# Wicked Gecko Hides!



## spatte88 (Jun 29, 2009)

Hi all, 

Not made many posts lately in this section and unfortunately that has been down to me focusing on my new additions to my ever growing reptile zoo:lol2: When we looked into hides for our new AFT's we noticed there wasn't much of a market for these except for the zoo med ones so we decided to make our own home-made ones!

Following on from the crestie hide post (http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/habitat/585826-wicked-crestie-hides-5.html) these seemed a great test piece before making the bigger crestie hides.

We made a waterbowl/calcium dish first to test the process as this was a relatively small item in comparison to the hides. We wanted a low water volume waterbowl so the geckos could lay in it if they wanted to though less chance of drowning. We also decided to attach the glass bowl for the calcium or live food so that it didnt get knocked over.

We started off by making a clay model, this was very easy and quite good fun though make sure you choose the right clay as i found my first attempt crumbled and fell apart when it dried. I then made a housing for the model so that I could use a liquid silicone to make a mould. Unfortunately the silicone is the expensive and tricky part!



















Then I used a two part liquid plastic which can be mixed and poured into the silicone mould to make the finished product.










I attempted to use different coloured dyes added in with the two part liquid plastic to create different coloured items though found that the final product was not as strong so I decided to stick with white which can then be painted.










After the success with the water bowl I attempted to make the hide using a two part mould. This was designed to sit in a corner with open bottom to allow better heat transfer through the substrate. we made the sides slightly sloping so the gecko could climb on top to provide another "layer" to the viv. we also designed it to sit snug next to the zoo med hide as shown.



















The two part mould basically required two silicone moulds to be made, one for main body and one for lid.



















these have turned out extremely strong, waterproof and easy to produce. These could be used in any type of viv, but i think these are great for leopard geckos as well as AFT's etc. i'm using multiple hides positioned at different tempature areas in my vivs.

When I get chance I will paint the items and post some new pictures for you all to see.


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## Austin Allegro (Oct 5, 2008)

Tell you what they look really good. Its always seemed to me that the exo terras and other type of hides are grossly over priced and that some entrepeneur in the UK could produce similar items at a fraction of the price and seriously undercut exo terra prices while at the same time making a good profit.


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## spatte88 (Jun 29, 2009)

Austin Allegro said:


> Tell you what they look really good. Its always seemed to me that the exo terras and other type of hides are grossly over priced and that some entrepeneur in the UK could produce similar items at a fraction of the price and seriously undercut exo terra prices while at the same time making a good profit.


I must admit I was surprised at the limited amounts of hides out there on the market for such animals, especially as it is so easy to make them. The only down side to making such products is the cost of making the actual mould! Never know one day when I retire this may become a little project :lol2: Though for now as I've made the moulds for my own use I could easily kick out a few extra for people if they were interested???


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## mariex4 (Oct 19, 2009)

they are wicked , so u made your own molds . how much would you charge pm me please i defo intrested . as i have 6 leos and hides are bloody expencive


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## eridu (Jul 3, 2010)

*Hides*

These are a work of art )
Much better than shop ones, well done you!

Get selling them, loads of people would want these and you´d make many reptiles happy bunnies hehe


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## spatte88 (Jun 29, 2009)

eridu said:


> These are a work of art )
> Much better than shop ones, well done you!
> 
> Get selling them, loads of people would want these and you´d make many reptiles happy bunnies hehe


Well if anyone is interested in one of these hides I reckon I could kick them out at £12 a piece! just PM if interested.

I know i should be painting the ones I've made and post some better pictures though kind of warming to them in White, plus busy making Mark 2 at the moment lol


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## Scarface87 (Jan 4, 2011)

I might be interested in something similar for my corn snakes.. I would love to make them myself but I'm feckin useless when it comes to making things


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## spatte88 (Jun 29, 2009)

Scarface87 said:


> I might be interested in something similar for my corn snakes.. I would love to make them myself but I'm feckin useless when it comes to making things


Must admit I never thought about a snake being able to make use of these, just thought about Leo's and Fatties! I guess it's just the size of snake which will count! I could post sizes if interested?


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## Scarface87 (Jan 4, 2011)

That would be great. Have a 6ft and 4.5-5ft both fully grown. They dont need much space to curl up in! Sizes and prices would be cool


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## Scarface87 (Jan 4, 2011)

Could you also tell me where you got the silicone and liquid plastic from??? Cheers


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## Becky Wheeler (Jun 15, 2006)

Who's been a busy bee then?? LOL. You've got the bug havent you!.

Since I made my very first background I can't stop! Well done mate they look awesome!! You deffinately have the creative touch. And I think loads of people are going to be pm'ing you for these!!.


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## markn (Jul 29, 2010)

spatte88 said:


> Well if anyone is interested in one of these hides I reckon I could kick them out at £12 a piece! just PM if interested.
> 
> I know i should be painting the ones I've made and post some better pictures though kind of warming to them in White, plus busy making Mark 2 at the moment lol



How much are the exo terra hides to buy if £12 for these ones is cheap?


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## spatte88 (Jun 29, 2009)

Scarface87 said:


> That would be great. Have a 6ft and 4.5-5ft both fully grown. They dont need much space to curl up in! Sizes and prices would be cool


Ah a little bit bigger than I thought :lol2: here are the dimensions anyway











Scarface87 said:


> Could you also tell me where you got the silicone and liquid plastic from??? Cheers


I got all my supplies from Fibreglass Supplies - mbfg.co.uk who I've found to be by far the cheapest! I'm sure when you look into it though you'll realise just how expensive the mould is to make initially. 



Becky Wheeler said:


> Who's been a busy bee then?? LOL. You've got the bug havent you!.
> 
> Since I made my very first background I can't stop! Well done mate they look awesome!! You deffinately have the creative touch. And I think loads of people are going to be pm'ing you for these!!.


Your telling me :lol2: nearly everything I see I think I could do that better, plus wouldn't it be better if it had this or that done to it. 



markn said:


> How much are the exo terra hides to buy if £12 for these ones is cheap?


Yes the Exo Terra hides are slightly cheaper though they are thin walled (not as strong) and light (easy for reptile to move). I based the design quality to be more like the Zoo Med hides which are more expensive.


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## Pendragon (Dec 8, 2008)

Hey, First time I've seen these, nice job :notworthy:

Jay


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## Scarface87 (Jan 4, 2011)

Ah yes... a wee bit too small for my Corns...! 

Thanks for the link though, might be worth a try one day...


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## Toma (Sep 22, 2009)

Hi could you post some pics of the moulds you made for the hides? They look great by the way!


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## spatte88 (Jun 29, 2009)

Toma said:


> Hi could you post some pics of the moulds you made for the hides? They look great by the way!


Hi thanks for the comment! Unfortunately I can't post a picture as basically the hide mould is just a big square of silicone that folds open! Though if you look earlier on in the post there is a picture of the waterbowl mould which is the same concept.


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## blabble182 (Dec 26, 2010)

were you using the water based casting resin or the liquid plastic casting resin ?


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## spatte88 (Jun 29, 2009)

If anyone is interested we are selling the left over rubber silicone on eBay! This is used for making moulds of items just like these hides. Which would be a bargain if anyone was interested at having a go at making their own items : victory:


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## donia (Apr 15, 2009)

Have you given up making the hides? A shame, as they look amazing. Could sell them white and let people paint them to match their vivs... Was looking for a shedding hide a while back, one with a solid base, and would have loved something like what you make! What's on the market is sooo expensive and unimaginative!


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## spatte88 (Jun 29, 2009)

donia said:


> Have you given up making the hides? A shame, as they look amazing. Could sell them white and let people paint them to match their vivs... Was looking for a shedding hide a while back, one with a solid base, and would have loved something like what you make! What's on the market is sooo expensive and unimaginative!


No still making the hides for those that want them! The silicone that we are selling is for making moulds not the actual plastic hides!

I'm looking at making a future hide with a solid base for a humidity hide, so keep your eyes peeled :2thumb:


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## spatte88 (Jun 29, 2009)

Bumpage


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## xDEADFAMOUSx (Jul 15, 2011)

How heat resistant are these... Like if i placed one under a basking light so it can be a basking site and a hot end hide.... How well would it stand up to that?

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2


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## spatte88 (Jun 29, 2009)

xDEADFAMOUSx said:


> How heat resistant are these... Like if i placed one under a basking light so it can be a basking site and a hot end hide.... How well would it stand up to that?
> 
> Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2


Really depends on how hot a basking spot your looking at! I imagine you'd be fine unto 100 degrees C easily, though would recommend testing it at different temperatures first! You'll be fine as long as it doesn't start to soften!


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