# Amazing Inspirational Vivariums (Picture heavy) A must see!



## andaroo

I took these pictures at a reptile exhibit at the Ontario Science Centre in Canada this summer and have been meaning to post them for a while now. They all had flowing water and are some of the best vivariums I have ever seen :gasp:

I don't know which I like best!









































































How do they make them like this?!:notworthy:


----------



## Morgan Freeman

Given me some ideas!


----------



## Darbz

The fake rocks and trees are bloody amazing :mf_dribble:
Personally I'd prefer a few more plants and thing if that was their entire living area..doesn't seem to be many hiding places..

Gorgeous viv's though


----------



## philbaines

wow i love them tree ones...if they where planted up more they would be amazing!


----------



## Tehanu

Eh.

The thing that you have to avoid when creating exhibits is making them all look like they came out of the same "Make your own semi-natural habitat" kit...

They're all the same, cool for something, but entirely the same for animals that come from all over the world, none have enough planting and the plants have been chosen completely randomly, it seems to be Dracaenas, Croton, Bromeliads, Squirrels foot fern, Philodendron, Chamaedorea palm, a Ficus and moss...


----------



## Jim2109

the fake rock and trees are absolute works of art. but id agree on the lack of realistic habitat for the creatures involved and the lack of live plants.

since when do rainforest lizards live primarily around rock faces? obviously there are some, every rainforest tends to have its mountains, and the extreme weather and ground water tend to shape them pretty spectacularly. but i think rainforest vivariums should be more tree heavy and less fake rock. fake rock is easier to make and can look incredibly effective, but fake trees look so much better!!! and real trees even better still, you cant beat a jam packed live-planted viv with the colours it brings.

as for how they make the fake rock and fake trees - very similarly to how most people on here do it with grout! they spend more money though. you create shapes with expanding foam, which works out surprisingly expensive compared to polystyrene sheets, but gives you infinitely more freedom with shaping it. then use grout to strengthen, seal, and texture it. then use paint to colour it, and then seal it up using organic materials in the mix to make it more realistic and to take the shine off of it. using yacht varnish will always leave a gloss/satin finish, you have to spend lots more money to get to sealants that dont. even G4 is shiny as well as being very pricey. ive found a sealant called A1 Pond Sealer that looks promising, its epoxy resin based, once i use it il find out if its more or less shiny.

the key is in the initial shaping with expanding foam, and then in the texturing with the grout. if you get the shapes right then the rest is easy. read up on model railway building for the real advice on how to do make realistic rocks/trees/etc. good model railway builders are probably among the most skilled and detailed craftsmen on the planet, youll be stunned by the realism of some of the scenes youll find on google!! just scale everything they do up so its life size, and add sealant afterwards. simples.


----------

