# Extremely natural Leopard Gecko viv.



## CameronJames (May 30, 2012)

*Extremely natural Leopard Gecko viv (pic heavy).*

So this is my thread showing my build of my naturalistic Leopard gecko viv!!

It took me a while to source the right materials but Lucky Reptile have some great clays available.










As you can see I used;

Lucky Reptile - Desert Bedding

Lucky Reptile - Herp Pottery

Lucky Reptile - Savannah Bush

Dragon stone

Balloons and pump (for creating tunnels)

Black Silicone (for the back of the tank)

I wanted to create something as natural as possible, which by the looks of most of their habitat photos is pretty barren, dry, rocky desert.


----------



## CameronJames (May 30, 2012)

I started off by painting the back of the viv with black silicone. I used silicone so that at any point I could just peel it off if I didn't want it any more. It took a whole tube.


----------



## CameronJames (May 30, 2012)

Using my sketch as a guide i then laid the dragon stone out in an iwagumi inspired lay out. 










Using the balloons, I created a tunnel, which I layered the herp pottery over and then wet it. i then covered it with the desert bedding.


----------



## CameronJames (May 30, 2012)

I put the finishing touches on, left it to dry a bit and added the geckos! Lemon and Melon 





































Hope you like it as much as I do!!!!


----------



## ayrton (Apr 22, 2012)

That's is a great looking setup good job:2thumb::no1:


----------



## antcherry88 (Mar 28, 2011)

I've been using the desert bedding for ages it's good stuff.

Although the tank looks good does it actually function as a habitat?

Hows it heated? Cool and warm end hides? Moist hide? How are you going to get into the burrow to get the gecko out or clean?


----------



## CameronJames (May 30, 2012)

The short answer is yes it works.

Long answer, I don't need to clean their 'burrow' as they do all their pooping in the same corner, luckily haha! If I want to get them out I just make some noise and they come see what the fuss is about.

The heat mat is on the back of the viv, with the lighting giving some more ambient heat. The burrow and other cool spots on the viv provide them places to regulate body temps. The burrow itself is cooler at the bottom than the top so they can regulate even in there. The clay holds moisture well so it's much more humid in the burrow. The clay on top has completely dried and cracked now, so looks great!

I wanted a habitat that was a little more stimulating for them, with different textures and places to hide and sit.

I've never seen them happier!!


----------



## my_shed (Jan 5, 2011)

Great work, looks awesome!!

Dave


----------



## antcherry88 (Mar 28, 2011)

CameronJames said:


> The short answer is yes it works.
> 
> Long answer, I don't need to clean their 'burrow' as they do all their pooping in the same corner, luckily haha! If I want to get them out I just make some noise and they come see what the fuss is about.
> 
> ...


Cool. Pooing in the same place is one of the best things about leopard geckos! lol. 

One bit of advice I would give you is to ditch the heatmat and use a halogen spot bulb instead. A heat mats not going to do much at all on the side of a glass viv. They only really work if the animal sits on top of them. IMO they're even pretty useless at that! 

Much more realistic/effective would be a low wattage halogen on just during the daytime. When you turn it off at night the rocks will retain heat as they would in the wild. I've seen a big improvement in my geckos since switching to a similar set-up to you (rocks and desert bedding) and using bulbs for heating.

Also, keep an eye out as the desert bedding has grown some mould in certain places in some of my vivs. Mainly in my tarantula tanks where it's a bit more humid but still worth keeping an eye on.


----------



## CameronJames (May 30, 2012)

antcherry88 said:


> Cool. Pooing in the same place is one of the best things about leopard geckos! lol.
> 
> One bit of advice I would give you is to ditch the heatmat and use a halogen spot bulb instead. A heat mats not going to do much at all on the side of a glass viv. They only really work if the animal sits on top of them. IMO they're even pretty useless at that!
> 
> ...


Thanks for the tips!! The gecko bedding has dried a lot now, so I hope it doesn't get mouldy!

Yes I really want to get that set up, I'm doing it in small steps 

It's a shame they don't just make a hood that fits over an exo-terra nicely with everything you need in just a nice boxy shape...


----------



## WhiteTshirtRich (Feb 15, 2013)

Hi,

I know this post is old but I was wondering if it was still working well as I am looking at doing something similar myself.

Have any of the tunnels collapsed? Have your leopard gecko's been shedding okay?

Thanks

Rich


----------



## Sid85 (Dec 18, 2012)

I didn't see this thread when it was posted before. That looks excellent, I'd love to have a go at something similar.

Now that it's been set up for a while how is it all lasting?

Sid


----------



## kr1s27 (Jul 18, 2012)

That my friend is very nicely done 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free


----------



## CameronJames (May 30, 2012)

WhiteTshirtRich said:


> Hi,
> 
> I know this post is old but I was wondering if it was still working well as I am looking at doing something similar myself.
> 
> ...


Hey!

I know this is really late but to answer these questions as I have now dismantled the tank  I'm giving it away free, so check the listings.

The original burrow did collapse, but they kept digging more. They were never deep enough to be in danger. They actually shed a lot better with this set up.

I can honestly say this setup was TOO successful. They kept breeding!! I didn't have to incubate the eggs they just hatched naturally in the substrate and one day to my surprise I found a baby. I did hope it would happen but was quite a shock!!

After four successful hatchings and 4 beautiful healthy babies I decided to pass them and their parents on to my sister.

Please people carry on what I was doing and use more naturalistic set ups! It was so beautiful to see the female digging nests and new burrows in an authentic desert landscape.


----------



## Sid85 (Dec 18, 2012)

Thanks for the update.

Really glad to hear that they did really well in the set up. I'd like to do something similar in the future.


----------

