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Registered User
Homemade enclosure
I'm new to this forum, but I wanted input on the new enclosure that I build for Frank, my BP that I've had for almost 3 years now (got him a couple of months after he hatched from a breeder at a reptile expo). He was in a 20 gal long for a long time, but now he's over 3 feet, so I built him this wooden tank that is approximately a 42-44 gallon long (if that existed.) All the wood has been sealed for water-resistance.
There are gaps above and below the doors for ventilation, as well as small-grid vent covers (not displayed) that can be opened for extra airflow, such as in the summer.
I'll get new pictures of the enclosure when furnished. He has two hides, UTH, water dish, and I've been using B&W newspaper / paper towels for substrate, and soon to be a radiant heat panel (there is a thermostat, I need to up the temps a little bit more.)
I am also in the middle of making it look nice. Experimentally, I have a very hardy species of bonsai tree in with Frank, which he has coexisted with for approximately 2 months now. He appears to like it and climb on it, yet isn't able to crush it. Any thoughts on possible problems with this?
I am also making a grout-covered styrofoam background (to look like rock) to cover up the wood, w hich I want to drape fake or real ivy over, as well as throw in some logs from outside (boiled, of course).
I know that more natural set ups like I'm planning are more difficult to clean, but frank and the fish in the tank above him are my only pets at the moment, so I'm OK with the extra time required.
Questions:
How bad IS reptibark with regards to mites? I do have Provent-a-mite, and I'm okay with boiling it and so forth beforehand. I _really_ like the look of it, though I haven't used it yet.
Any potential problems with the tree I didn't think of?
Anything else obviously wrong here? What do you think?
Jim
And for the pics (ones with tank furnished to be taken later):
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...s/DSCN1108.jpg
Last edited by dr del; 02-09-2008 at 05:23 PM.
Reason: picture larger than 800 pixels wide
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BPnet Veteran
Re: Homemade enclosure
looks awesome! watch the humidity. gap in the front looks a little to big.
other than that. looks good!
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BPnet Veteran
Re: Homemade enclosure
The only suggestion I would make is to try to treat the wood with a non-toxic water sealant of sorts... I've seen wood warp and actually grow mold when kept at moderate humidity levels Very nice though!
~*~ Adri ~*~
0.1 BP - Kitty (but 'officially' Cleo)
2.0 Pet rats - Gir and Zim
1.0 Bunnicula - Dexter
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BPnet Veteran
Re: Homemade enclosure
Personally I don't care much for repti bark, it puts off too much dust. Everything ends up with a reddish tinge to it. So far as the mite thing goes, I have heard that, but I never had any problems with mites back when I used it. At the petstore I worked at I would just tell customers to pop it in the freezer for a day or two just to be on the safe side.
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Registered User
New Pictures!!!
I finally finished grouting the background and painted it and aired it out, etc. Here are pictures of the tank. I still need to add a climbing branch (frank does love to climb, unlike most balls) and some fake silk ivy or other fake greenery. The live plant was removed, as I realized that everyone is right and it just won't work with a BP knocking it over and ruining it. 
Anyway, I like how it turned out so far, and I also threw in pictures of the fish tank that sits on top of franks tank, because I think it also looks nice (even though the anacharis is out of control!)
The Whole thing:

Frank's tank:
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...s/dscn1111.jpg
Fish tank overall
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...s/dscn1112.jpg
Red tailed shark and pleco
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...s/dscn1114.jpg
Last edited by dr del; 02-15-2008 at 06:43 PM.
Reason: please keep pictures under 800 pixels wide
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Registered User
Re: Homemade enclosure
Nice set-up. Can you tell me how you made the background? And can you post a more detailed (closer) pic of the background rock wall?
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Registered User
Re: Homemade enclosure
I'll try to take more closeup pictures of the background while I'm finishing the actual tank, in the next week or so.
Basic procedure:
Materials - 2" styrofoam sheets, silicone, pre-mixed tile grout, gray primer, flathead screwdriver, gloves, knife
I cut the styrofoam to fit the back of the tank. The back wall is composed of 2 pieces, with the cut to fit them together curved to make them blend better. The larger back rocks were cut out of these initial sheets. The crevices were made with the screwdriver, a putty knife can be used to rough up the styrofoam.
Also, smaller rocks were cut out of extra styrofoam and siliconed in place, allowing these to dry for 24 hours.
Then, the grout is spread over the styrofoam, let dry for 24 hours, then put a second layer on. This smooths out the bumps from the rough styrofoam a bit, to make it look more like typical rock indentations. I also added extra grout around the siliconed rock pieces, in order to make a smooth transition from the overall background piece to each piece of rock, so it looked like it was all 1 piece. Let the second grout coat dry for 48 hours to be sure it's ready for painting (if necessary).
I had white grout, which I spraypainted with gray primer. I like the way the paint came out uneven and some of the original grout color shows through in a couple of spots - i think it makes it look more like real rock, which does not have a uniform color. The whole thing is spraypainted and let to dry and air out for 24-48 hours.
Jim
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