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My new vivarium

M

metal_benji

New member
Started this project this morning after seeing some of the custom builds out there, thought id do a 'running commentary' so to speak so you can see the progress and make any suggestions as I go

here's what it looked like before . . .
IM000212.jpg


and a couple of down the liners =)
IM000208.jpg


IM000210.jpg


Still needs ALOT of tidying up and a few more bits ill keep ya updated as to how it goes

(oh and as far as budget goes its non existent)
 
Yeah, That will work.
Just a few questions???? Do you plan on "resealing" the insides.
And what are you planning to use for heat??
 
yeah gonna be resealing everything with some cualk or something similar gonna try and find something that matches the color. . . . no idea as yet on heating it as that part is definately outta my budget for now, I wont be using it yet but ive got the next couple of days off work and needed something to do =).

I was thinking of using a flourescent tube for light (Not much heat there, and just for me to see my snake) and using a basking lamp hung from the top and protected with a cage. but if anyones got better and more efficient ideas please speak up
 
Caulking the corners will do. The wood should already have a finish on it.
Heating. Well, us Yanks love our belly heat but do what you can there.
I was ask cause I work on building my Viv too but I think I.m going with flexwatt (heat tape). I going to mortise it in the bottom and cover in with Plexiglas. Any thoughts on venting your cage.
 
gonna get a big rectangular vent from a hardware store down the road its fully plastic mesh and way way way too fine for anything to crawl out of, mount that in the back and hey presto.

i would love just standard belly heat but with no central heating in the house i gotta find a way of getting the temp up and keeping it up, at the hot end of my glass viv a simple 60watt daylight craft bulb AND a heat mat gets the temp to about 80-85 and keeps it there no matter what the day is doing.

have looked into plexiglass and acrylic for covering the heat mat but its all outta my price range atm lighting is a cheaper option as i got bulbs in every cupboard =)
 
metal_benji said:
have looked into plexiglass and acrylic for covering the heat mat but its all outta my price range atm lighting is a cheaper option as i got bulbs in every cupboard =)
Click to expand...

That's the way to go, I would think. Lights to me dry things out.
But have you heard of a "rule of thumb" on size of vent to size of cage?
Over here, some use plastic tub and if the humidity get too high just add more holes in the tubs but there is no suggested size of vents.
 
Lennycorn said:
That's the way to go, I would think. Lights to me dry things out.
But have you heard of a "rule of thumb" on size of vent to size of cage?
Over here, some use plastic tub and if the humidity get too high just add more holes in the tubs but there is no suggested size of vents.
Click to expand...

Well luckily the vent also has a sliding section so you can open or close it and hopefully that will suffice the viv is 3 feet long and i have often seen vivs that size with 6x70mm diameter vents (3 top,3 bottom) and the size of the vent matches that quite well. I monitor humidity quite closely and if its not enough then a misting in the morning normally suffices. A damp piece of kitchen towel under or on the heat source for 20 mins or so is also quite useful at raising humidity.
 
Looks good! For sealing it you could use clear silicone. It will be barely noticable. As for heat, I use flexwatt in my cages. Just make sure that you seal all of the connections very good with silicone (you could use electrical tape but I like silicone better). This prevents electrocution if water is accidentally spilled by the snake.
 
It looks good, but here's my number one concern, and you may not be wanting to hear it . . . if that's pressed wood, with just a plastic coating over it (as in, NOT melamine), you are going to have problems down the road. It will not take very long for moisture to collect and bubble up the surface, causing it to crack, and then water getting down to the pressboard. If it's real wood, then no worries. :shrugs:

Please don't kill the messenger . . .
D80
 
yeah could be a problem but this was only something to fill my time on my day off, if it works ill replace it with a proper melamine structure when i have the cash..... it should last till then =).
I was just hoping to turn something big and ugly (the cabinet as it was, top piccy) into something i could use later on, it was never meant to be a permanent home for anything, more a 'holiday home' should i need it.

Ive never done anything like this before and after seeing blueapplepaste's post on how to build one cheap, i thought id try and make one REALLY REALLY cheap i.e. this thing has cost me about £20 so far =)

and btw d80 i wont shoot you i appreciate the fact that someone has checked that in with me. . . . 6 months down the line i could have had a real fungus problem
 
That's a pretty nice looking setup you are working on, where could a guy on this side of the pond find the round vents.
I to am going to build a custom viv, using one of the kit type shelf units for material.
Should I use some type of sealant to coat the floor or could I use something like linoleum to cover the bottom?
 
i got those round vents from a store called B&Q our local hardware chain but you should be able to get them in the tumble dryer section or something like that, they have all the hoses for dyers and different vents there and i nearly tripped over these this morning. you could try ebay as i saw some posted there the other day too.
 
i meant the dyer section of you equivalant hardware chain and i saw the vent s on ebay.com not co.uk ill see if i can find them again and post you a link =)
 
roswald said:
That's a pretty nice looking setup you are working on, where could a guy on this side of the pond find the round vents.
I to am going to build a custom viv, using one of the kit type shelf units for material.
Should I use some type of sealant to coat the floor or could I use something like linoleum to cover the bottom?
Click to expand...
You can find the vent at Lowe's/Home Depot/Menard's. If you use melamine (make sure it's melamine and not white shelving. white shelving is covered with a thinner plastic/paper that rots easily) shelving you shouldn't need to coat the bottom with anything. I would recommend sealing the corners and edges with silicone sealent to prevent seapage into the wood at those locations.

metal_benji said:
and btw d80 i wont shoot you i appreciate the fact that someone has checked that in with me. . . . 6 months down the line i could have had a real fungus problem
Click to expand...
Whew! Thank goodness, didn't want to be looking over my shoulder for the next few weeks!! :grin01: Yeah, I pretty much wanted you to have the heads up so you could watch for it to happen. You'll get blistering of the paper under wet spots . . . If you're diligent with cleaning up poo and water spills, it'll last longer I'm sure!

D80
 
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