Are there other materials which can be used that are more permanent and durable?

The grout probably came off as you didn't leave enough time in-between coats for the it to dry. If you have a very intricate background you can use a handheld steam cleaner where no scrubbing is necessary oh and finally use space boards instead of polystyrene, makes life so much easier, its much more dense than polystyrene so is stronger