# Jeebus's big viv build, and jeebus (the crested gecko)



## spikemu (Jul 5, 2008)

Around a month ago I started a project to convert a normal 48 x 24 x 24 (L x W x D) into a 4foot tall crested gecko living crested gecko vivarium. It was also part of a college project to design an enclosure for an animal : D 


My plans where to have all the plants in the viv living with no fake plants in there at all so it can be a fully living environment for the crestie. To do this I planned on having a 12” layer of substrate so there is enough room for the stones at the bottom to aid drainage and the soil for all the roots and plants to be buried in. Also to have two platforms, one with an in built feeding dish and another platform with an in built plant pot to hold the dangling plant.

I did have a thread on the progress in the habitat section to show how it was going and possibly get hints if needed ( was needed) lol so right now i say thanks to everyone who helped me : ) Especially .:KayLee:. shes been a true guru for all my questions  thank you soo much 

i thought id post in this section to show off my new lizard aswell as the vivarium : ) 

*Please wait till ive finished posting all the pics to comment as there are LOADS of pictures and there can only be 15 per post i will need a few posts i will say when I’m done : ) thank you : )


*OK my viv started as this normal viv : 










so my first job was to un screw it all again and build it back up in an arboreal structure : 










i then cut the runners and front bits of wood down to size in preparation for when the background is done :










then started on the polystyrene and got it to cover the whole back 3 walls : 










I then cut and built the two ledges I wanted, one to be the feeding platform and the other to hold an in built plant pot so it can be at the top holding a dangling plant :




























After that I attached them and began to cut out some rocks for the background to make it easier for the crestie to climb and give the rock face kinda look:




























After all the fun bit of the cutting and making a complete mess everywhere was over I was starting to think that the rocks didn’t look too realistic being all square edged and what not so I thought ill make even more mess and sand the edges and make it more detailed :

















(close up on feeding platform, there's a few of close ups on this lol ) 

Then when it was finally all sanded and ready for grouting I pulled it out of the viv and gave it the once over looking for anything wrong with it:


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## spikemu (Jul 5, 2008)

And then I just thought nope needs more sanding on the sides etc so in it went again and got even more sanding lol so here’s that. 

Before 










After



























Also sanded the feeding platform and made the in built food dish dent











So then I had finished all the fun bit and got on with the grouting, this in all honesty is where the newbie-ness kicked in and I had a full on battle with the grout and tried out many different ways of putting the grout on. In the end using a j-cloth that's been tied around my fingers and was dipped in water worked the best for larger areas and just simply using my fingers worked the best for the smaller spaces: 

After a few coats of grout 



















And all the grout finished and the background stuck back together :



















That bit made it seem like it didn’t take long but that process took most of the time of building the background lol. So next was another fun bit PAINTING!! For this I planned to spray all the base coats, this way it will get everywhere, (even all over the patio and me lol ) 
I done a quick first coat 










I then turned it upside down to give it another coat :










After all the grout was covered I then sprayed it upside down with the grey coat so it will get the bottom of all the rocks 










I then turned it the right way around and sprayed the whole thing again with the same grey, I then mixed in a lighter grey (just added more and more white) and started to dab all the paint on with a sponge : 










And then once I got enough covered I made the grey even lighter and dabbed even more around edges etc using a lot lighter touch so it didn’t use soo much paint and cover less of the under coat :


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## spikemu (Jul 5, 2008)

Then I used a VERY light grey for top edges and any other places that are more likely to get more of the light: 














































I then used PVA to seal it and the background was finished  

Now The background was finished I started work on the viv again drilling more holes for vents and also drilling holes in the background due to forgetting to making the holes before for the side vents in the viv ( another newbie mistake) . 
Once the vents where cut and the edges sealed I cut up a black big bag and stuck it to the bottom of the viv (and up the wall abit) to stop water from being able to sit at the bottom on the wood. :









I then put the background in and the front wood with the runners, I then made the big bag go up the front side and under the runner so it water proofs the front as I had to use 3 pieces of wood to get the higher level of substrate :



















And then cut the over hanging bit off with the ol trusty penknife : D 










Then I couldn’t find hydroleca so I got some stones which is the next best thing to aid the drainage and covered them with a layer of soil:










Then it came to planting the Yucca plant which was very straight forward lol :










I then covered the floor with some of the left over stones to make it look brighter and also to keep humidity up : 










After al planting was taken care of I had to sort all the wiring out. And due to not being an electrician I just done it simpley with one plug for each thing etc no fancy wiring it all together lol. I wired in a ceramic lamp attached to a GEKO thermostat that is set at 26 degrees C and will turn on the ceramic if it goes under 25 alarm if it goes under 22 or over 29. then the night time LEDs with an energy saving light bulb (low heat emitting). 
In all this made the viv look like this :


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## spikemu (Jul 5, 2008)

And night time lighting looks like this but in the pic it looks a lot brighter than it actually is ( my camera doesn't like darkness lol ) 










I then planted the plant that was kept in the cresties temporary viv a lil bit before I put him in along with the skull to give a lil bit of familiar décor in there with him. And took some advice from a member on here who sed about the stones being potentially dangerous if the crestie lips and falls so I buried them aswell, I then put the glass doors in and it was ready : ) :

















So in he went and climbed straight to the top where he’s been ever since: D 
































































Im still going to get some more plants for it when I et more money : )

*THANK YOU FOR READING : D *

*COMMENTS WELCOME : D lol*


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## GECKO=] (Apr 5, 2009)

you must love your cresty 
class tank 
nice cresty and 
fair play to you for makin that 
looks FAB!:no1:


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## .:KayLee:. (Aug 23, 2008)

AMAZING job Mike, I really am jealous of Jeebus, why can't my house look like that? 
Anyway, well done :flrt:


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## judy (Feb 12, 2009)

wow:notworthy:
followed this thread all the way through and have to say im very impressed. 
i want one!!
since iv been watching yours come together i want to do my own one and hopefully i will start soon.(my partner will go mad as it will take all my time away from housework!)

well done
:notworthy::notworthy::notworthy::notworthy::notworthy::notworthy::notworthy::notworthy::notworthy::notworthy::notworthy::notworthy:


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## Dave W (May 6, 2009)

spot on that one

good job


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## ..:: F1D0 ::.. (May 13, 2009)

that is SUPERB!!, question for you in regards to geckos though....most geckos seem to be nocturnal and so are crickets...now, am i correct in thinking that it dont matter if crickets are left in a gecko viv as the crestie will eat at night? and also when it comes to feeding how often are they fed? reason i ask is being a beardie owner any uneaten live prey must be removed. Im asking as ive been keen on getting a gecko for some time.

Cheers


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## spikemu (Jul 5, 2008)

awwww thank you everyone  
im really proud of it  



..:: F1D0 ::.. said:


> that is SUPERB!!, question for you in regards to geckos though....most geckos seem to be nocturnal and so are crickets...now, am i correct in thinking that it dont matter if crickets are left in a gecko viv as the crestie will eat at night? and also when it comes to feeding how often are they fed? reason i ask is being a beardie owner any uneaten live prey must be removed. Im asking as ive been keen on getting a gecko for some time.
> 
> Cheers


well cresties get fed CGD so it makes it alot easier. atm im feeding everyday fresh CGD but soon it will be every other due to alot being wasted. ive not fed him live prey yet but when i do il feed at night time and if he doesnt eat them ill catch them and throw back in tub lol i dont really want them munching away at the background XD


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## reptiles_galore (Aug 13, 2008)

wow this looks amazing. how did you seal the rock feature?
Dave


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## spikemu (Jul 5, 2008)

reptiles_galore said:


> wow this looks amazing. how did you seal the rock feature?
> Dave



it was sealed with water proof PVA glue  
it dries clear, non toxic and gives a REALLY nice efect once dry  

couldnt ask for better


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## x_Living_Dead_Girl_x (Feb 16, 2009)

Wow! That really is lovely and I bet Jeebus is gonna love it hehe.

It's awesome to see the finished tank - well done! :notworthy:


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## reptiles_galore (Aug 13, 2008)

Where did you get it from? Been searching for ages but i can only find water based ones 
lol
dave


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## rach666 (Dec 12, 2006)

A* Mate,looks bloody amazing and that will be one happy lil crestie:no1:


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## spikemu (Jul 5, 2008)

reptiles_galore said:


> Where did you get it from? Been searching for ages but i can only find water based ones
> lol
> dave


erm tbh i dunno we had alot spare in the house but they would be in most art shops u tryed WHsmiths, the works etc ??

i sprayed my PVA on and mixed it with water so water based ones should be good  


thank you everyone  : victory:


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## scalez (Apr 24, 2009)

reptiles_galore said:


> Where did you get it from? Been searching for ages but i can only find water based ones
> lol
> dave


you can buy waterproof pva glue in b&q, i bought some today.
oh and spikemu the vivarium looks amazing you did a great job with it!


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## Pono (Jan 21, 2008)

Thats Fantsastic! You should be very pleased with the outcome :notworthy:

Ed


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## suey (Aug 21, 2008)

I bet he loves it in there, that sure is one lucky crestie.

After all the planning and the time constructing, it's great when you actually get them in there!

Well done, great job!


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## Captainmatt29 (Feb 28, 2009)

its fantastic, i may try this sometime soon for my whites tree frogs.


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## Vase (Jul 14, 2007)

Awesome work man! :2thumb:


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## reptiles_galore (Aug 13, 2008)

i thought you cant use water based ones becuase of misting the viv it will cause the pva glue to turn back to liquid form?
Dave


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## Mouki (Apr 29, 2009)

oh that is fantastic. i like the yukka :lol2:
spoilt spoilt spoilt crestie :flrt:


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

Great Job Mike  Bet jeebus loves it. Next up a fact sheet


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## spikemu (Jul 5, 2008)

snowgoose said:


> Great Job Mike  Bet jeebus loves it. Next up a fact sheet



fact sheet ??? may sound dumb but wats that ?? lol


cheers everyone


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

Fact sheet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## chondro13 (Aug 18, 2008)

reptiles_galore said:


> i thought you cant use water based ones becuase of misting the viv it will cause the pva glue to turn back to liquid form?
> Dave



The viv looks great but i have to agree with this - PVA can ONLY be used for dry setups like leopard gecko or beardie vivs. For moist setups you really need to use sealants such as epoxy resin or G4 (this is what ill be using for my water dragon setup)

To prolong the life of your setup i would consider sealing it properly : victory:


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## Gaboon (Jun 20, 2005)

Great looking set up! I wish I could start building mine. I will back up whats been said though as PVA is water soluble, so be careful. Im sure ingestion of PVA will spell trouble. It would be easy to remove though.


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## spikemu (Jul 5, 2008)

i have tested the water solubleness of the PVA before i even had the glass

( but i will be using other sealents next time, another newbie mistake lol)

i sprayed it WAY more than i needed to and it staryed hard, once its hardened it is impossible to make it wet and watery again. ( may be able to with higher humidity but its not a risk with my humidity levels. 

but thanks for your concern : victory:


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## suey (Aug 21, 2008)

I spent a small fortune on yatch varnish when doing mine, and now my husband seems to have lost it (more than likely used it!)



chondro13 said:


> For moist setups you really need to use sealants such as epoxy resin or G4 (this is what ill be using for my water dragon setup)
> 
> : victory:


This i will look forward to seeing, your set ups are awesome chondro. I keep looking at your dart frog viv for inspiration for when i finally find a space to squeeze one in!


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## spikemu (Jul 5, 2008)

well today i was looking at my rejected plant and thought hmmm jeebus may like that in his viv, but my problem was there was no room for both trunks to be in there together so i thought y not big through the pot and see if they are actually connected and if not they can go in ...... well guess what everyone .... they wernt  so here is the newest update on the bottom of the viv  ( i couldnt really take a good pic of the whole viv tht would also show the bottom so here you go  lol and a pic of jeebus enjoying his viv thrown in free of charge  lol 










notice the two back corner plants they're the newer additions  










and this is him showing off his ultimate skills and new sport ..... EXTREME LEAF LICKING lol


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## Finch (Sep 14, 2007)

That viv looks really good, bet your crestie love it weldone one of the best crested gecko vivs iv'e seen sofar: victory:


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## chondro13 (Aug 18, 2008)

suey said:


> I spent a small fortune on yatch varnish when doing mine, and now my husband seems to have lost it (more than likely used it!)
> 
> 
> 
> This i will look forward to seeing, your set ups are awesome chondro. I keep looking at your dart frog viv for inspiration for when i finally find a space to squeeze one in!



:blush: aww cheers huni, it will be started very early next month and should be finished by the end of June hopefully so ill do you a nice step by step thread again if it turns out OK! :2thumb:

To the OP - i love the new plants :flrt:


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## spikemu (Jul 5, 2008)

chondro13 said:


> To the OP - i love the new plants :flrt:


 thanks  it cost nearly 4 times more than the other plants put together lol  

tbh i bought it first but didnt like the thin leaves and wanted bigger leaves  lol in one of the pics of the viv when the yucca plant first went in lol 
but without it going to waste i thought why not split it in 2 and have one in each corner  

bromeliad next 




Finch said:


> That viv looks really good, bet your crestie love it weldone one of the best crested gecko vivs iv'e seen sofar: victory:



 thank youuuuuuu


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## spikemu (Jul 5, 2008)

spikemu said:


> and this is him showing off his ultimate skills and new sport ..... EXTREME LEAF LICKING lol



i for got the picture lol 
heres the pic that was ment to go in that ....











: victory:


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## top chef (May 15, 2009)

very nice mate


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## Tommy123 (Sep 19, 2008)

Followed ever step of the way, its now finished and I'm just amazed. Your one legend!! lol


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## DaveAnscombe (Apr 20, 2009)

i prefere this rough rock effect more than the sanded down smothe effect..
After being off the scene of reptiles for a while with other commitment's (bike trials)

ive got all my wood for cwd mk2 viv.....7x6x4 hight length depth.

i now need a hell of a lot of poly grout paint varnish and selant....Also opted for a swimming pool and water fall like no other.....

I will most deffo be using the same (ROUGH ROCK) effect as you 

Thanks for the insperation 

Banger of a viv 10/10
Dave


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## spikemu (Jul 5, 2008)

Tommy123 said:


> Followed ever step of the way, its now finished and I'm just amazed. Your one legend!! lol


lol WOW PRIVILEDGED !!! cheers  



DaveAnscombe said:


> i prefere this rough rock effect more than the sanded down smothe effect..
> After being off the scene of reptiles for a while with other commitment's (bike trials)
> 
> ive got all my wood for cwd mk2 viv.....7x6x4 hight length depth.
> ...



lol THANK YOU XD 

my advise tho DONT use PVA to seal it.. it goes cloudy but then goes normal agen ( which i find weird lol )  

and i agree i prefer rough rock effect  it gives them tht lil bit more to hold onto and its abit easier for them to climb


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## DaveAnscombe (Apr 20, 2009)

More than welcome man 

il use yatch for a more water durable finish


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## spikemu (Jul 5, 2008)

lol very good idea


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## Captainmatt29 (Feb 28, 2009)

It's brilliant, wish i was as creative.

Any tips, did you draw it first or go straight from initial idea?


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## spikemu (Jul 5, 2008)

messengermatt said:


> It's brilliant, wish i was as creative.
> 
> Any tips, did you draw it first or go straight from initial idea?


thanks XD

well i had weeks of it thought out in my head. 

i didnt bother with drawing as that could prevent the randomness of the backgrounds rock shapes. all the shapes where just from me breaking up the poly sheet and sticking on. 

but ALOT of thinking went into it and talking over with my guru lol 
i mean i had thought of every lil detail of it.

but seriously the grouting is a killer lol thats the worst part of building the background lol. 

but its soooooo much easier than it looks tbh anyone with two hands could do it  ( sorry all you one handed ppl im sure you could do it too  lol)


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## teiryklav (Mar 20, 2009)

that's a very nice viv you got there!! 
may i give a few opinion?
even though that i can't make that kind of viv, and also knows nothing about those things, i think to make the viv more natural, you should give the fake rocks some browny and green colour, brown a bit, and then green a very lil bit but dark green (so it's like lichen/moss there, i'm sure it'll look more natural )

and also, the pebbles, i think that it's to be more natural to get that out, but that's your viv, as you wish lol :roll:, better to use more darker pebbles if you still want to keep the humidity up..

and also, are you getting some forest vine? like the exo terra has? it'll make the viv nicer too for you and the cresties.. , not living, but still great..

but that's all my opinion, if you think your viv is better this way, that's fine, still very cool though! : victory:: victory::2thumb::no1::no1:


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## spikemu (Jul 5, 2008)

teiryklav said:


> that's a very nice viv you got there!!
> may i give a few opinion?
> even though that i can't make that kind of viv, and also knows nothing about those things, i think to make the viv more natural, you should give the fake rocks some browny and green colour, brown a bit, and then green a very lil bit but dark green (so it's like lichen/moss there, i'm sure it'll look more natural )
> 
> ...



i answered your post on the other thread


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## teiryklav (Mar 20, 2009)

yes i see that thx


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## marcjwebb (Aug 1, 2009)

looks really good, nice work mate,
just out of interest did you use real plants?


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## spikemu (Jul 5, 2008)

yea i did  

kinda a bad move unless u check , recheck then check agen (poss agen for comfort) to see if there in no way toxic


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## stimmy (Aug 29, 2009)

hey mate  whats living in the viv now? its so awsome!


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## Craigbaines (May 28, 2009)

hey, looks cool mate, can i ask what type of paint is safe to use with the crestie, iv just started to make one, only a simple background but i dont know what paint will be safe.


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## spikemu (Jul 5, 2008)

stimmy said:


> hey mate  whats living in the viv now? its so awsome!


nuffin ...... except weird lil fly things and the plants  lol 



craigbaines said:


> hey, looks cool mate, can i ask what type of paint is safe to use with the crestie, iv just started to make one, only a simple background but i dont know what paint will be safe.


 
acrylic .... but anything really aslong as u seal it  

(im not a pro myt be wrong ) 



ty everyone


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## Craigbaines (May 28, 2009)

Yer the trouble is, last time i used waterproof pva, it still went gooyey when i added water, and i dont like how varnish makes it look shiney and plastic looking =[


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## wazza9988 (Jan 8, 2009)

Nice one m8, well impressed, i wasnt too sure at first when the polystyrene came out, but all turned out good in the end eh!!


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## xander1796 (May 25, 2009)

*wow!*

that is definately one of the best tanlk set ups i've seen , i'm afraid i'm gonna have to pinch some of your ideas lol great job:notworthy::notworthy::notworthy:


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## 4ftfreedom (Nov 25, 2009)

sorry for the stupid question but how do you use the grout?


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## Becky Wheeler (Jun 15, 2006)

That is one kick ass setup!! I love it!:2thumb:

I still have a 6x2x2 and a 3x2x2 viv to do but running out of ideas and I don't want to do anymore skull vivs! or people will start calling me "Skully woman"!

I think i'm just gonnda go with a nice rocky effect with a removable rock pool on one side so my boas can bathe.


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## TBreptiles (Dec 11, 2009)

*lol*

u suck:Na_Na_Na_Na::Na_Na_Na_Na::Na_Na_Na_Na::Na_Na_Na_Na:

lol very good well dun :no1:

wheres mine huh?!:gasp:


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## Patmufc (Dec 10, 2008)

wowzerz incredible


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## Tommy123 (Sep 19, 2008)

Stunnninggg!! :2thumb:


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## Spencer95 (Feb 20, 2010)

Lucky crestie(Y)


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## spikemu (Jul 5, 2008)

Spencer95 said:


> Lucky crestie(Y)


 
not anymore  

this is a very old ... and sumwat depressing thread now :/


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## Guest (Apr 2, 2010)

spikemu said:


> not anymore
> 
> this is a very old ... and sumwat depressing thread now :/


I am sorry for your loss  

I hope you don't mind me asking but was it a plant that caused his death, and if so what species was it?


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## spikemu (Jul 5, 2008)

yeaaa ... it was tht ivy thts trailing down in the back top corner :/ ,,,, iu was assured by a so called "reptile expert" (in homebase) ..... tht itys safe and tht he uses it in his .... nd it wasnt asif he was after a sale coz i had tht at home ( i obviously washed it etc) :/ but hey tbert the tokay is in it now ... andf he loves it  but it does look alot diff now 










(*thts wat it looks like now )


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