# viv nearly done



## Andy (Jul 27, 2005)

i have been slaving away for hours and heres the almost finished article.Any comments/ideas?


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## bigp (Apr 24, 2005)

some ventilation mate, other than that it looks good.


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## Andy (Jul 27, 2005)

yeah should of said i have yet to put the vents!


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## Guest (Sep 24, 2005)

Looking good Andy once the vents are in place you will never buy a prefab viv again


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## bigp (Apr 24, 2005)

still waiting for prices on the heaters by the way.


haven't forgotten yet!!!


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## nicky (Jul 13, 2005)

dito looking gd..cant wait to see it all sorted and lived in..


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## tazzyasb (May 4, 2005)

looking good  

See you went for sliding doors.

What size did you decide to build in the end?


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## Andy (Jul 27, 2005)

i went for 32x18x18 it looks bigger than i thought it would!it has`only cost me 30 quid in bits so far too.


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## tazzyasb (May 4, 2005)

bargin

i need to have a go at building my own. getting another four corns in two weeks!


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## nattyb (Apr 9, 2005)

looking good mate  
once youve built your first sucessfully within 6 months i bet your tripping up over vivs  :wink:


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## Andy (Jul 27, 2005)

yup i am already planning another for sidney and the shop where i go has just got a pair of royals who are very nice!


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## nattyb (Apr 9, 2005)

mmmmm it seems theres no stopping you now mate :lol:


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## Andy (Jul 27, 2005)

na i think i am gonna have to calm myself down i think i'll have the boa and the two royals maybe and then that will have to do.saying that th eflat i am moving into has a garage... :lol:


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## Andy (Jul 27, 2005)

heres a couple more i have put a light in and stuck a heat mat on the back so i can see what sortof temps i can get i bet ya sick of looking at this!! :lol:


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## bigp (Apr 24, 2005)

that heat mat won't put much heat through the wood mate.


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## Anonymous (Jan 22, 2005)

bigp said:


> that heat mat won't put much heat through the wood mate.


*Ive had a heat meat on the back of a viv with thicker wood and its come through, what you could do Andy is put bacofoil over the heat mat so the heat reflects and doesnt escape

Great looking viv Andy well done good job :wink: *


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## Andyman (May 16, 2005)

Would you not have the problem of small crickets getting through them vents? I didn't want escapy food, so i got the finest mech i could find! Great viv btw and i think im going to add my heat mat under the viv!


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## Luke (May 19, 2005)

Yeah tbh its very surprising what heat comes through wood from a good heat mat. When we had one attached to our baby ammie set up a heat matt was giving the right amount of heat for them and that was through 3 quarters of an inch wood.


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## bigp (Apr 24, 2005)

:shock: 

well slap my thigh and call me rodger!!!

i'll have to give it a bash.


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## t-bo (Jan 26, 2005)

bigp said:


> :shock:
> 
> well slap my thigh and call me rodger!!!
> 
> i'll have to give it a bash.


*SLAP* How was that Rodger?


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## Andy (Jul 27, 2005)

Andyman said:


> Would you not have the problem of small crickets getting through them vents?


Luckily I might be wrong but i dont think snakes eat crickets much but i know what you mean! :lol: 

The wood on the back is only 4mm hard board so hopefully the mat will be ok but i think i am gonna fit a reptile radiator in see how that goes but thanks everyone for the advice and positive comments!


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## Guest (Sep 26, 2005)

Rough green snakes eat crickets mate but i dont think you will be keeping any of those lol


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## Andyman (May 16, 2005)

Neva thought about the snake keeping, because im more into the lizards i automatically presumed you were going to have a lizard lmao


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## ReptileResort (Jul 25, 2005)

pmsl cool viv m8 i always make my own , more enjoyment when you have got it finnished  thums up to you m8 8)


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## Andy (Jul 27, 2005)

Cheers Mr Resort I cant wait to get something to put in it now!!
:lol: :lol:


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## CanIFeedItCats? (Aug 19, 2005)

Be careful having the mat like that. Especially if you are planning to put silver foil over it to reflect the heat towards the wood.

Depending on what type of mat it is, you can end up with something called "Thermal blocking" which means that the heat produced begins to feed itself until it gets to combustable temps.

Leave it on for a day or two and see what sort of surface temps you are getting. if any part of it gets too hot to touch comfortabley, you will have to move it inside the tank or risk a fire.

Other than that, great looking viv.


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## Andy (Jul 27, 2005)

Thanks mate i was thinking about puttin it inside on the floor with some 2-3mm hard board over it then silicone sealin the wood to the floor that way it should be ok with humidity etc. what do you reckon?


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## Bev (Sep 7, 2005)

Why not use a piece of perspex instead of the wood over the mat, the plastic will let more heat thru and it wont absorb any water, so you wont have to varnish it, i think the varnish would further stop heat coming thru the wood anyway, you could still seal round the perspex. an it aint that hard to get or cut, a jigsaw should do the job. you could probably buy a piece the right size anyway an it shouldnt be expensive lol


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## CanIFeedItCats? (Aug 19, 2005)

It all depends on the type of mat that you have. if its a "surface heat" one then covering it with anything is still slightly risky. 
If its an ifrared one then the perspex would be perfect.

I never actually bother to cover my mats with anything. They are pretty well sealed at the factory and specifically designed to go in the bottom of herp tanks so I am thinkng that they are more than capable of handling the moisture and humidity that they are likely to encounter. Im not suggesting that they could be used inside a terrapin tank but these things are desighnd to work in enclousures that range from arid desert conditions to rain forrest like ones.

What I tend to do is stick the mat to the floor of the viv using ducktape or similar and then I put a flatbottomed hide box on top of the mat. This normally covers about 1/3 to 1/2 of the mat. There is no substrate between the box and the mat. The remainder of the mat is then covered with a thin layer of substrate (no more than about an inch)

This seems to work fine as the heat can radiate up through the substrate adn it gives a nice warm hide box. The hide boxes are made of 12mm MDF so they are quite thick and there is no chance of burns. Also by doing it this way, the surface of the mat doesnt get hot enough to ignite anyting or burn the occupant but it does radiate the heat nicely.

Hope this helps.


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## Andy (Jul 27, 2005)

Definately worth thinking about. How can you tell what type of mat it is?they look thm same to me!i am gonna set it up as i would if something was livin in it then check different positions and temps etc. see which is best.


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## CanIFeedItCats? (Aug 19, 2005)

Im not sure which manufacturer does which sort. The easiest way would be to turn it on and leave it on for a whole day with no cover etc. If the surface is hot (not just warm) then you have a heat mat, if its just warm then you have and IR heat mat.

or look on the makers website. They usually have comprehensive instructions for fitting on there. Why the hell didnt I think of that sooner?!?


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## Andy (Jul 27, 2005)

lol i just looked on the website i think Habistat are all IR so i think i will be ok putting it under sbubstrate without worrying bout hot surface. I am gonna make some hides out of some old slate tiles i've got i suppose i could just put a tile over it. Who would of thought making a viv would be so challenging!the problem is people telling you different things all the time. I am thinking bout getting a royal tommorow if the shop still has them.


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## CanIFeedItCats? (Aug 19, 2005)

oh no, you dont want a royal.....


Just kidding mate. Im sure it will be deliriously happy in its new home I just thought I would give you something else to worry about


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## nattyb (Apr 9, 2005)

lol building vivs maybe challenging but its good fun aint it?
a royal AJ? i thought this viv were for a dumerils :roll: :wink:


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## Andy (Jul 27, 2005)

yeah it was but it still isn't feeding and I am having an uncontrolable urge to go and buy a snake! The shop I go to has got a pair of grown on Royals which are gorgeous so I might have to build another viv at the weekend! :lol:


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## bigp (Apr 24, 2005)

your viv would be fine for 2 royals mate.

if you fancy a trip up here then i've got a 2 year old female dumeril for sale! :wink:


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## Andy (Jul 27, 2005)

I think Aberdeen might be a bit of a trek for me mate but thanks for the offer!!


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## CanIFeedItCats? (Aug 19, 2005)

Nonscense Andy, York is almost Scotland anyway


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## Andy (Jul 27, 2005)

Hmm York isn't that far from Aberdeen? Well I suppose Suffolk aint that far from France! :lol:


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## CanIFeedItCats? (Aug 19, 2005)

it's probably about the same distace to be fair.

I know which direction I would rather travel in though


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## nattyb (Apr 9, 2005)

lol yeah north scots are better than frenchies :wink:


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## Andy (Jul 27, 2005)

no offence to the french but what a bunch of ignorant twats! :lol:


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## Anonymous (Jan 22, 2005)

andyj5447 said:


> no offence to the french but what a bunch of ignorant twats! :lol:


*I'll echo that :lol: *


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## gillsboy (Jun 8, 2005)

yeah i find most french stuck up and annoyin


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