Hi,
As it says on the can, this is my crestie viv build. There have been a few posts recently with people wanting to know how to build more natural looking planted vivs for tropical species, although the plants in this viv aren’t strictly the plants that would be found in a crestie’s natural environment, the main reason for this is that this was built for Pumilios, but as we live in Jersey, and are at the mercy of the local reptile shop, (which is crap), this never happened. The viv was built and stayed empty for a year before I spotted an add for cresties in the classifieds, and thought, hello, I might have a home for one of you. : victory:
So although the plants aren’t strictly correct, they do look the part. The other thing to consider is what will survive.
So this is what we, (me and my o/h) had to work with, as this was my first viv build, there were a few things I didn't think of when I built it, so I will let you know what I would do differently when I come to those bits.
It’s a 24”x12”x24” fish tank that a mate gave me, the only real problem with it is that as it’s so tall, and the only way in is via the top, it is difficult to reach the floor.
So here it is laid on it's back with various bits and bobs laid out. What I would have done differently is to cover the back in silicon as opposed to spraying the expanding foam straight onto the glass.
Another thing to think about when applying the foam is how hard you pull the trigger, if you pull it in too far the foam has more air in it, this will make it expand more, which can make the back look a little unnatural. If you only pull the trigger in a little, this will make the foam more compact, although this means a can won’t cover so much.
You can see how we changed our technique in this pic, bottom left is how we started, and then as we moved up, we made the foam more dense, we needed two and a half 750ml cans to cover it. What you might also want to do is use a gloved hand to mould the foam as it drys.
This is the foam complete, the thermometer is sitting on a cave that I had built as a hide, but obviously the crestie wont use it.
In this pic I am testing out the lighting and heating, but more on that another day...
Jay
As it says on the can, this is my crestie viv build. There have been a few posts recently with people wanting to know how to build more natural looking planted vivs for tropical species, although the plants in this viv aren’t strictly the plants that would be found in a crestie’s natural environment, the main reason for this is that this was built for Pumilios, but as we live in Jersey, and are at the mercy of the local reptile shop, (which is crap), this never happened. The viv was built and stayed empty for a year before I spotted an add for cresties in the classifieds, and thought, hello, I might have a home for one of you. : victory:
So although the plants aren’t strictly correct, they do look the part. The other thing to consider is what will survive.
So this is what we, (me and my o/h) had to work with, as this was my first viv build, there were a few things I didn't think of when I built it, so I will let you know what I would do differently when I come to those bits.

It’s a 24”x12”x24” fish tank that a mate gave me, the only real problem with it is that as it’s so tall, and the only way in is via the top, it is difficult to reach the floor.
So here it is laid on it's back with various bits and bobs laid out. What I would have done differently is to cover the back in silicon as opposed to spraying the expanding foam straight onto the glass.

Another thing to think about when applying the foam is how hard you pull the trigger, if you pull it in too far the foam has more air in it, this will make it expand more, which can make the back look a little unnatural. If you only pull the trigger in a little, this will make the foam more compact, although this means a can won’t cover so much.
You can see how we changed our technique in this pic, bottom left is how we started, and then as we moved up, we made the foam more dense, we needed two and a half 750ml cans to cover it. What you might also want to do is use a gloved hand to mould the foam as it drys.

This is the foam complete, the thermometer is sitting on a cave that I had built as a hide, but obviously the crestie wont use it.
In this pic I am testing out the lighting and heating, but more on that another day...
Jay