# homemade vivarium help please :)



## jetsmart1 (Feb 7, 2011)

Hi Guys, 
I am new to these forums so HELLO to everybody, i am jet, and i have had corn snakes for the last 4 years.
I have spent today making a new home for my corn snake as he's getting bit bigger and it makes use of an old desk i have had lying around for a long time.

Heres what ive managed to create so far using an old flat pack desk, spare glass from my greenhouse and a bit of mesh, total cost £5.90 as of yet 



















this picture shows mesh covering the back here, i thought it would allow good ventillation, but u cnt see it on picture   

will it matter that i dont have the wood strip under the sliding doors as i have noticed all purchased viv's have this!?

also is there any shops where i can buy the runners from for the sliding doors as the curtain rail i am currently using leaves a 6mm gap between both peices of glass and only allows for 3mm glass not 4. i know they are availible on ebay.

last thing!! i know i cant use household sealant due to fungicides etc etc but i was wondering if i need worry right now with a corn? 

any opinions and advice welcome 

thanks in advance guys 

jeff


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## ServantOMallard (Nov 18, 2010)

Hi and welcome! Pretty new here myself. The bit of wood at the bottom is to keep any substrate inside the tank, what will you be using?

I'd say ebay is the cheapest for runners, heres some I found for just over £3 delivered.

3' VIVARIUM PVC reptile Glass Runners 4mm for viv sides on eBay (end time 09-Mar-11 09:44:01 GMT)

Can't say fairer than that!

As far as silicone goes, not really sure what you're asking but I wouldnt risk using anything containing fungicides as I've heard they can leech out over an extended period of time.

Hope this helps!

Cheers,

Nath


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## jetsmart1 (Feb 7, 2011)

hiya mate, im going to be using some gravel as my snake seems happy with it at the moment, 

as for sealant i just mean around the edges of the inside to make sure no moisture in the tank seeps into the wood making it go soft

i think ill be buying runners on ebay considering its only cheap anyway, 

hopefully within few days will have fully set up


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## ServantOMallard (Nov 18, 2010)

I would say that the bit of wood at the bottom would be the best idea if thee gravel is quite fine as I know it can be a b:censor:rd to get out of the glass runners once it gets stuck in there!

As far as sealant I would still air on the side of caution as it's better to be safe than sorry 

what sort of setup are you going for in there? If you're in the diy mood I'd recommend making your own decor, you can mak some really good looking bits and bobs for a fraction of the price you'd pay in pet shops, and theyre relatively easy to make too :2thumb:

Keep us updated! 

Cheers


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## jetsmart1 (Feb 7, 2011)

just been to a guy down the road, glass will be £10 alltogether 

runners will be here in few days along with handles for the doors

im thinkin of making some things for my decor but am not sure where to start, i dont want it looking too tacky 

any ideas for decor appreciated 

will be sorting the wood along the bottom too soon, better to do it than find it annoys me later


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## jetsmart1 (Feb 7, 2011)

ALSO, 

im using sticky back rubber tiles at the moment, will the glue on the bottom of these be ok> after learning about the sealant i dont want any problems


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## ServantOMallard (Nov 18, 2010)

£10 is an absolute bargain! Decor wise you can go as simplistic or creative as you like, I'd do a couple of different ideas at once and any you dont like the look of just chuck away. One word of advice, have a hoover at hand, the mother was not to happy at me billowing bits of polystyrene all over the house on the way to get the hoover :whistling2:

Have not kept snakes so wouldnt be able to comment/advise on what sort of decor they'd need.

If it's just normal wood glue or anything of that nature, as long as the fumes have gone before you put the corn in it should be fine.


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## DrChino (Aug 23, 2010)

Looking good so far, keep us updated!


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## jetsmart1 (Feb 7, 2011)

ive ordered my runners and handles for glass, once they arrive ill be going to get glass and cut plinth for bottom 

have already covered house in polystyrene bits once, will probably be doing same again today 
im working on my poly rocks now will post a thread once i can get all pics up and do progress reports, its not looking bad so far


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## ServantOMallard (Nov 18, 2010)

Nice one, I should really post a thread with my build log for the fake rock stuff I did for my leos. I've got all the photos, just never got round to uploading them :blush: When I do I'll post a link here so you can see what sort of effect you can get.


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## jetsmart1 (Feb 7, 2011)

make sure you do ive been painting mine last night, not as happy as i hoped after its dried, but after some touching up ill be happy, its deffo getting there  will upload pics and tht when i can 

will i need to do anything before applying pva to stop paint coming back off?


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## jetsmart1 (Feb 7, 2011)

hey guys, 
finished building my new viv now  got my runners and new glass and all is good, wht u think~?

also got my new rockscape in there nearly finished it, will upload a progress thread soon,


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