Homemade hides - natural looking

[alliemackie]

Hey all!

I was pondering making my hides homemade for my future leo, and to make them look natural in the habitat.

I was pondering making a foil base, covering the foil in Super Sculpey, baking it, and spraying it with pebbly spray paint for a rocky, desert look. Following that, a coat of protectant and lots of air drying, and then washing to be sure it's safe for the gecko.

For those who don't know, Super Sculpey is a sculpting compound that's basically polymer clay.

Any thoughts on this? I know it would be fine for the warm/cold hides, but for the humid hide, I was thinking just a thin layer of Sculpey around a tupperware dish with a hole in it.

Go figure I get the creative bug with every new pet. Any thoughts, suggestions, or do's/don't's would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Wreptile]

Polystyerene (Spelling?) would be good too.
I make some of my own stuff with that, and it works great!

 

[alliemackie]

Polystyerene (Spelling?) would be good too.
I make some of my own stuff with that, and it works great!

Ah cool, hadn't thought of that. What kind of polystyrene do you get? Where do you get it from? Do you just carve it with a knife to get the shapes you want? How do you finish it up to look natural?

I think that's all the questions I have. *whew*

 

[Khrysty]

Ah cool, hadn't thought of that. What kind of polystyrene do you get? Where do you get it from? Do you just carve it with a knife to get the shapes you want? How do you finish it up to look natural?

I think that's all the questions I have. *whew*

I've found a lot of people using polysterene. Idk where they get it from, but yeah they just carve it up with a knife and then use some grout to give it that rugged look, sponge paint a "rock" pattern on it, and then seal it. Seems pretty simple.

I've been doing a paper mache type deal (paper mache around a cardboard base for hot/cold hides and paper mache around a tupperware dish for humid hides) and then covering it with polymer clay, painting, and sealing. It's worked fine for me thus far.

 

[Wreptile]

Ah cool, hadn't thought of that. What kind of polystyrene do you get? Where do you get it from? Do you just carve it with a knife to get the shapes you want? How do you finish it up to look natural?

I think that's all the questions I have. *whew*

You can get any size you want.
You get it at Home Dept or Lowes.
Yes, carve, glue together, etc.
You use grout to spread over the styrofoam and let it turn rock hard.

Hope that helps.

 

[alliemackie]

You can get any size you want.
You get it at Home Dept or Lowes.
Yes, carve, glue together, etc.
You use grout to spread over the styrofoam and let it turn rock hard.

Hope that helps.

It does, thank you! I'll post pics if I'm successful!

 

[Wreptile]

It does, thank you! I'll post pics if I'm successful!

Can't wait!
I love seeing other pieces of art.