# new viv project



## yuesaur (Aug 29, 2011)

so ive got a 3 by 1.5 by 2ft viv for xmas for my leos

ive been inspired by dino fossils and by Ch4dg's awesome viv designs

this is the plan, aint no masterpiece im afraid










the blue squares are were im planning to put the heatmats not sure how im going to put them there, any advice on that would be greatly appreciated)
im having one on each level so that both leos can be in seperate ends of the viv and still be warm, albeit on a different level. i want to make it so as each level counts as an individual setup so neither one has to go upstairs or downstairs if they want. 
the red bits are where im planning to put humid hides, i will probably move these around though and have one or two on the 2nd level. the jawbone will also contain a humid hide as well.
the green bits and the top part of the skull are all hides. im aiming for at least 10 in there to minimize any sort of bullying.
im also going to have a waterbowl and mealworm dish on each level as well.
the back will be fakerock as well as the sides. so will the levels and stacks of rock that hold the poly up. the stairs on the left to the 2nd level will be out of poly, the ramp will be paper mashay as well as exacavator clay

the hides will be a mix of excavator clay and poly with grout. the dino bones ill attemp to make out of chicken wire and paper mashay, it it a good idea to grout as well?

as the bottom of the viv will be excavator clay, how do i go about installing a heatmat? i was thinking of getting some perspex or something, cutting a hole out the back of the viv, and make it so that the heatmat can be slotted into the viv from the back, inbetween the wood and perspex, so i wont have to dig the clay up. would that work?
and where would i get perspex from

equipment i need to buy
-jablite (what size is best do you think? and how much)
-no more nails
-cocktail sticks
-floor tile grout (how much, and how do i mix it up?)
-varnish? (what do i need lol)
-balloons
-chicken wire
-kitchen roll
- pva glue
-excavator clay (how much should i use? like how many bags of it do i need)
-zoo med grass plant things

i already have acrylics.

tell me your thoughts please, this is going to be my first ever viv decoration and i want it look good AND be a suitable habitat for my me leos.
money isnt that much of an issue.


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## ch4dg (Jul 24, 2008)

yuesaur said:


> ive been inspired by dino fossils and by Ch4dg's awesome viv designs
> glad i inspired someone :2thumb:
> 
> the green bits and the top part of the skull are all hides. im aiming for at least 10 in there to minimize any sort of bullying.
> ...


design wise looks great, and i hope you pull it off cus it'll look awesome

hope that helps: victory:


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## yuesaur (Aug 29, 2011)

thank 

i was gonna use glass.. but the heat could eventually crack it. i dont want my geckos eating glass xD

Everything is so not to scale in this, its a rough plan idea thing.


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## ch4dg (Jul 24, 2008)

the mat wont get no where near hot enough to crack the glass(especially if its on a stat)
people stick them on the sides of exos, place them inside on the bottom etc etc and this dont happen


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## yuesaur (Aug 29, 2011)

ahhh XD ill be nipping to b and q today for everything

howexactly do i get the heatmeat on the second level??

i was thinking of hollowing out some poly and grouting it, putting the heatmat in and covering it with playsand?? would that work?
i think i can get 10 hides in, if i have a hide in each corner on each level that makes 8, with 2 humid hides that makes 10

i cant wait to get started 

ohhh and after do you grout, do you do a base coat of black acrylic? or do you just paint straight away?


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## yuesaur (Aug 29, 2011)

so i went to b&q and over places

i got a huge ass sheet of jablite for £7, i got floor tile grout, no more nails, 2 pots of clear varish, 2 tubes of pva glue, chicken wire, kitchen roll, perspex, cocktail sticks, and some more brushes.

i still have to get excavator clay, plastic plants, and balloons

i shall hopefully be going back to my uni house or something, sometime soon to pick up the viv and acrylic paints 


BRING ON THE PROJECT


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## ch4dg (Jul 24, 2008)

yuesaur said:


> howexactly do i get the heatmeat on the second level??
> 
> i was thinking of hollowing out some poly and grouting it, putting the heatmat in and covering it with playsand?? would that work?
> no, poly is an insulator so the heat wont go through...sorry
> ...


hope that helps: victory:


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## yuesaur (Aug 29, 2011)

i was planning on making a square hollow in the 2nd level, so that the heatmat can rest in it with the substrate on top of the mat. XD

and ive just remembered i have small plastic dino bones in the attic somewere 8D

also, as i accidentally bought a twin arcadia controller instead of the single one, im thinking about installing a 39watt 5% uvb tube into the viv, to act as a display light. plus some people argue that a small amount of uvb is good for leos. good idea or not?


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## dinostore (Feb 23, 2011)

yuesaur said:


> im thinking about installing a 39watt 5% uvb tube into the viv, to act as a display light. plus some people argue that a small amount of uvb is good for leos. good idea or not?


i use uv but just a 2% for all my leos, they seem to be alot healthier and more active compare to others i have kept not on uv in the past.


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## yuesaur (Aug 29, 2011)

*lower jaw started*

i shall have a look then XD

ive just started the low jaw my scultptin the chicken wire into the desired shape,

not sure how im going to paper mashhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaay the thing yet XD








Without humid hide









with what will be a humid hide ( i use empty cricket tubs for em)


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## ch4dg (Jul 24, 2008)

good start now to start paper mashhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaay-ing it: victory:


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## GECKOMANDAN (Dec 12, 2011)

Now you can travel down to me and do the same for mine 
cheers


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## yuesaur (Aug 29, 2011)

wait what lol XD

this is my first attempt, im not good at diy!! im likely to kill myself with a tool during this epic attempt lol


my mates bringing my viv from my other house tomorrow, so hopefully i can persuade my dad to help me put the perspex barrier layer thing in,

hopefully i can get the poly framework done as well


ch4dg, how do you get the first coat of acrylic on btw? seems like it will take a while with a brush, isnt there a more quicker funner way XD


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## ch4dg (Jul 24, 2008)

yuesaur said:


> ch4dg, how do you get the first coat of acrylic on btw? seems like it will take a while with a brush, isnt there a more quicker funner way XD


spray paint, just cheap car spray paint.......


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## yuesaur (Aug 29, 2011)

what place stocks it? could i not mix the acrylics with water and put it in a spray bottle? would that not work?


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## yuesaur (Aug 29, 2011)

so thats the skull hide, and the jawbone humid hide basic structures done. i padded it out with newspaper and went mad on celotape. hopefully going to paper mache the lol tomorrow.


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## ch4dg (Jul 24, 2008)

yuesaur said:


> what place stocks it? could i not mix the acrylics with water and put it in a spray bottle? would that not work?


any auto store, you can just buy black or gey sprays and warhammer stores/gameswork shops, hobbie craft or and model shop.

you can do that, if you can gey a decent mix together


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## yuesaur (Aug 29, 2011)

i have tonnes of acrylic in my house. i nicked a load from college last year as i wanted to do some painting when i went to uni lmao XDD

im such a student i know


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## yuesaur (Aug 29, 2011)

more pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!!

so my viv arrived from my other house and me and my dad (mostly my dad) started work on it tonight.









the viv. first thing we did, was unscrew the top, pull the nails out and remove the glass. so it was easier for us to work with. im going to be painting the top inside of the viv either with sky or night time scenery. not sure yet, although i will be putting a uvb in to lighten the place up, and that the geckos can get a bit of a suntan if they'd like.









my dad sawed a woosureden slot thats 14inches long so i can slot the heatmat in and out for easy acess (stole the idea from my monkfield viv)








we cut the polyperspex clear plasticy thing to size and stuck nails in it, to raise it up 

thats the main technical bit done









me and my dad measured the poly to size and stuck it in. not glued it in yet or shaped it yet. although i carved the floor with screwdriver lol

more will be done tomorrow!! aiming to get the first layer of grout on tomorrow.

not sure as to how im going to get a heatmat on the 2nd layer. any ideas as to how to do this?


oh and i learned how to nail things into other things. xbox achievement unlocked!!!


Sarah


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## yuesaur (Aug 29, 2011)

got some more done this afternoon!

just need to figure a way of putting a heatmat onto the 2nd level.

other than that its ready to stick together with no more nails and ready to grout 

what do you think?


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## ch4dg (Jul 24, 2008)

that looks awesome, are you planning on making the ribs removeable?


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## yuesaur (Aug 29, 2011)

yay XD you know what they are! 

im not sure, do you think i should make em removeable? whats best way of doing it?


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## yuesaur (Aug 29, 2011)

*Updates!!*

So tonight ive started the first layer of grout.
took me 2 hours and now my hands are frozen lol









before grouting

after the first layer of grout (the bones fell off, ill stick em on when all the layers of grout are done)









looks messy i know xD

and these are the lucky ladies who get to live in it!








Axel, tremper albino, a hefty 72g. no idea on age as i rescued her.

Ayra, super hypo tangerine enigma, half american, hatched 28/07/2010 , currently 63g and packing the pounds on!


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## Swain86 (Jan 23, 2011)

this is looking amazing


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## yuesaur (Aug 29, 2011)

its errr fun. 

my fingers are froze after 2 hours of working in the garage lol


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## yuesaur (Aug 29, 2011)

layer 2 of grout is on!


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## lewkini (May 12, 2009)

Looking good mate, very unique!!!


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## LovLight (Apr 14, 2012)

Looks awesome :thumbup:
Keep the updates and the piccys coming....enjoying the thread! 

Sent from my U8180 using Tapatalk 2


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