Hopefully this all works out!
I'm building this for my leopard gecko, it will cover the warm end of the tank, the inside is split into a warm hide and a wet hide, which is accessed from that hole in the top. It's a little under 12in across.
I glued the foam together with hotglue and Elmer's to make the basic shape, then added on weird little bits of foam and carved it with an exacto-knife and a handsaw until it looked a little more natural.
Right now it's drying after being coated in a 50/50 mix of plaster and sand with a drop of acrylic paint.
Once dry I'll water down polyacrylic and give it a light coating to keep it from crumbling and getting quite so dusty. I could use polyurethane instead but hate the fumes.
Getting the basic shape, door, access to wet hide, sleeping dent.
Built up the walls of the sleeping hollow, I don't intend to make this part a full hide, just somewhere he can feel safe when he leaves his caves.
Added lots of lumpy bits of foam and carved them down a little. I was surprised how easy it was! It's starting to look less like a camping cooler.
Shallow path to the top, not that he can't climb it without one. It's hard to see but I've dug into the wall about a quarter inch to the widen the path.
Guess who forgot to exaggerate the features so that when I plaster it they show up! Also accidental skully face from this angle..
It's a little tall but the wet hide needed to fit in it. Since there's no wall facing out I'll make a windowcling the cover it up.
Anyway, I'll update this mess later...
Has anyone else done a hide with plaster? How'd it hold up? What about polyacrylic?
Tell me what you think!:main_yes:
I'm building this for my leopard gecko, it will cover the warm end of the tank, the inside is split into a warm hide and a wet hide, which is accessed from that hole in the top. It's a little under 12in across.
I glued the foam together with hotglue and Elmer's to make the basic shape, then added on weird little bits of foam and carved it with an exacto-knife and a handsaw until it looked a little more natural.
Right now it's drying after being coated in a 50/50 mix of plaster and sand with a drop of acrylic paint.
Once dry I'll water down polyacrylic and give it a light coating to keep it from crumbling and getting quite so dusty. I could use polyurethane instead but hate the fumes.
Getting the basic shape, door, access to wet hide, sleeping dent.
Built up the walls of the sleeping hollow, I don't intend to make this part a full hide, just somewhere he can feel safe when he leaves his caves.
Added lots of lumpy bits of foam and carved them down a little. I was surprised how easy it was! It's starting to look less like a camping cooler.
Shallow path to the top, not that he can't climb it without one. It's hard to see but I've dug into the wall about a quarter inch to the widen the path.
It's a little tall but the wet hide needed to fit in it. Since there's no wall facing out I'll make a windowcling the cover it up.
Anyway, I'll update this mess later...
Has anyone else done a hide with plaster? How'd it hold up? What about polyacrylic?
Tell me what you think!:main_yes:
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