# Leopard gecko custom viv extravaganza! Loadsa photos!



## ServantOMallard (Nov 18, 2010)

Right so I've had this setup sorted for the last 3 months, had all intentions of doing a build log as I was making it but never got round to it. Better late than never I suppose!

After keeping my two leos Yoshi & Fanta for 6months I was getting kinda bored of the same old exo-terra hides and decor so after a bit (ha!) of research on here, I decided to build my own.

I'm using a vivexotic VX36 I think it is, and had all this space going to waste above floor level so wanted to give them some stuff to climb on.

One thing I can honestly say is make sure you plan out what you're going to do before you start, makes it so much easier to do!

I first added some floor tiles we had spare from the kitchen, and made a little door type jobbie so that I could access the heat mat if needs be. The tiles are raised above floor level using leftover strips of tile. Sorry no photos of this stage!

Anyway onto the messy bit, polystyrene! I cannot stress the importance of having a Hoover nearby BEFORE starting cutting. The mother was non too happy about the cloud of poly-balls billowing behind me as I went to get the Hoover 

This is the first part I made after the first coat of grout:










If you look at the bottom inside of the hide you should see a small hole, this is where one of the temp probes is going to go through.

Onto the next picture. Jumped a little ahead with this one. The bit in the middle is hollow so that the wires for the heat mat and temp probes are hidden. There's also a recess where the display for the dual probe thermometer will sit.










The little separate piece at the bottom left was supposed to be a planter, but was duly scrapped as it was too small 










Second hide in, one of the shelves and a ramp drying after the first coat of grout.










First shelf in being supported as the grout dries. Also notice the new and improved planter?!










Shelf number two in.










Shelf number three in, the lids for the hides drying and a base coat of grout on the walls 










3 coats of grout done, sanded down any spikey bits, now onto painting!










Et voilà! Did a base coat of a dark chocolatey brown, then worked my way through the colours from dark to light. Had some oranges, beiges, various browns, just kept a-mixing and drybrushing.

I then put on a coat of PVA and sprinkled a bit of sand all over to give it more texture.

A couple of coats of low-VOC varnish, 10 days for the smell of fumes to go off and she was done!










The plant is a bronze sedge, in a mix of aquatic compost and a layer of sand on top. The lights are 3 of those LED spotlights you can get pretty much anywhere. Also got an exo-terra moonlight bulb in an Arcadia holder for night viewing.

Ahh forgot to mention the stat. A hole was drilled through the right side into the hide for the thermostat probe, just your bog-standard mat-stat.

Hope this helps/inspires anyone thinking of doing something similar, it is honestly worth all the work, not just for you but for your pets 

Nath


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## swift_wraith (Jan 4, 2009)

looks good, can see that a LOT of changes were made during construction.


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## geckocrazy14 (Mar 10, 2011)

Wow!! Good job


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## Recluso (Dec 3, 2010)

This is just fantastic. Amazing job! :2thumb:


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## Swain86 (Jan 23, 2011)

Well done


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## Keto (Mar 28, 2011)

Loving these grout rock backgrounds people are making.


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## s6t6nic6l (May 15, 2010)

:2thumb: nice work there. well done.


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## Catfud (Mar 2, 2010)

That's a really nice build, well done and thanks for sharing it with us : victory:


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## ServantOMallard (Nov 18, 2010)

Thanks for all the comments guys! : victory:


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## bmwtwin2 (Feb 14, 2011)

hi how easy is something like this to build, i've got some fat tail gecko's and i've been thinking of trying to give them something to do so they don't get bored and i know you can't use sand but this looks great mate job well done :2thumb:


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## ServantOMallard (Nov 18, 2010)

Hi mate, it's not too difficult it just takes a lot of work and mess. It's pretty easy to get some great looking effects and the geckos love it! You could still make the floor look sandy, a layer of PVA then pop the sand on top. Just make sure to seal it afterwards, makes it a lot easier to clean.

Cheers

Nath


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## Emma86 (Jan 17, 2011)

That looks amazing, how exactly did you make it? I know you used tile grout, but did you use foam or card or something to mould it onto?


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## ServantOMallard (Nov 18, 2010)

Thanks :no1: It's just plain old packaging style polystyrene. I just arranged some big-ish bits into roughly the sorta positions I wanted then hacked away. I've used expanding foam on my mantis viv since this and that also works well and you can get some really natural looking stuctures.

Hope this helps 

Cheers

Nath


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