# Natural Looking vivarium...



## MexMex (Sep 12, 2007)

Hi, has anyone got any pics of a natural looking vivarium like the kind of ones in the exo-terra pics because they look brilliant and I want some help of how to achieve them but i dont want to use real plants or anything so any help will be greatly appreciated


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## Johelian (Nov 25, 2006)

Are these any good?



























It largely depends on what youre housing; some species can be really destructive (which is why our tegu doesnt currently have a naturalistic setup). Aboreal vivs are great for heavy-planting! Since this viv is wood, all of the branches are secured to the viv itself to create a basic network of climbing areas and then the plants are secured to the walls and branches using cable ties. I wouldnt know how to go about doing the same thing in an exo-terra glass terranium though...perhaps you have to buy a background first and then just stab fake plants into it?


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## jamie_coxon (Jul 18, 2007)




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## jamie_coxon (Jul 18, 2007)

empty at the moment and not finshed. but thats an exo terra 30z30x45 cms viv


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## MexMex (Sep 12, 2007)

thanks for the pics they are all great! i wished my viv's looked that good! where did you all get your large branches and things, all i can seem to find is really expensive java stuff


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## Johelian (Nov 25, 2006)

The branches came from local woodlands - we got lucky recently as a section had been felled and there were loads of cut-up branches. If you get "fresh" branches make sure that they are from a type of tree safe for reptiles - some of them have sap that can be poisonous or irritant. We usually strip the bark off all of our branches as well to be on the safe side! Old dry branches that are sap and bark free are usually ok, but make sure they arent rotten or filled with fungus or woodworm/other bugs.


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## MexMex (Sep 12, 2007)

Thankyou for the advice, I will utilise it in any future projects I have  Are the pictures of all the lizards your lizards? If so they look very nice


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## Johelian (Nov 25, 2006)

Yeah, thats my group of monkeys...thanks for the comment  Good luck with the viv!


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## soakme (Sep 22, 2007)

hi johelian they're amazing viv set-up pictures you posted, could you tell me the size of the vivs and what you keep in them??? thanks phil.


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## pebbles (Jul 12, 2006)

Johelian your vivs look fantastic :no1:


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## Johelian (Nov 25, 2006)

Thank you  The top viv ix 4x6, the middle ones around 2.5x5 (its a quarantine cage, their new cage is almost complete) and the bottom is 3x6. They all have varying amounts of monkey tailed skinks in them


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## MexMex (Sep 12, 2007)

Do you have any ideas on how to fix exo terra fake plants from the ceiling of a vivarium? its fake wood stuff and the sucker wont stick to it


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## Johelian (Nov 25, 2006)

We use "screw eyes" from B&Q - basically a closed steel loop on the end of a screw - to hold our plants to the sides and top of the viv; they screw into the wood and you can either just thread the plants through (most of the fake plants have one long stem on the back that the suckers attached to - just pull the sucker off, stick the stem through the loop and put the sucker back on so it doesnt get pulled back out) or use cable ties to fix them to the loops. Make sure that the cable ties are as tight as possible so that toes and things cant get trapped in them! We use pliers to get them really tight.

Of course the downside to this is that you have to be pretty positive about where you want to locate the plants, or else youll end up with lots of holes in the roof of the viv..! I think youre doing a desert viv if memory serves, so this part isnt essential; if youre putting them in a cage that requires humidity, the base of the screw-eyes have to be covered with a blob of fishtank sealant to stop water from seeping in.


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## MexMex (Sep 12, 2007)

Ok thanks for the idea, I will just wait now for the money to come in so I can buy loads of plants hehe  Thankyou!


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