fuzzylogix
Carpe Diem
- Messages
- 2,115
- Location
- Dallas, TX
just a simple walkthrough for a couple of easy weekend projects that my son and i threw together. the large "watering hole" is for my adult russian tort. he never gets in the water, but has a problem getting over the lip of just a standard bowl. figured i would make it easy for him. the hide im going to use for some baby leos that are in a 20L. the third hide is a work in progress and again for the russian tort. the logs are too small for him so i figured i would give him some shell room. i will update the pics when i have the hides in each respective enclosure. cost for all three was under 10 bucks. two cans of "great stuff", two cans of textured spray paint, contrasting colors, and one can of acrylic sealer. if you do one of these, make sure you allow at least 48 hours after painting and sealing to make sure the foam has degassed and the paint has dried completely. enjoy!
after spraying the bowl with PAM (butter flavor optional), sprayed the foam around and let set
same for the small hide, just flip the bowl over. the pam allows you to slide the bowl out of the foam very easily.
after setting for 24 hours. use a sharp knife to cut out the center to allow the bowl to fit flush and snug.
trim and shape using knife, sand paper, anything you can find until you like the way it looks
now its just paint and seal. i used a darker base color, then ligher color as a top coat. after the base has dried, and the top coat is still wet, you can use paper towels, sponges, etc to dab off excess paint to show the darker colors underneath. once dry, use an acrylic sealer and you're done. these are nothing like some of the really detailed DIY hides ive seen here, but from start to finish besides dry time, this took about 30 minutes total and does the job. if you have any other pointers or tips for me, i would love to hear them. thanks for looking.
and this is the start to my tort hide. cricket keeper, pam, "great stuff", rinse, repeat above steps, etc....
after spraying the bowl with PAM (butter flavor optional), sprayed the foam around and let set
same for the small hide, just flip the bowl over. the pam allows you to slide the bowl out of the foam very easily.
after setting for 24 hours. use a sharp knife to cut out the center to allow the bowl to fit flush and snug.
trim and shape using knife, sand paper, anything you can find until you like the way it looks
now its just paint and seal. i used a darker base color, then ligher color as a top coat. after the base has dried, and the top coat is still wet, you can use paper towels, sponges, etc to dab off excess paint to show the darker colors underneath. once dry, use an acrylic sealer and you're done. these are nothing like some of the really detailed DIY hides ive seen here, but from start to finish besides dry time, this took about 30 minutes total and does the job. if you have any other pointers or tips for me, i would love to hear them. thanks for looking.
and this is the start to my tort hide. cricket keeper, pam, "great stuff", rinse, repeat above steps, etc....
