I am completely new to herp keeping, but after doing months of research, planning,and of course building,
I've completed a hand made vivarium using the building skills I know and the info I've picked up along the way.
I knew that i wanted red eyes so i tried to recreate their natural environment.
Here is the entire process from start to finish.
Hope you enjoy
The measurements of the set up are 25x18x16 [HEIGHTxWIDTHxDEPTH]
I first drew out my idea, then went to work with the wood.
I used oak because of its natural hardness and moisture resistance.
Joining all the pieces of wood together with epoxy and nails,
I then covered the entire inside with 5 coats of marine epoxy and then a layer of black silicone.
I also routed slots in the wood for the glass to sit.
this is the great stuff foam background and the outside of the viv which will latr get another coat of polyurethane
I began to carve away hide outs and the basic structure of the background. next comes the placement of the wood.
i used ghost wood and cypress as well as undulating vines to try to recreate my very own section of rainforest canopy...you can also see the plant baskets on the top corners.
in this picture you can see the finished custom background with the coco bedding all stuck up. I then nailed the front brace on after inserting the substrate glass.
heres the custom screen top.
the top closes with a magnet latch which even the strongest RETF couldn't open.
here is the completed vivarium...I went with a single front opening door, closed by self locking hinges and magnet latch.
I cant wait for the plants to grow in a bit more and began to fill it all in.
here is Ted and Teds Freind[yeah, its name is Teds Friend] they re around 6 months old.
I plan on picking up some more bromeliads at the reptile expo because they both tend to race for the spot on the one that I have now
please leave me some feedback and opinions.
any ideas you'd like to throw out, I'd greatly appreciate