# Desert landscape: walk through of my first fake rock attempt



## neep_neep (Oct 18, 2007)

Seeing as my two Leopard Lizards (G.wislizenii) seemed to love throwing themselves at the walls of their viv and scrabbling at nothing, I though i'd make their tank a bit more interesting and construct a fake rock background to climb on.

This is how their tank was landscaped beforehand - quite bland, with very poor use of vertical space.











So, currently being unemployed, I thought i'd might as well make some use of my time and do some home improvements 

First thing was to sort the lighting out - in addition to the basking bulb we attached a dual tube starter for a standard fluorescent daylight tube and a 10.0 UV, plus reflectors. 

Rather than carving the rock face out a large chunk of polystyrene, I layered flat sections of polystyrene on top of each other to give the effect of rock strata. It started off taking forever, as I was using 'all purpose glue' which took 20 minutes for each piece to be securely stuck down. My OH then reminded me we had a glue gun.... I love that thing. Construction in progress:











And the completed structure:











I then went over it in ready mixed grout (yes, i'm lazy :lol2 and poked some holes for the plastic airplants while it was still wet. 











Once the grout was dry, I coated it in PVA and threw sand at it - unfortunately I don't have any photos of this stage, as I was having far too much fun :lol2:

Once that was dry, all that was left to do was the finishing touches. I integrated a 'planting pocket' on the top right hand side of the structure, which I sat a fake cactus in. My OH also bought me a couple of real airplants (gulp...wonder how long they'll last?) attached to a piece of bogwood, which we glued onto the rock face. Then just added basking rocks and a few plants for the ground 


The finished product (without the basking light on):










Basking spot:









Right hand/cool cave side:










And the residents back in their sparkly new home 










This morning I also coated the exo-terra cave in PVA and sand so it blends in a bit better 

I am very pleased with the outcome considering it was my first attempt - the lizards certainly like it!


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## crazyg (Feb 3, 2008)

that looks mint mate were tou get the polystyrene from ????


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## neep_neep (Oct 18, 2007)

crazyg said:


> that looks mint mate were tou get the polystyrene from ????


I just collected the polystyrene sheets over a few months from the packaging of various things! It helped that my parents bought a chicken coop last month, so there were some big flat sheets in there that I used


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## crazyg (Feb 3, 2008)

youve inspired me mate that looks awesome


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## HadesDragons (Jun 30, 2007)

Very nice :2thumb:


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## animal addict (Jun 1, 2008)

that looks awesome!!! I'm doing the same thing for my beardie with the sand etc but the sand is not sticking very well - GRRRRR!!!! If mine comes out half as good as yours I'm gonna be well happy


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## Ben.M (Mar 2, 2008)

That looks brilliant, well done:no1:


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## Dave23 (Sep 2, 2008)

That is just breth taking. Im buying a glas exo next month, but will also look at byuing a wood viv now for possible leo or some skinks. Very well done looks the biz and like said by previouse members you have inspired me.


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## Axel01 (Jun 14, 2008)

Looks great

I'm gonna give it ago.

What was the grout you used.


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## herp mad (Jul 29, 2008)

g8 pics of it & well doen m8 :2thumb: i might have a go in my spider viv


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## evilangel (Jul 7, 2007)

wow that looks amazing well done


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## charlottej1983 (Oct 29, 2007)

that is one cool viv! (jelous)


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## rybuzz (Feb 12, 2008)

Looks great :2thumb::2thumb:


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## Papscrunt (Jul 25, 2008)

Wow great work looks great


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## alexwilliamsreptiles (Mar 29, 2008)

That looks awesome, I'll need to do that for my leos soon :2thumb:


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## Mark75 (Jan 21, 2007)

It does look very cool :2thumb:


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## Snakes r grreat (Aug 21, 2006)

Thats great, well done. Thanks for the pics too. :no1:


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## Owzy46 (Jun 24, 2008)

Tip Top


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## neep_neep (Oct 18, 2007)

Thanks for all the lovely comments! :blush: :2thumb:

Axel01, the grout was Unibond waterproof grout (grey).


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## georgieabc123 (Jul 17, 2008)

wow it looks amazing brill job if i had enough polystrene id give it a go


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## Lucyellen (Sep 4, 2008)

The set up looks awesome..I might just have to have a go  How long does the grout take to dry before you can paint it?
x


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## Dave23 (Sep 2, 2008)

Im driving my family and mates nutts looking for Polastireen, bin asking at work seen as though i work in a ware house but cant get hold of enough of the flaming stuff.


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## monitor mad (Jun 16, 2008)

Nice job , looks fantastic , bet they love it!!!!:no1:


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## Moosmoo (Jul 21, 2008)

looks lush! wish i had the time to do something that cool with our vivs! i hope they're enjoying it!


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## Natalie09 (Jul 15, 2008)

that looks absolutely brilliant. Im in the process of doing this and I can only hope it looks as good as that. its fab!

I got my polystrene from wickes, its relatively cheap too.

Whilst i'm here, what are leopard lizards like to keep, are they friendly, handleable, husbandry needs etc... 
I really like these lizards.


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## neep_neep (Oct 18, 2007)

Lucyellen said:


> How long does the grout take to dry before you can paint it?


I left it for a couple of days to dry, just to make sure it was dry all the way through 




Natalie09 said:


> Whilst i'm here, what are leopard lizards like to keep, are they friendly, handleable, husbandry needs etc...
> I really like these lizards.


Husbandry requirements are more or the less the same as those for Collared Lizards 

Mine are CB, and are fine with being picked up. I tend to leave them to their own devices, but they are very active and inquisitive! Never shown any signs of aggression, they are just really lovely lizards!

The majority of leopard lizards you see in shops are WC though, so I have no experience in how these animals acclimate to handling etc. 

I am hoping to produce some CB babies next year :2thumb:


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## Natalie09 (Jul 15, 2008)

ah thats interesting...keep me in mind if you end up breeding them! i may be interested!!!


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## Nebbz (Jan 27, 2008)

wow will definatly be giving this one a shot!

well done mate pretty impressive 1st try


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## T8R (Aug 6, 2008)

neep neep this is brilliant. :2thumb: :2thumb: :2thumb: totally given me the enthusiasm to get my finger out and do one myself. where did you get the plants from?are they real or artificial?


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## connord94 (Mar 2, 2008)

Thats amazing!

I'm inspired to try, but don't have the right sort of viv (tubs ), and just a snake to try it with lol. Hopefully 2 snakes next month 


Connor


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## Kellybee (Oct 13, 2006)

Nice vivs!! I've got rock vivs but am interested to know a) where did you get the plastic airplants and b) how heavy is it ??


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## Kellybee (Oct 13, 2006)

Dave23 said:


> Im driving my family and mates nutts looking for Polastireen, bin asking at work seen as though i work in a ware house but cant get hold of enough of the flaming stuff.


Buy it from wickes its about £6 for a 2 metre sheet


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## neep_neep (Oct 18, 2007)

T8R said:


> neep neep this is brilliant. :2thumb: :2thumb: :2thumb: totally given me the enthusiasm to get my finger out and do one myself. where did you get the plants from?are they real or artificial?



All the plants are artificial (apart from the airplants on the bogwood - though they have now been munched by locusts!) and they came from the previous owner - but apart from the airplants and cactus, they are all aquarium plants! (The grassy looking ones just have soft plasic bases and are Aquascaper, the grassy ones on the left are in terracotta pots and I believe are made by Rosewood). 




Kellybee said:


> Nice vivs!! I've got rock vivs but am interested to know a) where did you get the plastic airplants and b) how heavy is it ??


I don't actually know where the plastic airplants came from, as they came with the viv when I bought it from the previous owner (which is a shame, as I wouldn't mind a couple more!). It doesn't actually add much weight to viv at all, it's solid but not very heavy  

Thanks for all comments :2thumb:


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## sushigeezer (Jun 26, 2008)

Dave23 said:


> Im driving my family and mates nutts looking for Polastireen, bin asking at work seen as though i work in a ware house but cant get hold of enough of the flaming stuff.


i did get mine from ebay

look for Mr. Polystyrene or something like that


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## el_phantasmo (Jan 30, 2008)

Also B&Q. HUGE chugging sheets of the stuff of varying thinknesses for a couple of quid each. Gonna be doing some rock type stuff (And other bits!) for a few refurbishments I have planned!


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## deadbeta (Sep 5, 2008)

Fantastic mate!


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## Puff the magic Dragon :) (Oct 15, 2008)

sorry for bumping this topic, but since reading it i have really wanted to do this as i cant find intresting rocks or logs to put in my viv, just had two questions....

1) I will be making mine for my beardie, is it still okay to use glue is so which type?

and


2) does it matter which type of grout you use or which type did u use? i dont want to poisin my beardie

Thanks alot x


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## fenwoman (Apr 15, 2008)

Dave23 said:


> Im driving my family and mates nutts looking for Polastireen, bin asking at work seen as though i work in a ware house but cant get hold of enough of the flaming stuff.


 it might help if you looked for polystyrene. You could always go to a builders merchant like Jewson, TRavis perkins etc and buy a sheet. Ask for a sheet of broken stuff for a discounted price.You'll get it cheap as builders don't want the broken stuff but it's perfect for doing this sort of thing with.And of course, it's easier to transport several smaller bits than one huge 8' X 4' sheet.


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## neep_neep (Oct 18, 2007)

Puff the magic Dragon :) said:


> sorry for bumping this topic, but since reading it i have really wanted to do this as i cant find intresting rocks or logs to put in my viv, just had two questions....
> 
> 1) I will be making mine for my beardie, is it still okay to use glue is so which type?


I used PVA glue - as it is water based and non-toxic (which is why they allow primary school children loose with it : victory.




Puff the magic Dragon :) said:


> 2) does it matter which type of grout you use or which type did u use? i dont want to poisin my beardie
> 
> Thanks alot x



I used Unibond ready mixed bathroom grout (waterproof and mould resistant) - which was completely covered and sealed in the PVA so there is none exposed.

Though have a read through the other threads, there are several different methods of doing this  I know some people use yacht varnish and other media such as expanding foam, it's just about choosing what you feel will work best


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## Boyden1985 (Nov 13, 2006)

Just ouy of interest what did you used to spead the grout? I always find my hands to clumsey.:blush:


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## strangemouse (Aug 9, 2007)

Just found this thread, wow your viv looks so good after the makeover. :2thumb:

Really must try this on my 4x2x2s, before I fill them with lizards, it seems such a waste of height otherwise.

How are they to wash? I guess the PVA makes it fairly wipe clean.


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## Toeboe (Dec 28, 2006)

Yacht varnish and epoxy resins are so expensive. Am I looking at the wrong stuff? How much are you people paying for it?
I use waterproof PVA and it hardens just fine.


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## reptiles_galore (Aug 13, 2008)

i found with water proof pva the rock i made that when i washed it in boiling water it cracked and bits of grout fell off ect ect


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## fergus77 (Sep 21, 2008)

cracking job chap, really looks the biss and you've open up the whole vertical space of the viv.

I'll def be giving that a go when i finish all the other household jobs 

but will be worth the wait


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## SnakeBoy0994 (Oct 20, 2008)

WOW that looks great i wish my viv looked like that


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## teiryklav (Mar 20, 2009)

do we sand it first then use the PVA or use the PVA first?
and sorry to be stupid, what's PVA?
i'm indonesian and don't know that thing sorry


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## karma (Jul 12, 2007)

pva glue its that white glue that schools use(well they did in my day) bq sell it,
you pva(glue it)and while the glue is still wet you throw your sand on (works with coco fibres ect aswell for a different look)


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## paulab (Mar 26, 2009)

animal addict said:


> that looks awesome!!! I'm doing the same thing for my beardie with the sand etc but the sand is not sticking very well - GRRRRR!!!! If mine comes out half as good as yours I'm gonna be well happy


You need tons of pva to get the sand to stick.
Well done neep that looks brill :2thumb:.


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## stern69 (Feb 12, 2009)

Looks awesome mate, well done!

For everyone who keeps asking the question "where do you get polystyrene from", go down to an EH Smith builders merchants and they do 4x2 sheets for less than £2!


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## excession (Apr 11, 2009)

That does look wicked mate 

Some happy lizards


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## Denji (Apr 18, 2009)

That is really impressive, well done maty they must love it in there.:no1:


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