# My Green Tree Python Paludarium



## Atticus22 (Apr 23, 2007)

Hey guys, thought I'd make a thread to show you my paludarium which houses a Sorong green tree python and various fish/invertebrates  It ONLY (lol) took about a year and a half to make! (after changing my mind about 12 times and several 'disasters'). 

Everything including the glass tank itself, rock structure, stand and lid were constructed by myself, so will try and give some insight as to how some things were made, as I couldnt even count the hours I have spent on here researching how to make various things! I did have many more pictures of the build process but unfortunately some lowlife stole my phone with all the pictures whilst on holiday.

Firstly, to save searching through this thread, heres a pic of the finished viv:











It is 36"x36"x24". I still want to get one more piece of redwood for the left hand side to cover the water heater, but apart from that I'm quite happy with how its all turned out.


As it started out about a year and a half ago:











When all the goodies arrived (sorry about some of the rubbish pics). Including a Fluval 205 external filter and Reptile Radiator:











This was my first idea when I was contemplating day geckos as the inhabitants of the vivarium. The 'Temple' has a hole in the eye symbol at the top, which the filter tubing was connected to. The water flowed down the staircase and into the water bowl section at the bottom, which also housed the filter intake. I was really pleased with this design, however as it was one of my first attempts at something like this it unfortunately eventually leaked in the bottom water section (Disaster #1 of about 20, haha!), and so I stripped the tank, during which I decided to go a different direction... 














































If anyone is interested I still have the 'Temple' apart from the bottom water/food bowl section (Which I can easily tell you how to make again.) If you want to make me an offer.


I've always loved paludariums, vivariums with large water features, and so decided this was the route I wanted to go down.

Test fill:











How it initially looked. I really liked the look of this 'Island' design, and intend to attempt this look again in the future, however in my naivety, I used real rocks which weighed a bloody ton, and due to the polystyrene underneath the whole tank being in two pieces and becoming slightly dislodged when we placed the tank on top, a crack formed in the bottom (Disaster #2!), cue 100 litres of water all over my living room floor at 3am!











As I said, unfortunately I dont have any of the pics of the making of the lower 'Rock' part of the final vivarium, however I'll try to explain it anyway for anyone wanting to attempt something similar. I used insulation polystyrene bought quite cheap from places like Homebase/B&Q, glued it together and carved it to shape, similar to this which is a vivarium I made for my brothers bearded dragon:










The polystyrene was then covered in concrete, left to dry, then painted with acrylic paints. I used a very dark grey as the base colour, then used a drybrushing method each time using lighter and lighter greys until the final coat was pretty much white. This method makes the 'Rock' look much more detailed and realistic.

One of the things I spent the most time researching, was how to seal the structure, as concrete leaches lime into water, and so could have been potentially harmful to any fish. After many, MANY hours researching I came across this, which is brilliant stuff (just dont get it on your hands!):











After about 4 clear coats of this, this was the result:




















Various pieces of wood I had acquired were then screwed onto the wooden panel which was glued onto the top of the 'Rock' structure. Holes were drilled into the side of this panel to make 'planting' and removing the artificial plants for cleaning easier:


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## Atticus22 (Apr 23, 2007)

It was around this time I also got the little guy who was going to live in this enclosure, if I ever managed to get it finished! For the time being (and as he was still far too little!) his home was a RUB, lol.

Diego :flrt: :











I then installed the Reptile Radiator, thermostat, hygrometer, lights and misting system to the lid which I had constructed, and lowered it onto the tank.











A look into the cabinet, which includes Fluval 205 canister filter, Exo terra RS400 misting system, air stone (on the towel so it doesnt buzz and annoy the hell out of me!) and equipment for water changes:











The tank was planted with artificial plants (I did consider live plants but felt this easier in terms of maintenance). And once he was big enough, Diego was let out into his new home :2thumb: :











For anyone wondering, I incorporated a side door into the tank design for easy access for cleaning/maintenance:











How the tank looks as a whole in my living room:











A side view:











One thing I love about this setup is seeing the gtp hanging out over the water, although it does mean I have to be extra vigilant when he defecates! Luckily it hasnt happened and hopefully wont as he has a favourite spot which he usually uses for that which is easy enough to clean! The water is also great for keeping up humidity levels:




















Some of the aquatic inhabitans, nothing too fancy or difficult, including Angelfish, Neon Tetras, Red Platys, Fancy Tailed Guppies, Loaches, a Rock Shrimp, Golden Apple Snail and Green x Leopard Discus:


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## Atticus22 (Apr 23, 2007)

A quick photoshoot with Diego, cant wait till His blue dorsal stripe comes through fully!:















































Exploring his viv:





















Has been great fun making this and I've learned a hell of a lot (and made a few mistakes which I've learned from too!). I'll be much more confident now though thankfully at attempting my next projects, which will also be in paludarium form, including another attempt at an island themed viv, and a 10ft burmese python enclosure involving a LOT of water 

Thanks for looking :2thumb:


Chris


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## Kelfezond (Nov 20, 2010)

You are a god!

Sent from my LT26i using Tapatalk 2


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## gingersnap (Sep 12, 2010)

What a great project! It looks stunning! :no1:


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## neill19772003 (Oct 1, 2011)

Superb setup - well done Chris. Good to see one of Kong's siblings looking so well and happy in a great new home. :notworthy:


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## sam n mushu (Jun 4, 2012)

amazingggg !!!!


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## ReptileRoss (Jul 28, 2010)

Amazing looking setup, one of the nicest I've ever seen. If it works well for all the inhabitants (as it sounds like it does at this stage), it's absolutely perfect.


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## Fuzzybear (Dec 16, 2011)

That look's lovely i bet he/she loves it in their.


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## s6t6nic6l (May 15, 2010)

very nice. well done.


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## snakeman1 (Mar 30, 2009)

Like it alot! very nice mate I wonder if I could do it to my marine fish now that wood look cool in my gaff hmmm! Food for thought.


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## benjaybo (Oct 31, 2009)

is a smashing viv im glad to see more and more people in the uk specializing in setting up stunning vivs i love the dutch approach set a massive enclosure with plants all the works etc and then see what would live in their happily. :2thumb:


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## Hector1 (Aug 15, 2011)

That's fantastic and a great read. I am doing something similar once my extension is built. But I plan on building one lager one for 2 of my gtp and then putting a dividing wall in it but still keeping it lookin like one big viv. Youve give me some great ideas :no1: cheers :notworthy:


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## BeckyL (Nov 12, 2008)

What a great setup. Nothing wrong at all with minimalistic setups but it's lovely to see something different now and again.


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## *Blackadder* (Jul 16, 2011)

Very nice mate :2thumb: perhaps add alittle aquarium moss,or afew more fake plants to the aquarium part.


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## JPalmer (Jul 7, 2012)

Got a price on the temple? It looks sick! I love what youve done! 
Josh


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## Moony14 (Aug 20, 2011)

Brilliant set up you have there and a lovely snake too! My only concern is about the fish, did you say it was 100litres? Those angelfish will get big- if memory serves they need a 20gallon high (?) just for them and you seem to have a lot of fish in there. Not trying to nitpick but you do seem a little overstocked there :c


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## Atticus22 (Apr 23, 2007)

Yeah it's a bit more than 100 litres, that's just roughly the amount that went on my floor, lol. As soon as the angelfish outgrow the tank they'll be going in my friends 6ft setup, they'll be fine for a good while yet though


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## Lew (May 31, 2009)

That is absolutely incredible. This is a dream set up! When I have the time and money I've always wanted to try something like this. It looks better than I was even thinking! Well done!


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## JPalmer (Jul 7, 2012)

How big/old was he before you up him in the planted viv? I do love the way you have done this tank!


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## Atticus22 (Apr 23, 2007)

Thanks very much guys 

The gtp was about a year old when I first put him in.


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## em_40 (Sep 29, 2010)

Beautiful setup! and lovely looking snake too :2thumb:


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## lizardlou (Aug 11, 2012)

This set-up looks amazing, bet he loves his new home! well done :2thumb:


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## OrigamiB (Feb 19, 2008)

Awesome paludarium, did you make the vivarium yourself? if so what glass thickness did you use and what were the costs like? I recently 'tried' to do a pauladarium with a large exoterra but just couldnt sort out the filtration so I had to scrap it.....


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## CharlieG (Nov 18, 2011)

Very nice build indeed :2thumb:

BTW where did you get the thermometer from?


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## bob brown (Mar 15, 2010)

very nice! worth the work


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## Jack W (Feb 9, 2009)

That is one of the best enclosures I have ever seen. Very nice snake too.


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## creg (Jun 10, 2012)

looks awesome but would look even better with some aquatic plants in there, like a load of crypts.


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## lucas829 (Apr 17, 2012)

That tank is:censor: AWESOME! gorgeous GTP!


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## PaulJack (Jun 15, 2012)

Holy rackamoly that looks great! *Drool*


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## Atticus22 (Apr 23, 2007)

OrigamiB said:


> Awesome paludarium, did you make the vivarium yourself? if so what glass thickness did you use and what were the costs like? I recently 'tried' to do a pauladarium with a large exoterra but just couldnt sort out the filtration so I had to scrap it.....



Cheers guys, I used 6mm glass all round apart from the bottom panel which I changed to 10mm just to be safe after it cracked under the weight of the rocks I used initially! I put it together myself, just got the glass from a local glazier and I got the back panel drilled so that wires and the filter inlet and outlet hosing could run out the back of the tank.

What problems did you have with the filtration?

Thanks for all the compliments guys 

Chris


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## RoyalMendy (Sep 18, 2012)

Absolutely amazing viv. Well done. :notworthy:

Showed this to my wife and she thinks it's amazing.


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## snakess (Sep 3, 2012)

Incredible!


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## rexob (Sep 1, 2012)

what can i say apart from one word sums this up AWESOME!!!


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## srobbo (Apr 19, 2011)

absolute quality brilliant display viv


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## fatlad69 (Oct 22, 2009)

creg said:


> looks awesome but would look even better with some aquatic plants in there, like a load of crypts.


I agree some Anubis on bogwood would look great!


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## Elisha Metcalf (Sep 12, 2008)

This is utterly amazing, and now my boyfriend is looking into building one for our GTP, any chance of me PMing you if we need any help?

:notworthy::notworthy:


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## Atticus22 (Apr 23, 2007)

Of course you can  maybe even ask here to help others in future reading this for ideas, I couldn't tell you the amount of hours I've spent researching different things to do with viv builds!

Thanks for all the comments  Yeah I would like to do a bit more with the water part, going to add a few more bits of wood and some plants possibly.


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## jtg (Jun 16, 2010)

That is just amazing mate, I wouldnt know where to start with something like this, even thinking what it would look like in my head too haha.
My favourite snake in there as well  

My only concern is the discus. Ive kept discuss in the past and when theyre small like that they really need to live in pristine water, im talking at least a 50% water change every other day. Along with live food and some more discus. Its easy for them to fall ill in a tank with even minimal nitrate when theyre young, they get hardier when they're big (7") fish but not so tough as babies.

Other than that, just inspiring. 
josh


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## creg (Jun 10, 2012)

Atticus22 said:


> Of course you can  maybe even ask here to help others in future reading this for ideas, I couldn't tell you the amount of hours I've spent researching different things to do with viv builds!
> 
> Thanks for all the comments  Yeah I would like to do a bit more with the water part, going to add a few more bits of wood and some plants possibly.


if you remove the gravel and replace with play sand (dirt cheap just clean well) and add a load more wood it would look like a south american biotope with the angels and neon tetra, some corydoras would be cool too. 

thats what i would do anyway, looks amazing the way it is though :2thumb:


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## RoyalMendy (Sep 18, 2012)

I'm going to build one next year. Luckily my mu has a glazing company so I can have the glass made to exact spec at no cost 

Do you use an air filter/pump for the fish? I really like gtp's there's a guy on here that's just had a clutch so I will be getting mine from him next year.


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## Crimsonraptor (Nov 26, 2012)

I love a good paludarium, especially one like this :mf_dribble: It would've been interesting to see how the temple worked out though, at least if it weren't for that pesky leak.


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## vukic (Apr 9, 2010)

Looks amazing, shame about the pyramid that would have been awesome.. 

Tiger

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## phil mellor (Nov 11, 2012)

spot on that mate looks the nuts :notworthy:


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## Atticus22 (Apr 23, 2007)

If anyones interested this display is now for sale 

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/equipment-classifieds/1019068-my-green-tree-python-paludarium.html#post11766865


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## Atticus22 (Apr 23, 2007)

This setup is now for sale if anyones interested 

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/equipment-classifieds/1048007-complete-display-sale.html#post12006622


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## Atticus22 (Apr 23, 2007)

£220 for a quick sale


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## Zoon (Nov 6, 2011)

Out of interest for all those who would like to use a set up like this for chondros - did the snake survive in here?


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## creg (Jun 10, 2012)

Atticus22 said:


> £220 for a quick sale


That's a bargain, had i not just bought a fish tank i would have


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## ajd (Jul 14, 2010)

This looks amazing, your hard work has certainly paid off


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## Atticus22 (Apr 23, 2007)

Yep he was perfectly fine, never even went near the water


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