Viv with fake rock wall

[-MARWOLAETH-]

It will eventually house my Chequered Garter Snake when she gains some size.
It will have a sand/soil substrate and will be planted with Wildgrasses,Ivy,Pothos and Ficus pumila.I can't wait to get it all setup! :)

[infernalis]

that will be one lucky snake!

[BarelyBreathing]

That's fantastic! What did you use to sculpt the wall?

[-MARWOLAETH-]

Thanks,I think she'll enjoy climbing on the wall and hiding in the plants :)

Would you say it'd be large enough for two females? (it's 36x18x21" -LxHxD )

[-MARWOLAETH-]

That's fantastic! What did you use to sculpt the wall? I used a box opening knife for cutting the poly.

[infernalis]

Thanks,I think she'll enjoy climbing on the wall and hiding in the plants :)

Would you say it'd be large enough for two females? (it's 36x18x21" -LxHxD )

depends on the females.

I had the worlds strangest thing happen, one of my females ovulated and produced infertile slugs, she deposited them.

The other snake saw the slugs as a free meal, and started eating them.

this in turn caused a feeding response from the mother and they started fighting over a jellybean (garter term for infertile slug)

It got really ugly, and had that particular viv not been in our living room where it was noticed right away and stopped, it could have been a fatal fight to one of them.

Heck, if the battle had not slammed their hide into the side of the viv producing the loud thud, no one in the room would have looked, because we were watching TV at the time.

After that, I now only keep a couple juvi male pairs in single cages.

[bcr226]

How did you do that? That's fantastic!

[-MARWOLAETH-]

It's polstyrene coated with a couple layers of grout :)

[spyke]

that looks really good,
cant wait to see it finished with your garters.

[Donnie]

Great looking viv, I wish I had the patience to do something like this

[Mark Taylor]

I did something like this but I built the viv and could not get temps and humidity right so binned it. Yours looks great and the snake will love it.

[bcr226]

It's polstyrene coated with a couple layers of grout :)

Ok... Can you give me some more detail about this? Also, did you paint it? What paints are safe for snakes? I'm getting ideas. LOL

[-MARWOLAETH-]

I started by glueing a (15mm thick) sheet of poly to the back of the tank( with some holes cut out for the vents) after the glue dried,I stuck the ledges to the back and sides and cut chunks of the edges to make it look more natural. I also stuck an extra layer of poly to the back and carved away at the whole thing untill it looked a bit like a rock face.I then covered it in a few layers of grout. The lighter colour is the actual grouts colour,the darker is grout mixed with black acrylic paint. (I will be coating it to make cleaning easier and to preserve it,but havnt yet decided what with)

"What paints are safe for snakes?" I think most non solvent paints are safe.

Cheers,Will :)

[bcr226]

I started by glueing a (15mm thick) sheet of poly to the back of the tank( with some holes cut out for the vents) after the glue dried,I stuck the ledges to the back and sides and cut chunks of the edges to make it look more natural. I also stuck an extra layer of poly to the back and carved away at the whole thing untill it looked a bit like a rock face.I then covered it in a few layers of grout. The lighter colour is the actual grouts colour,the darker is grout mixed with black acrylic paint. (I will be coating it to make cleaning easier and to preserve it,but havnt yet decided what with)

"What paints are safe for snakes?" I think most non solvent paints are safe.

Cheers,Will :)

Ok... That gives me a great starting point. Thanks! I'm trying to figure out what we're going to do for the red tail we're getting. I'd really like something that looks a lot better than a box. When you say poly, exactly what did you use?

Sorry for all the questions, please take them as admiration for your work. I've got an idea for this project thanks to you and I want to make sure I do it right and don't use anything that could harm the snake. I can see all of our enclosures ending up this way before it's all done. LOL :yes:

[-MARWOLAETH-]

Poly=Polystyrene.I think you call it styrophoam over there.

It wont let me link the thread so just type in "Naturalistic snake enclosure with fake wall-A how to guide" For a tutorial and the OP's reasoning behind building the backgrounds.I saw what he was doing and thought my garter would benefit from a similar background so he diserves all the credit :)

He tells me hes going to start making backgrounds for his tropical snakes so should be helpfull with your G.oxycephalum viv!

[infernalis]

It may not allow you to, but I see no harm in it... most of us here are familiar with RFUK.

Naturalistic Snake Enclosures With Fake Walls - A How To Guide (Pic Heavy) - Reptile Forums (http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/snakes/878380-naturalistic-snake-enclosures-fake-walls.html)

There is the link.

Most of my "friends" from RFUK are members here too.

[bcr226]

Awesome! Thanks!

[pdomensis]

Thanks for sharing that link. That looks awesome.

[Akuma223]

That is Amazing!! One of my favorite part of keeping reptiles is arranging the enclosure. I assume one could do this kinda thing with an aquarium for a garter snake? Is this safe for humid environments?

[-MARWOLAETH-]

Thanks,I certainly had a lot of making it :)

"I assume one could do this kinda thing with an aquarium for a garter snak?"
Not all garters,unless its a massive enclosure with good ventilation.Ive heard some Mexican garter sp fair well with that type of enclosure.

"Is this safe for humid environment?" It will be waterproofed once I coat it with a varnish or resin.

Cheers,Will

[bcr226]

Found this doing more research on my own vivarium ideas. What do you guys think?

Lizard care, and fake rock wall landscapes (http://www.lizard-landscapes.com/)

[guyabano]

WOW.

I am at a loss for words, but the forum is making me type out more because apparently, "WOW" isn't enough.

That really is a killer enclosure though.

[-MARWOLAETH-]

Why that you Sir :)

I'll be putting up pics of the fully planted viv after I waterproof it and decide where to put the plants

[NimbleHand48]

I dont have very much hands on with these builds, but I have watched a lot of videos and done some research, both for reptile and aquarium setups. Uarujoey on youtube has great builds, and diyfishkeepers.com. You can also search "diy terrarium decor" or "diy aquarium background." They have instructions for how to seal them and stuff like that. Hope this helps!

[smy_749]

Poly=Polystyrene.I think you call it styrophoam over there.

It wont let me link the thread so just type in "Naturalistic snake enclosure with fake wall-A how to guide" For a tutorial and the OP's reasoning behind building the backgrounds.I saw what he was doing and thought my garter would benefit from a similar background so he diserves all the credit :)

He tells me hes going to start making backgrounds for his tropical snakes so should be helpfull with your G.oxycephalum viv!

Wow the vivariums on that forum (I searched what you told me to) Naturalistic Snake Enclosures With Fake Walls - A How To Guide (Pic Heavy) - Page 2 - Reptile Forums (http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/snakes/878380-naturalistic-snake-enclosures-fake-walls-2.html)

are amazing. Makes me want to give it a go.

Edit: sorry didn't see wayne already posted it.

[Concept9]

Very nice, I wish I were crafty.