# DIY Viv stack - how suitable is this plan?



## Jovita (May 5, 2010)

I have my 28" corn _(who is very small for his age_) living in a glass tank at the moment which gets too humid and looses heat far too fast in a very cold house. I can't afford a new wooden viv, but i have been offered a spare bookcase that would be an ideal project, but i wanted to check its dimensions and my plans out first,
It is: 34 H x 36 L x 9 D. It has 3 shelves and each have individual sliding glass doors. 

This is the unit at the moment:









I know its not incredibly deep so i wanted to cut a 10cm2 hole into the bottom of the top shelf so that the top and middle ones are joined into one multi level viv and put a ramp to connect the two. That way he has enough room for exercise and he does spend a lot of time outta the viv anyway. I'd use the bottom one for my baby corn. I'd ideally heat all 3 levels them with heat cable purely for ease of the awkward dimensions which would be controlled by a thermostat. I already use heat cable in a rack system and love it. Id put the cable directly in the viv but underneath a linoleum substrate. I'd secure the lino using screws - i've done this before and its worked. The edges/corners will be sealed with clear aquarium sealant. I'd put vents along the back wall _(standard viv vents)_ and cut a grommet hole for the cable. I dont often use lights in my vivs since they're in sunny places, but i may use an undercabinet fluorescent if they're too dark. 


Would this be an okay solution? My corn is a fair smaller than the length of the unit at 2 years and i'd be willing to relocate the baby (4 months) the moment he's too big for it.


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## JPalmer (Jul 7, 2012)

I think That's a good solution! I did something similar for my young boa but half a 4ft intop of a 3ft so it was L shaped and my boa could climb! This was it when it was first done! 








And now:









Are you gonna make a ramp from one level to the other or branches going up so its like a climbing level? 
Good luck with it! 
Josh


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## krome187 (Apr 29, 2011)

good idea, but surely by the time you get glass etc you could get a 3ft viv online cheaper?


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## JPalmer (Jul 7, 2012)

It looks like the glass is allready there!  only thing I can see is seperating the bottom from the top two because it dusnt look like the wooden shelf comes all the way to the glass!


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## Jovita (May 5, 2010)

aah i've seen it and the glass comes all the way to the wooden shelf - they are 3 secure units. the only costs i'd have is heat cable. possibly lino and a jigsaw tool to cut the wood.  I just worried that it wasnt deep enough being 9 inches 
At the minute there will be a makeshift ramp between the two, but eventually im gonna make it into a jungle-vines style habitat  I've been wanting to do something similar for my beardie for a long time so this seems ideal.


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## JPalmer (Jul 7, 2012)

I persnaly think for a corn the fact it's only 9inches deep is offset bu the second level your doing! I think it should be Allright! Good luck with it all!


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## Jovita (May 5, 2010)

Ah excellent. I figured as much, but you can never be sure 

Im planning on putting a 4 month old corn into the bottom one, and when he's bigger i'll move him to a larger viv  He's tiny though so it should last him a while! 

Incidentally, i've never really done much DIY like this and i was wondering what is the kind of tool i need to cut the holes for the vents and such? I'm not sure if im putting in square or circle ones - depends whats easier! I figured it was maybe a jigsaw, tool but is there a specific one i need?


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## JPalmer (Jul 7, 2012)

I find if you using a jigsaw the rectangle vents are Easyer, just drill a pilot hole then cut out a hole smaller than the outside of the vent, or if you want to use the circular vents I'd buy a hole cutter of the right diameter


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## Jovita (May 5, 2010)

Started getting my stuff together for this today - got the vents and such, just gotta wait till tomorrow to start fixing it up  

Quick question, Im using heat cable underneath lino for the versatility - For the two-tier enclosure would i be best heating the entire of one tier and none of the upper tier, or should i heat half of both?


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## Jovita (May 5, 2010)

Started doing this today - took some photos for it 

I only had a 99p junior hacksaw, jab saw, electronic screwdriver, sheer stubbornness and the desire to not waste a perfectly good book-case so i think it came out not too bad thus far!

I needed to cut out the hole for connecting the two tiers but the wood was so thick, the only way to do it was to take of the back and saw into the back of the shelf. Of course all the screws were old and rusted so half of them had to be forced out. Managed to get all but the ones along the bottom out and it was flexible enough that i could prop the backing to one side with a tub of washing powder and get in to work. Used the hacksaw to cut out the section i needed then fixed the back on with some new screws.
















Used the jab saw to cut out the holes for the vents - its very thin wood board and most of it will be hidden by the vent, so i decided neatness/accuracy was not required here, thank god. I picked up some Louvre vents with fly-screens to prevent escapee's which seem to be able to do the job. Just gotta get some no more nails to fix them onto the actual board since its so thin it can't take screws. 
















All i need to do now is get some sealant to seal up the edges and to fill a tiny gap in the backing that links the two separate enclosures. Then i just have to glue on the vents, order the heat cable so i can add that in and then fix down the cage-carpet/lino. I can do all that in a few hours, so im almost done!  Made a huge mess of the back room though, and insisted the boyfriend was not allowed to help (which resulted in me getting about a gazillion splinters and a busted thumb!) Beyond that, its just decorating the enclosures. Im thinking forest effects


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## the_viper (Aug 18, 2010)

looking like a good recycle project, that hole down to the 2nd layer looks very small maybe deceptive on the pic ? 

Could you not drill some small holes through the vent and back and use some small nuts and bolts ?


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## Jovita (May 5, 2010)

Stuck the vents on today and sealed it up. I was gonna use clear stuff but the gaps between the back of the shelves and the backing was bigger than expected so my dad advised me to use some acrylic sealant and just paint it to blend in later on - the bottom of the shelves won't be seen because of the flooring anyway. The vents were stuck on pretty wonky - i entrusted this to my boyfriend because im banned from using any kind of contact adhesive _(glued my hands together once - long story)_.


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## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

Jovita said:


> All i need to do now is get some sealant to seal up the edges and to fill a tiny gap in the backing that links the two separate enclosures. *Then i just have to* glue on the vents, *order the heat cable* so i can add that in and then fix down the cage-carpet/lino. I can do all that in a few hours, so im almost done!  Made a huge mess of the back room though, and insisted the boyfriend was not allowed to help (which resulted in me getting about a gazillion splinters and a busted thumb!) Beyond that, its just decorating the enclosures. Im thinking forest effects



Have you ordered it yet?


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## Jovita (May 5, 2010)

Meko said:


> Have you ordered it yet?


Yup arrives Saturday - i'll be able to finish it then  I looked at heatmats but i couldn't find one the right size since this is so funny size-wise. I didn't wanna use heat bulbs 'cause i worry about burning with them. I already use heat cable, and under some lino it'll act like a heatmat but be so much more flexible and easy to position.


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## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

Ah well.. was going to say, I'm not far from you and got one that i'm not using and can't see me using any time soon


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## Jovita (May 5, 2010)

Ah well thanks for the offer - i may actually need some again in the near future as i have another project up my sleeve  How much do you have/were you thinking of selling it for?


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## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

Not sure to be honest. I just remembered that i had a length in my box of spares. Would have to see how long it is first


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## Jovita (May 5, 2010)

Finally got all the stuff together to finish this today and i have a quick question. Laid out the heat cable to see where im gonna route it and i have 2 options: 

Option 1: Heat both tiers as if they were separate enclosures and heat them both as normal. 









Option 2: Heat just the middle tier and have a entirely heated section and an entirely cool section. 









The second option is probably easier to route since i dont need to make as many holes in the back, but i'll do whatevers best. I was thinking that since he got an RI with using aspen, i'll switch to the reptibark and have half of the heated section bedded, and half of the cool section bedded. The non bedded sections are gonna have slate/ceramic tiles and all the temperature sections will have hides that are filled with shredded kitchen roll instead of the bark.

I played around with some of the tiles today and thought i'd show you. 









Let Sebby explore a little - he's in shed but still had a nosy round  He seems to fit in it very well, even with his recent major growth spurt


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## Jovita (May 5, 2010)

I finally finished this 
Had some heating issues but was kindly given a heatmat that just fit the middle shelf nicely - Seb has access to the middle and top shelf and this suits him nicely. No ones in the bottom shelf yet but i may give him access to the bottom tier too later on.  He's already been around and i've seen him thermoregulate. He's settling in nicely Whether it is escape proof or not we’ll find out. He seems to like it, albeit a little stressed over the change. I also decided its about time i removed the too small coconut hide he’s had since he was a baby and he is a bit annoyed that there is a new log instead - determinedly avoiding it. My favourite part is the bat door wedges.


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## smiling paul (Sep 12, 2011)

looking good, im going to have to keep my eyes open for a lil project myself


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