Naturalistic Leo Vivarium

First of all, I will say that don't expect to be completely blown away. I have a bit of a modest budget at the moment, and since I'll be moving soon I don't really have the time to construct the background and such that I'd like to. I did create a humid hide though, which can be seen on the right side of the vivarium. It was my first attempt at making a polystyrene rock/hide, and I can already see some things I would like to improve on the second time around. My leo is really enjoy the vivarium so far though, which is what matters. Eventually I would like to add a modest amount of plants as well.

The substrate was a sandy clay that I collected from an area near my house. I baked it at 325F for 45 minutes on cookie sheets. I then added water to it and started placing it into the vivarium and creating a substrate. Saying it was messy would be an understatement ;). I then put lights on it and let it "bake" and dry out for around 3 days. The substrate ended up drying out almost as hard as a rock...I was actually surprised at how hard it ended up being...but since I was a little worried about impaction, I wanted something that would dry pretty hard. I wanted to recreate the region that they come from in Pakistan, where the ground is mostly hard baked clay and sand. Not the sand dunes than some people seem to think is natural for them ;).

So let me know what you think, or if there's anything I can improve on. Like I said, I can already see a couple things I'd like to change in the near future...but input from others can never hurt.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p...ChainsX/D1.png

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p...ChainsX/D2.png

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p...ChainsX/D3.png

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p...ChainsX/D4.png

Regards,
Josh

It looks pretty good. I like it. How long did it take you to make and put all together?

Also some plants would look nice as you mentioned.

I didn't work religiously on it, so it's a little hard to put my finger on how long it actually took. Had I worked on it more consistantly I would say around a week. There was quite a few experients and new experiences for me in this project. It was a good learning experience.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by EsotericForest

I didn't work religiously on it, so it's a little hard to put my finger on how long it actually took. Had I worked on it more consistantly I would say around a week. There was quite a few experients and new experiences for me in this project. It was a good learning experience.

---

Ah, I see. Well I think you did a Great Job on it.