# my first go at a fake background



## beanie123 (Jan 29, 2010)

*I bought her a secondhand viv and it was a bit Tired and messy *
*so i thought i would have a play about - and this was the outcome*

*Hope you like *
*The Viv - looking very sad and old*










*So i went and bought this*










*Had a little bit of a play lol*






































*I then grouted it - twice with white grout*
































*Then another coat of grey grout*














*Then applied a coat of pva glue and added calcium sand to it,just to get rid of it lol.*

*it seems towork well.*

*2 more coats of pva and then added plastic plants*

*this was all left for 2 weeks to air and totally harden.*






























*she seems to like her new viv*




























*One Viv almost done - 3 more Viv`s to do lol*

*temp gauges are on the outside of viv with probes inside*
*then Just got to get a guard for the basking bulb and then done i think *

*Comments welcome*


----------



## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

looks good.. you won't need a guard for the bulb though, there's no way a beardie is going to get to that bulb, if it does a guard will just give it something to hold onto.


----------



## Kez_r (Feb 10, 2010)

Very nicely done.. I absolutely love your creativity and design on this one, and i'm sure your beardie is thanking you for your time and effort!


----------



## Becky Wheeler (Jun 15, 2006)

Wow! Superb mate :no1:


----------



## ladyboid (Nov 25, 2007)

very very nice :2thumb:
I look forward to seeing what you might do with the things you picked up form me today : victory:


----------



## lizard wizard (Jun 9, 2009)

very cool mate i tried to make one about 3 months ago the mess was un real lol,,,dont use a wire wheel on a drill to get the effect of rock it worked but the kitchen looked like a snow globe lol,,,as alredy said i wouldnt use a guard


----------



## carpetman (Dec 24, 2008)

Brilliant, parafin is a good way to get that effect without a mess!


----------



## ozzie (Mar 3, 2009)

Brilliant

you have inspired me to do something similar to my stack


----------



## beanie123 (Jan 29, 2010)

thanks for all your great comments

i cant wait to do the next one

i wont put a guard in there if you really think it does not need one

and ladyboid i have started alredy lol - i am going to make an aborial viv for my cwd

out of the cabinets i got of you 

i will keep you informed


----------



## KaneDragon (Feb 20, 2010)

What did you use to make the ledges and the stairs with? 
Looks awesome!


----------



## cubeykc (Aug 8, 2008)

what paint did you use on it ?


----------



## excession (Apr 11, 2009)

very cool indeed, gonna be a happy beardie!

So much better than just a lump of wood thrown in a viv!


----------



## beanie123 (Jan 29, 2010)

ledges and the stairs were made of the space board trimmed and stuck on held in 

place with cocktail sticks.

i covered it in some pva then chucked calcium sand at it let it dry and then did it again lol

finished it off with some more pva and then plants

she loves it in there and does not want to come out lol

thanks for your comments


----------



## violawench (Oct 16, 2009)

Thats really cool! Thanks for the step by step because I'm thinking of making one for my tropical ATB tank and was wondering where to start lol


----------



## haunted-havoc (Aug 6, 2009)

Very impressive for a first go... mine ended up in the bin


----------



## brian_210 (Sep 6, 2009)

That's impressive for a first time, I'm thinking about doing one myself, but is it as easy as people say? Are there any threads on here that take you through it step by step? There should be a sticky! I've gotta give this a go!


----------



## Carolanster (Sep 28, 2009)

Its like a beardie camoflage house! How can you find him!? Nice job mate!


----------



## Dr. Love (Mar 10, 2010)

wow! thats amazing. how much did it cost in total if you dont mind me asking?


----------



## Phil_n (Feb 12, 2010)

Nice work, Im currently doing something slightly smaller for my beardie viv.

Its very cheap to do, polystyrene sheets cost a few quid unless you can get them free ( I work opposite a Office supplies company).

Grout is about £3 for a decent size bag. (I also got half a bag free)

I bought some acrylic paint to add to the layers of grout so i could see missed bits cost £4

then a sealant or pva glue.

For people wanting more info check the following site:
Lizard care, and fake rock wall landscapes

Im going to water down my acrylic paints and try and get a nice effect once finsihed grouting.

Also check the following video, the guy is a member on here and he made a massive viv:
YouTube - My Bearded Dragons Vivarium With Fake Rock Walls


----------



## beanie123 (Jan 29, 2010)

thanks for all your comments

its hard to find her sometimes as nearly the same colour lol

this one cost me about £40 in total as i used space board at 4 sheets £18.00 from b&q

my next one which i am doing now will be a bit more expensive
as it is an areboral viv and i will use g4 sealent to seal it at a cost of £50 for 5 ltrs

half way through so a few weeks to go yet but i will put a new thread up when finished


----------



## jef_b (Mar 7, 2010)

ok, I keep seeing that a lot of peeps are using pva glue to seal their dry habitats.... just how are you guys spreading it on? Does it spread very easily?? I keep thinking about the thickness being an issue, am I wrong on this?? Would a paint brush work?


----------



## beanie123 (Jan 29, 2010)

jef_b said:


> ok, I keep seeing that a lot of peeps are using pva glue to seal their dry habitats.... just how are you guys spreading it on? Does it spread very easily?? I keep thinking about the thickness being an issue, am I wrong on this?? Would a paint brush work?


 
i used a paint brush with no problems at all


----------



## SteveCourty (Oct 4, 2009)

Excellent youve inspired me


----------



## tommybhoy (Jan 31, 2010)

Loft insulation:idea: i was saying to OH yesterday that the exo terra back ground i have in my beardies viv's is getting ground away to nothing with there beardie olympics constant climbing up and down [mad wee buggers]. Me think me will give that a go. Cheers for posting you cool idea.

:notworthy:


----------



## MancoonianIguana (Mar 29, 2010)

That's awesome :gasp: :2thumb: Nice build.


----------



## beanie123 (Jan 29, 2010)

MancoonianIguana said:


> That's awesome :gasp: :2thumb: Nice build.


 
thanks everyone

cant wait for the next one to be finished


----------



## baba o'riley (Oct 17, 2009)

looks great well done


----------



## Pendragon (Dec 8, 2008)

Hey mate,

Nice build, looks good : victory:

Just one or two minor concerns, the water bowl is fixed in. this will make it difficult to change the water, just a thought : victory:

I can't see any vents at the bottom of the viv, (plenty at the top mind : victory

And I can't see the uv tube, looking at the pic of the Beardie right up as high as he can get, I would say he's trying to get some uvb, how close can he get to it?

Jay


----------



## beanie123 (Jan 29, 2010)

Pendragon said:


> Hey mate,
> 
> Nice build, looks good : victory:
> 
> ...


the water bowl i use for feeding her mealworms in 
she has not got a water bowl as i spray her greens with strawberry water
and bath hertwice a week.... which i am told is fine by general opinion on here ,so i hope i am not doing it wrong

there is only one vent at the bottom and thats in her hide.

the uv is above the glass as she tends to climb everyware in there
i even had to put a guard over the uv tube as she wanted to lay on it the other day

she is a very predictable beardie she does the same things day in day out and looks like she is really happy in there.....well i hope she is 

thank you for you concerns and i hope i have answered them


----------



## Pendragon (Dec 8, 2008)

beanie123 said:


> the water bowl i use for feeding her mealworms in
> she has not got a water bowl as i spray her greens with strawberry water
> and bath hertwice a week.... which i am told is fine by general opinion on here ,so i hope i am not doing it wrong
> 
> ...


:lol2:

Nice job

Good luck : victory:

Jay


----------



## beanie123 (Jan 29, 2010)

thanks jay...just looked it your viv builds very impresive mate


----------



## fishblood (Feb 22, 2010)

brilliant pics bruv but the viv still loooks better in the flesh!!


----------

