Building a Curio Cabinet Vivarium

Forgot to mention that it's temporary. There is no gecko in there yet. It is up right now to test how it holds humidity and see if the shelves will hold up the weight. All the plants are fake.

Covered the background with great stuff. I've never hated anything more than I hate using great stuff. Had it stuck on my hands for a week. [emoji38]



I then spray painted the background using krylon fusion.



As I was patiently awaiting the smell of spray paint to be completely gone, I realized that the background looked like feces. I then carved it all off and added more great stuff. At this point I stopped taking photos because I kind of forgot that I was going to post this. So the picture book part of this story is over. My apologies. I then did the only thing a man covered in foam and sadness could do in these desperate times, spread 100% silicone all over the back the foam (Good lord, I wish I used the black silicone instead of clear) spread coconut fiber all over the silicone, press it down and wait. I waited two days to be sure. I realized at that very moment that I should have used black silicone for two reasons. It makes spots not covered in coconut fiber much less noticeable and you can see if any spots don't have silicone on them. I sat up the cabinet and most of the substrate hit the bottom. I wept. I repeated this process twice before I felt it was good enough. I then added fake plants and vines to the cabinet. The lighting is going to be on the side of the cabinet. I have yet to buy it though.


I loved the outcome and it really wasn't as bad as I made it sound, but I would not recommend this as a first set up. This was my first project and I had to learn as I go. I really wish I started smaller. Should pimped out my toad tank first. [emoji38] For those worried about the wood rotting, I put epoxy resin on all the exposed wood. I may use great stuff to attach a branch to the wood as well. Not sure yet. Beginners, take this from a beginner: Just buy a regular tank or something and work up to this. I made many mistakes before I got it to where it is.

Haha, awesome! I've looked into doing this several times and decided I wasn't quite ready to jump in, especially with the background. For working with great stuff though, I recommend getting some cheap kitchen gloves that you can wear and then toss when you're all done.

indyana said:

Haha, awesome! I've looked into doing this several times and decided I wasn't quite ready to jump in, especially with the background. For working with great stuff though, I recommend getting some cheap kitchen gloves that you can wear and then toss when you're all done.

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I bought gloves, but I always found a way to get great stuff on me anyways. Got it on my forearm at one point. I've got hairy arms, so the silicone and foam showed me what it feels like to wax my arms. [emoji38] If you want to try this, more power to you. It's doesn't seem too hard if you know what you're doing. I ran to Walmart 3 times getting silicone and great stuff. It's a 6 foot tall cabinet, so there was a lot to cover. Though my gecko has been a lot more active since I put him in there, so it isn't all that bad. It's the equivalent of a 29 gallon tank on top and a 21 gallon on bottom!