Crestie Vivarium Question...

SpacyTracy85 · #1 05-14-2010, 01:55 PM

Hi everyone,
I'm new to the forums and i joined to see if anyone had any helpful vivarium suggestions. I'm the process of building a vivarium for my Crested Gecko. It has a bit more growing to do before it can move it, which gives me some time to get my Viv all set but i'm new to all of this, so any suggestions i can get would be great

First off, the container i plan on transforming into a Vivarium is a 35gal Hex aquarium. I kept tropical fish in it for about a year before, but i had to relocate it and never bothered with fish after that. Its had time to dry out and has been properly clean and now i'd like to keep my crestie in it, since it is a tall tank and cresties are arboreal. I've got most aspects of the tank all blueprinted and ready to get set up, im just not sure about the grounding/substrate for it. Ive been all over the forums, trying to see if i need to incorporate a false bottom since i plan on keeping some live plants (mainly Pothos) in the vivarium.
Now since the aquarium is hexagonal, i imagine that trying to make a false bottom is going to be a real pain and if its not needed, then i don't want to waste my time on it. I also imagine that since cresties are kind of a sub tropical gecko that maybe i won't have to worry so much about excess water ruining the soil...OR maybe i can simply leave the plants in pots instead of planting them directly into the soil? I really don't know squat about plants and im sure they would do better being planted directly into the vivarium soil but i don't want to run the risk of having to dismantle the Viv b/c of something simple i overlooked. LOL i'm at a loss and i've searched all over the internet but im still not sure as to what may work best for me. given the oddball shape of my aquarium.
Any helpful suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks folks

beckdg · #2 05-14-2010, 11:47 PM

i'd say no f/b in that tank, personally. it'd be a bit of a feat imho.

a layer of leca covered with a layer of screen your layer(s) of soil should do well. if you over water you can use an aquarium air hose to siphon it out.

you could certainly leave them in appropriately sized pots... but the soil should be suitable for the crestie too.

SpacyTracy85 · #3 05-15-2010, 10:29 AM

Yeah, thats what i thought too lol. A false bottom in a hexagonal tank just sounds like a headache to me, so i'll look into getting some LECA and i've got plenty of Eco Earth coco fiber i can use for a safe, non toxic soil

Thanks for the suggestion, beckdg.

B Jet · #4 05-22-2010, 08:05 AM

Adequate drainage is the most important thing, with the large pellets in the bottom. You can see the water collect in the bottom to keep you from over-watering. A good soil is about 1 part coco fiber, 1 part fir bark, 1 part molded leaf piles and 1 part crumbled bark from your local forest. For a cresties, maybe some more vertically-oriented plants than pothos. Some climbing vines like philodendron and small 'bonsai-able' trees like ficus. If the tank is only accessible from the top, that will make maintenance much more difficult. And give him plenty of stuff to climb on up top, not just sticks, but something with a lot of area to climb around on. Ill post what i've been working on, seems to work well with cresteds.

B Jet · #5 05-22-2010, 08:29 AM

Here: viv15 - My Photo Gallery DSC00328 - My Photo Gallery

At first I thought that log might be to big, but the cresties hardly ever leave that thing.

bbehring · #6 08-04-2010, 11:52 PM

B Jet, how did you support that log? How big is that sucker?

Grimm · #7 08-05-2010, 12:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by B Jet

Here: viv15 - My Photo Gallery DSC00328 - My Photo Gallery

At first I thought that log might be to big, but the cresties hardly ever leave that thing.

Could you tell me the type of vine that is crawling across the top of that log. It looks great! A type of shingler I'm assuming...

B Jet · #8 08-06-2010, 12:17 AM

yah, I really like that vine, it's actually a trailing epiphyte, dischidia ruscifolia from tropiflora. and it's very tolerant of dry conditions.

I put the log in for a bi-level effect as i have both arboreal and terrestrial animals in there. It's about 6-7 in in diameter, and is supported by cross-braces on the sides (1 1/2" x 1 1/2"). The tricky part was notching it to fit.

B Jet · #9 08-07-2010, 11:54 PM

i see tropiflora.com is still not up, and they don't always have the dischidia in stock. If you are interested, msg me your address and i can send you one or two rooted cuttings