# Building Desert VIV for Uros



## cleric9181 (Oct 7, 2009)

First hello everyone in the UK! I'm actually from the states. Why register with UK rep forums? Well honestly you guys seem to have one of the BEST websites I've seen. LOTS of great work on here. 

This inspired me to build my own viv. I have two Yellow Saharan Uromastyx about 2yrs old. They are housed in a 55gal long fish aquarium. I've been wanting to buy another aquarium with more room for them to run around but many things kinda kept me from taking that step, price being one of them. So I stumble upon that magical word, vivarium... never even heard of one. I'm amazed at the pics on this site, so I decided to build my own! 

I went to Lowes today (big hardware store) was just going to quote products and prices to find out where to start. Then come back once I had more of a concrete plan in place. Ya, that didn't happen. 

I was shooting for something around three feet long, two feet wide, and two feet high. 3x2x2? (I'm not construction savy at all lol) So from my reading on this website, I looked at the contiboard, which was EXTREMELY HEAVY for a 3/4" thick sheet. I could only imagine how heavy this could get after doing the fake rock wall and adding the play sand substrate. So I had a choice between Beech plywood or Blondwood Plywood. I ended up going with the Beech due to the nice veneer on each side, also the blondwood looked a little bowed at one side. 

Fortunately they do cutting at the store. So i had to decide how long I wanted this viv to be. A 4'x8' sheet could easily be cut to three sheets of 2'x4 and two 2x2's for the side. SO went that route instead of 3' long. I'm sure the uros wont complain of the extra space. lol 

Didn't want to buy to much and get ahead of myself so I left with:
Cut plywood
Liquid Nails 
Small finishing nails (for stability) 
a 2' x 8' foam board.
Foam board adhesive. 

Now, one thing I have noticed about many many threads about building vivs is that most start out AFTER the box is built. I couldn't find any step by step on making the box so I just did the best I could. (pics coming soon) While I was putting this box together I realized that the cuts were EXACTLY flush. I want this to look as good as possible so this was a little disheartening to say the least. But hey, it's work in progress, might as well keep on keepin on. So I put a few nails in place, then backed off the board about 1/4". I then used the liquid nails in the gap all the way around and nailed the board back in place. It did get a tiny bit messy but it was expected. I just used a paper towel to clean up the left over adhesive. A few more nails in place and I was my current stopping point. 


Ok this is where I'm getting a little confused. So far, i have the back, bottom and two sides attached and glued. I'm trying to decide what to do next. I was going to cut the front pieces and mount them in place. But to do that I need to find out where I want to position the glass. To do that, I was trying to find an idea of where I could get the Runners, Glass panels, etc. So the only question i have at this moment are where can I buy these glass runners? Do they come in a kit? 

Thank you everyone, any help is much appreciated.


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## benjo (Oct 31, 2007)

hi there and welcome, sounds like something i want to do. but my bosc isnt big enough yet for a nice big viv. ebay is the place. or just google glass runners. ebay will be diffrent for you because its a .com but surly someone will sell them for a few dollars. 

good luck on the viv making

b


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## haunted-havoc (Aug 6, 2009)

im fairly sure that america does have glazziers. find a local one that does a glass cutting service and they will do the runners aswell. if not ebay is the best bet and use acrylic sheets. will scratch alot more easily than glass but it may have to be a last resort


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## bearded pirate (Aug 22, 2009)

Hi Cleric

ask at your local harware store for glass runners and they may stock them/be able to get them for you (price your glass first though so you know whether to get 4mm or 6mm runners)

As for the glass check out your local glaziers (glass merchants ?) and they can supply the glass (toughened or laminated, with the laminate usually cheaper) and may also be able to get you some glass runners.


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## Chapster5 (Oct 3, 2009)

loobylou211 does glass runners, 4mm ones maybe she could ship you some?


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## cleric9181 (Oct 7, 2009)

Hey guys thanks for all the replies. Very much appreciated! Ok so I went to three of our major hardware stores and asked several people i even took a picture and had a look on their faces like i was speaking greek. lol 

So they suggested a glassier called Cooks glass... sure they must have em right? So I explain exactly what I was building and they do have glass runners! but it's for half inch thick glass only! lol And they attach all the wheels clips and all that as well. It would only have cost me $215.00 USD! lmao umm I think not. lol I did say i'd be back to get some glass panels though (polished edges) and she quoted me $30.00 for some 6mm standard glass. 

So I have one more hardware store to go to and hopefully they have something i'm looking for. If not I may just find a single track that can be used, maybe fuze them together or something. idk. lol. 

As for the viv... I've been cutting foam for about the past 6 hours lol. I started yesterday mounting the foam to the sides and back. I've seen some ppl do it OUT of the viv until it's painted, then insert it. I thought it'd be best to mount... then cut. 

Was a little more difficult than I thought. Yesterday I didn't really have a specific "plan" per say as for the layout. So i was just working on giving the walls a rocky textured outline. Ya... didn't work out too well. I was going crazy with a box cutter trying to "fix" a few things.... So i decided to put the box cutter down... and walk away. :blush: lol

Went to work lastnight thinking about weather or not to start over on new foam or continue. I decide to cotinue and i could use expanding foam to fix anything cut too deep. So all night I tried to come up with some sort of layout. Then I start looking at desert viv pics and stumble across a how to thread that really caught my eye.

This guy was going through his rock wall process and he used a lighter to "burn in" some cracks. Eventually the grout covered the detail he made with the lighter. But I thought wow, what an ingenious idea? But how would i make them deep enough? hmmm... would need something bigger... like maybe... A BLOWTORCH! Hell ya! lmao:diablo:

Now, I know your probably thinking, omg no he didn't! But I tell you, I did and it worked GREAT! I just used a few swirl designs to outline a "rock" and followed the crack to make out another. I also filled in the mistakes with the expanding foam, which is amazing btw. Things to note if you are going to do this:

1. Yes it will catch on fire if you get too close. 
2. If you go over a crack in the foam you want to hide, it will only get bigger. 
3. Use in open area, preferably outside. 
4. Not only will the area being heated contract and "sink in", it will harden quite a bit. 
5. THIS DOES NOT WORK ON EXPANDING FOAM, EVEN AFTER IT DRIES. 
6. And lastly, i used 3" thick foam board, not the stuff that brakes down into little balls. 

So it's not a work of art or anything but I'm pretty happy with it. It looks kinda scary without being grouted but I'm sure it will come out fine in the end. 

Next step is grouting. I am kind of wondering if I should use cement instead? I mean I already have the grout so I prob will use the grout unless there is some huge advantage to using cement instead. 

Also, I did NOT use a tile floor so right now it's just bare wood. I wanted to use tile but fact is, this thing is going to be pretty heavy with out it, and I didn't see any point in putting in another 20lbs. So can this wood (beech plywood) be grouted? Will the sealant on the grout be sufficient keeping out urine from the uros? Or if I should water proof the bottom another way, what should i use?


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## Pendragon (Dec 8, 2008)

:lol2:

Sounds like your having fun, not sure if the local fire chief would agree though :whistling2:

For the glass I would get "toughend glass" as it is safer.

This is a technique I used to make a rock background for my desert viv, I haven't done a build thread for it yet, watch this space : victory:, It may give you an idea or two : victory:




























This technique doesn't involve the fire dept. insurance clames, or lawyers :lol2:

Jay


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## jschristy (Jul 16, 2009)

jabba1967 said:


> :lol2:
> 
> Sounds like your having fun, not sure if the local fire chief would agree though :whistling2:
> 
> ...


No fire dept? Where's the fun in that?:devil:

As for glass runners, you may end up having to buy online. I've looked at Menards, Home Depot, Lowe's, Ace Hardware, mom-and-pop shops, everywhere and they didn't have any. Your area may be different, but it will probably be cheaper purchasing online anyways.


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## cleric9181 (Oct 7, 2009)

Ya menards was my last option. So i guess that is out of the door. I saw one on ebay bu it was only 1/4 inch thick so i'm guessing the glass would be way too thing for it to fit in the track. Hmmm... I know a friend who works with glass and they said most ppl call them U joint tracks, or also a J Track. hmmm still no luck.

I'm almost finished w grouting. Starting to look much better than i anticipated. I was actually thinking i screwed it up (rock wall) but after that second coat of grout it looked 10 times better. 

This is where i got the inspiration on what i wanted to aim for as far as the color and texture.


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## Pendragon (Dec 8, 2008)

Nice,

If it looks half as good, it will look sweet : victory:

Jay


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## cleric9181 (Oct 7, 2009)

Thanks Jay. Just got the last coat of grout on yesterday. Next step... painting. I was a little confused if I should paint and seal or just use pva and paint. Idk why but i was thinking pva was like a putty type compound. The local hardware store only had a primer in a 1 gal can. So i just went with acrylic latex paint and figured i'll take it from there.

I have a coat of a light sandstone i'm going to start with. After i got it I was thinking I should have gotten a darker red but hey what's done is done. I've been looking at some different pics of desert landscapes/rocks/sandstone. Also been researching different painting styles and tips to get that striped effect. 

So anyway, when I get hm today, I PROMISE that I will get some pics on here for you guys. Im sure by now most ppl r thinking, LESS TYPING MORE PICS!!:devil:


lol get back to you guys soon. Oh and ya still no luck on the runners as of yet.


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## Chapster5 (Oct 3, 2009)

cleric9181 said:


> Thanks Jay. Just got the last coat of grout on yesterday. Next step... painting. I was a little confused if I should paint and seal or just use pva and paint. Idk why but i was thinking pva was like a putty type compound. The local hardware store only had a primer in a 1 gal can. So i just went with acrylic latex paint and figured i'll take it from there.
> 
> I have a coat of a light sandstone i'm going to start with. After i got it I was thinking I should have gotten a darker red but hey what's done is done. I've been looking at some different pics of desert landscapes/rocks/sandstone. Also been researching different painting styles and tips to get that striped effect.
> 
> ...


Ask this woman

Reptile Forums UK - View Profile: loobylou211

She could probably ship them to you cheap


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## cleric9181 (Oct 7, 2009)

Ya i pm'd her, no response yet though, i may end up having to fab something of my own.


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## Chapster5 (Oct 3, 2009)

Ahhh right, took a few days for her to reply to me too


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## cleric9181 (Oct 7, 2009)

Ok guys here are the pics, still work in progress obviously. I started out making this basking platform structure and it turned out to be an epic fail lol. Was just way too big and bulky, took up too much real estate in the viv. plus maybe a little too tall (close to the light). So I started on another which you can see in the last pics. I'll try explain as best as i can the progress of the pics and steps and all that. 


Note, I started taking pics after:

Mounting foam back and sides
Shaping foam
Grouting 3 layers


Just after last grout layer:









Inside









Texture effect from using blow torch to foam board













Started using red as a base coat. Way too bright imo.








The horrible structures i started with.








Finished base coat








Added some other lighter coats to give it that desert striped sandstone look








more detail








more detail








This was after i threw some exoterra sand on the wet pain to take the gloss off. Way too orange at first








after a little brushing












Ok so It was hard to get the desert rock structure i was going for so I decided to get some more polystyrene (the kind that breaks into little balls) And I started adding "ridges" to the top. Also built new structures. I used foamboard adhesive and it worked GREAT. MUCH better than liquid nail. Also, the other foam board adhesive i bought was straight garbage (locktite brand). This stuff was amazing compared to anything else i tried. It has a light blue tint to it.








more detail of the ridges










The new structures getting grouted on the bottom








The new cave hide.


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## Pendragon (Dec 8, 2008)

Looking good, but you need to shrink the pics down to fit 15" screens :2thumb:

Jay


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## cleric9181 (Oct 7, 2009)

Hey guys, ok so fast forward about two weeks. Next step was to attach the lid. I decided to use hinges instead of just attaching it via screws since it would be easier to get at the lights and timers that way. I did finally get the lid attached although it wasn't easy since i was working with a box of slightly uneven porportions although you cannot tell just by looking at it. In the end. i ended up with the top lid "inside the box" with the sides flush with top of the lid. Once i had this all together and in place i realized that there were some pretty big gaps i had to "fix" somehow. (see red in pics) So I decided i had these options:
New lid? 
Thin new lid to glue to old lid and add some trim? 
Add trim that covered the gaps? 

Needless to say it was cheaper to just get some trim and go from there. While I got the wood, I picked up some polyurethane stain blend and all the accessories. First pic is the layout problem i had on the left and the "idea" of how to fix on the right... and rest is the project as it stands now. 
















































































edit: i couldn't edit that post (earlier)so i just resized the pics and reuploaded using the same file names, the ones that didnt work i just deleted.


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