Planted Natural Leo Viv

[Pendragon]

Hi,

Ok, it's been a while since I built a viv, so here we go again!

This time I thought I would have a go at a Leo viv, I think Leo's get a bit of a raw deal when it comes to their living arrangement, the main problem is with them being nocturnal this tends to lead people over to the "dark side" when in reality for 14 hours of the day, in the Leopard Gecko's natural habitat, it is bathed in bright sunshine. So I warn you now, if you think a Leo will melt if it comes into contact with light, then stop reading now, cos when you see the amount of lighting going in this viv, you will sh*t.



But if you are open to ideas, then read on.

So this is what we are after;



So let's get going.

I chose a 24x18x21 viv, though if I had the room I would have used a 36" viv to give me more room to play with, but I'm quite pleased with the way this one has turned out.

Right, heating, for this I went with a heat cable, the idea being that if it packs up I can pull it back out and push a new one in.



But of course I had to build a false floor for the cable to sit under;



Ignore the clips holding the cable down, I took them back out, I didn't build the false floor all the way accross as I wanted all the hight I could get for the plant pots;



Next I started on the main hide, I put this in next as it was going to take up a lot of room, and I needed to know how the fake back ground would fit around it.

To get the shape I got the piece of rock I was going to use, then drew around it, this is the stone I wanted to use;




But it was way too big and heavy, hence the lump hammer and bolster chisel, so with a couple of good wacks, and a bit of luck, I got this;



I then placed it in the viv and simply drew around it;



Now, as I am using Zoo med excavator clay as a substrate I couldn't risk the Leo undermining the roof of her hide, so I built the hide out of the same stuff I was going to use for the back ground, Kingspan insulating board, at the time I only had the thin sheets (3/4 inch thick) so it meant building the hide in three layers.

So I put the roof on the board and maked the outline;



Then I marked out the shape of the tunnel;



When it is cut out this is what it looks like;



At the time I was going to have the entrance facing the wall, but I have now spun it around to face the middle of the viv. So here are the two wall pieces;



Stick them together with sticks like...



Add the floor;



And you have the biginning of a hide;



Next time we will make it look more natural. If you have any questions please feel free to ask.

Jay

[Pendragon]

Let's carry on then.

Befor I covered the foam I tidied it up with a knife, and smoothed it out a bit with sand paper. To cover the foam I used my old favourate, West Systems epoxy resin;



In my last Build I used a mix of Exo terra sand, Zoo Med excavator clay, and sand, but I found the texture too coarse, so I found this;



Building sand from B&Q (£3.85 for a 25k bag), it was soaking wet, so an hour in the oven, then I put it through a sieve. It looks quite coarse in this pic, but compared to normal sand it is very fine, almost dust.

So I mixed up a load of resin, painted it on the foam, and then buried the hide, if anyone read my Hoggie viv build you will already know that you have to keep the resin well covered (over night, or at least 7 hours), if you let "damp patches" show through, then you will be left with a "wet look" to the fake rock.

So here it is covered;





And with it's roof on;



Now as I'm going to light this viv up like a Christmas tree, I wanted to make sure the hide was light proof, now as the bottom of the rock is not perfectly flat, this is what you see if you put a light in the hide and take a pic of it in the dark;



So to make it light proof I put a thick bead of silicone around the rim, I left it to cure for about 30 mins;



While I was waiting I covered the rock in cling film, (so the silicone would not stick to the rock as it was going on when the silicone is still wet ).

I didn't take a pick of the silicone when it was dry...Doh! though you might see the effect if you look closely at later pics of the viv with the hide roofs off.

But this is what you now see if we do the light inside the hide trick again;



And befor anyone gets smart...Yes the lens cap was off

We will start on the background next time

Jay

[mhbird]

Looking good! What sand was it, this stuff? B&Q Building Sand Natural Large bag, SMBQBS40

[chondro13]

[Pendragon]

Originally Posted by mhbird

Looking good! What sand was it, this stuff? B&Q Building Sand Natural Large bag, SMBQBS40

Hey mate,

That's the stuff

Jay

[Pendragon]

Originally Posted by chondro13

Cheers hun

I know you like a good viv build...

Jay

[Mik3F]

looking very good can't wait to see it finished. You need to do a rainforest viv for a GTP next so Helen has some competition and I can knick some more ideas for mine

[Pendragon]

Originally Posted by Mik3F

looking very good can't wait to see it finished. You need to do a rainforest viv for a GTP next so Helen has some competition and I can knick some more ideas for mine

Hey mate,

Cheers, I will do a rainforest viv when I get my Green Tree Monitor, but at £850 a pop, don't hold your breath



Jay

[RepBex]

this looks like its gonna be a great one to follow along with

great idea aswell

[Bamboozoo]

I am so envious you got me rolling on the floor in agony!

Literally growling at you

I am very patiently waiting for a retirement and move within the next year and I am on hold for these projects.

You know I want it, right?

You have a talent that I would be begging to exploit in my house

Pat