Pimp my Vivarium - Pic Heavy

[bothrops]

Layer of varnish, layer of sand (when varnish still wet) then repeat! If you use a matt finish varnish it will look exactly like you have just put the sand on!

Check this thread to see what I mean (This was my first attempt at 'fake rock' and wanted a sandstone finish)

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/habit...eardy-viv.html

Cheers

Andy

[Craigbaines]

Looks good but i couldnt have sand like that with a crestie hmm,, stuck for idea's lol.

Is yours fully water resistant then yer?

How long did it take for the fumes to go?

[spatte88]

Originally Posted by craigbaines

How did you get such detail into the polostyrene?

A good hot wire kit is essential for a project like this! We bought 3 tools (quite expensive initial layout though tools are always handy to have right? ) one which is for cutting, one for sculpting and one for engraving.

[spatte88]

Originally Posted by toxic

what size is the viv ? and same how you get so much detail into the polostyrene cant just be with a lighter can it lol

The viv measures 44 x 18 x 24 so not too massive

[carpetman]

WOW!

Just had a look at this thread, and that is better than you described it!

Well Done!

[nogatsira]

One of the most if not the most impressive pieces I've seen so far!
HURRYYY we want to see it finished!

[eazyabe]

come on i need to see the finish product

[spatte88]

Thanks guys for all the great comments!!!!

[spatte88]

Oh something i forgot to mention on day 5 that we looked into UV ranges as well as the temps so made sure the basking spot was within 30cm of the source even though we believe the UV range of the tubes we have are 50cm - again better to be safe than sorry!

due to popular demand...... im gonna post onto Day 6!!!!

today was mainly about reinforcing and making the main perch more permanent. we did this using styrofoam which is a more dense version of polystyrene (and is the green stuff in the picture). we also have built up underneath the platforms to make them more angled giving them more support. the key thing that we did that we think gives the basking spots the most strength was to fix them to the wall using angled joints (a bit like jigsaw pieces - well, sort of). after reinforcing we load tested it, seen as we didnt want the perch with our beardie on it to fall off the wall or equally the perch tear the polystyrene wall down that it was fixed to. we tested it with a weight of 5kg (two big bags of grout) and it didnt even budge - this was only held in place with the angled joints never mind when we hot glue gun it into position!!! Think we can be pretty sure that it would definately take the weight of our beardie even when she does become a little fatty!!!

front view


detailed close up of the platform

[spatte88]

Made a last minute decision to go away for the weekend so thought i had better quench your thirst a little by posting day 7 as well!!! though we do have a little trick up our sleeves, prior to grouting, which we will reveal to you on monday - just to keep you entertained and interested!!!

Finishing the ice cavern

we thought the viv needed a bit of depth perception and so we decided to do a little more to the ice cavern. as you can see we reinforced the secondary perch spot, again, using the angled joints mentioned earlier and building it up underneath. we put this perch at a 45 degree angle so that the beardie can sit on it looking out of the viv and it can still feel the heat on its back from the lamp and it allows continuation of the step system for them to get up to the top perch!!! The polystyrene on the back and side walls has almost been finished with the detailing for the ice (however it cant be fully completed due to the surprise we will reveal on monday!!)! AND we have developed the arch and the column (only thin so it doesn't block off to much of the view) at the front which is the main item we think gives depth and it kinda hides the heat lamp a bit too so its not so much of and eye-sore! we also thought the column is a nice touch to make it look realistic! Now before people say anything we did think the column idea through with regards to cleaning as we knew it would be a pain to clean around it so we made it removable!!!! i will describe how we did it lower down this post with pics! the three pictures below show a front view and one from either side so you can see the detailing better!!!!

front


side looking @ pyramid


side looking @ ice



Ice cavern column

we wanted to make this removable for easy cleaning ect but we also needed it to be strong incase our beardie thought it would be a good idea to climb on it (she is a little tinker!!) we figured the best way to make it strong would be to make a wood core and then build up the polystyrene around it. so this is what we did!!!! we also made a sort of "bracket" for the wood to slot into both on the top and the bottom. unfortunately i forgot to take a pic of the top bracket but might see if i can take one later and add to a later post!

below is the bottom bracket recessed into the floor



next so you can see how the wood will slot in from an angle



and then the wood upright in the bracket at the bottom. the polystyrene covering the bottom bracket is permanent and the system still works. just removed it on the other pics to make it easier to see what was happening!



around the wood will be styrofoam shaped after it has been glued to the wood and there will be a wedge system with the bracket at the top to keep the column in place! this bracket is attached to a wooden strut we placed along the top half of the viv (inside the polystyrene for the arch) which we thought would strengthen the arch as well as provide a good mounting point for the top bracket. hope this makes sense and as i say i will try and take some pics of the top bracket so you can see how that works and hopefully understand my ramblings!!!!