Underground Cave Set Up

[JoulesBurn]

I've already finished this and have it in action, but I thought I'd post some pics of the foam core of my Leo's terrarium. I haven't seen pics of someone doing a full upper level on one of these to maximize space for my pet so I experimented. It's actually quite easy to get into since the upper plates lift right off, but are well supported and stable when on. The only thing lacking, I think, is that there's not much to mask the humid hide, but with how dark it is, you really don't notice unless you go right up to it.

 

[VTgeckos]

That looks really cool. Can you give some more info. I am interested in building something like this for my 2 loes as well. What are you covering it with?

 

[TaiLung]

I love to see creativity in enclosures. I look forward to see the progress!

 

[rob.kolm]

Can't wait to see more

 

[JoulesBurn]

Thanks! For more info, VTGeckos, I used techniques outlined at Lizard care, and fake rock wall landscapes.

It's a lot to sort through their videos and they've changed slightly over time, but to rundown on what I did here, is that the inner core is polystyrene sheets that I cut and put together with Loctite Power Grab, picking and adding to it to try and reduce straight lines. Ones left I tried to sculpt out with thick grout on the last grout layer that came later.

Then I coated it with watered down non-sanded grout, which was where these pics came from. This was the 2nd coat, where it was easier to see details, because I used brown grout that I plan to use in a different tank, later. I ended with 3 coats of grout for this project and let it dry for a few days.

Then I checked for sharp edges to sand them off. Then I painted and inkwashed the whole thing, put three layers of sealant on it and sprinkled sand onto the final layer.

I hope this helps? The website above has amazing tutorial videos on the process!

 

[drizzledrain]

This is awesome! Part of the reason I joined the forums was to see cool stuff like this - watched their videos and I'm very tempted to make my own now!

Out of curiosity, where will you be putting the heating element? I wonder if there might be some way to incorporate one on the top level, perhaps wood instead of poly and a beveled spot to put a UTH but cover it with rock and slink the cord up the side...? My Leo really enjoys 'sunbathing' even though there's no above light and I think she would still do so on the top of a cave like this.

Also, since parts of it will be around water, what are you using as a sealant?

 

[JoulesBurn]

Woops, thought I responded to this before, sorry!

For heat on this I use an ultratherm heat pad that goes along the back half under the tank so that it warms both the wet hide and beneath the left hand cave. That cave/stairway is hollow underneath and I put paper towel under it and keep it regulated with my thermostat. This is my enigma syndrome girl and she doesn't really bask, so I can't help you too much there. but I did add a low watt bulb heat element for really cold days since that room gets a bit more temp drop than the others. If your gecko actually likes to bask, I'd probably say to get a clamp to bring it up a little higher than the cage top if you actually did a set up like this because it's so close to the top. Since mine doesn't bask, I just put it over it when it gets cold and my temp gun says it only gets the surface in the low 80s so I don't really worry about it.



All water in this thing is in bowls, not against the surface. I live in FL, so I really don't spray the inside since our ambient humidity is so high even indoors. When I do, I spray on the paper towel areas that are still open in the 'cave'. So I just used about four coats of mod podge to seal it and that can still handle little water drops and wiping down. This girl is also super clean so there's a paper towel in the area she uses the bathroom for easy clean up. I go by everything on the advice of lizard-landscapes. If your set up would see more spraying for humidity, I think they suggest a product called shields all to seal with. But if you're talking about areas to have standing water, then you need to use aquarium silicone.

She's really more laid back and happy like this. Though I don't handle her much due to her engima syndrome and mostly just let her be.



I'm going to do this to all of my tanks, soon, though the other designs will be much more complex and mostly forest themed. I plan to take proper pictures of those while I do them. This one was really just a test set up, but I really like the second level in terms of space it adds for Meche.

 

[JoulesBurn]

Update on this now that I bothered to get pics that aren't reflecting like crazy. My ES girl has been in here for three months and it's the best thing I ever did for her. She started eating way better and never tries to 'escape' anymore. Everything worked exactly as I wanted it to, and she climbs her stairs whenever she's feeling active and uses the top hide as her 'cool' spot.


Wish it wasn't so hot here already as the only real place I have to build these things is the garage. I'd really like to make some little simplistic inserts for my rack bins and other tanks.

 

[LeoGekBeauty]

I'm in LOVE with this enclosure concept!!! [emoji7]
I feel like you have to have some creative hands to pull this off......in which I would fail. [emoji17]
I'm sure you are able to catch her in some real wild life activity since her enclosure really resembles the great outdoors. How awesome!!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[JoulesBurn]

Thanks! She's probably not a great example for behavior. She has a neurological disorder and is a bit wobbly when she walks, so she is not hugely active. I'm very curious what some of my other guys will do with a complex set up like this. Though I'll probably start with the cleanest geckos, since keeping a set up like this clean is a bit more complicated. This girl is the best, she uses the bottom right cave to do her business in, so it just has some paper towel in there. All out of sight. She's the most considerate gecko.