Naturalistic Leo tank

[Wind Dancer]

I've been lurking and using the search engine like a madwoman trying to work out a plan for a leo tank that is more natural but still safe.
this gave me the idea for a upside down tupperware container covered with great stuff for a humid hide and then a *ramp* down the side for climbing. i liked this for the climbing opportunities, but i'd like something a bit more natural looking......
this is absolutely amazing, i don't know if i could pull off something like that, but i really love it and just had to put that link in. any incorporating some of the ideas in that tank would be great!
the tank i'd be using(i'm saying this a question because i'm 15 and ultimately it's up to my mother)bow front acrylic tank with a matching hood and light. it was originally a very expensive fish tank set, so i'd like to keep everything removable.
i'm wondering about ways to make a combo hide/food area. probably something that would have the food/water on top....?
i'm having trouble with figuring out flooring, i like the look of what Shanti did in the gecko palace 3000, but i'm not sure how something like that would be cleaning wise....?....
i'm also looking for ways to make use of verticle space in the especially along the back part of the tank/backwall.

so, summery of the current plan-
~all removable.
~greatstuff humid hide and climbing/lookout area.
~background with climbing(i hope!) that looks like natural rock.
~natural looking, easy to clean flooring that works in a bow front.


any input, ideas, help, tutorals, etc would be very much appreciated.
(if my spelling is off, i'm very sorry, something is up with my spell check:main_thumbsdown:)

 

[Krow]

Look at Olimpia's tanks, they are AWESOME!! Heres the link to her tanks: http://www.geckoforums.net/album.php?albumid=252

Mine would look more natural only if I'd get something other than linoleum. Heres the link to my tank set-up & GeckoGathering's tanks: http://geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=42268

 

[Olimpia]

Aww guys haha I'm so excited my stuff is inspiration for other people.
I had an idea just now for your climbing wall. If you liked Double D's idea of the styrofoam wall, I'm thinking you could probably do the same thing but maybe stick rocks to it. This only works I guess if you can find thin slices of rock from Home depot or something like that, or just a bunch of river rocks of different sizes. Mixed with some added texture from plaster or something along those lines, you could probably get a really cool effect.
As for the flooring, I don't know. I LOVED this idea for my tanks: http://www.goldengategeckos.com/project pix/Bandedtank1.JPG but I decided against it because my girls love to dig now that they're ovulating/gravid, so I wanted to keep it mostly ecoearth, but I think the pebble idea is awsome. It isn't too hard to clean, and it'll adapt to any shaped tank. And it would look cool with the matching wall

Hope that helped some? lol

 

[Wind Dancer]

Olimpia, how has the eco-earth been working out for you? i really like the way that looks in your tanks . i'm guessing that it works like it does with arboreal geckos, ie, it decomposes the poop and such?
the rocks look really cool, but i've had to clean ten gallons worth of fish tank rocks and it's a nasty job, so i don't think i could bring myself to use rocks .
i really like the idea of sticking rocks into the gs background(have i mentioned recently how much i like you, LOL?!). the only thing is the spray paint.......so either i spray the whole thing and live with it or i then re-paint the rocks with something....or i hope that someone comes along with a idea better than mine

 

[Olimpia]

Honestly, I love it I think geckos look great against the dark brown, it smells nice (when you make it it smells like it does outside after a rain, and I think that's awsome), it's super easy to dump out to clean, you can get it in packs of 3 bricks for $11 at pet co (right now, there's an internet sale where it's the pack of 3 for $6) so it's not that expensive, and one brick has enough dirt to last you a good while, and there is no risk of impaction on juvenile or adult geckos. My reptile guy, who has 25+ years of breeding experience, keeps just about everything on that stuff and he recomends it all the time. And I think my geckos enjoy it because they can dig in it and it's easy for them to move it around.

Yea, I get ya lol I hated cleaning out my fish tanks too.
Haha thanks! But yea that is true, I hadn't thought of that.... I'm not really sure what to suggest since I've never had to do soemthing like that. The only thing I can think of if to paint it and then just glue the rocks onto the painted surface, but that sounds like a pain in the butt.

 

[Wind Dancer]

Haha thanks! But yea that is true, I hadn't thought of that.... I'm not really sure what to suggest since I've never had to do soemthing like that. The only thing I can think of if to paint it and then just glue the rocks onto the painted surface, but that sounds like a pain in the butt.

already thought about that and yeah, it doesn't sound like much fun/would work:main_no::main_lipsrsealed:.
well, i posted a question(about the rocks/paint) on yahoo! answers, maybe that'll get me something!
i'm thinking petroleum jelly on the rocks before spraying and then rubbed off after the paint is dry. thoughts?
really liking the eco-earth idea.......
(thanks for the feedback on it)

not sure where to find large, flat(ish) rocks? i'm thinking river rocks maybe? lowes/home depot?

 

[Olimpia]

The jelly idea could totally work as long as you don't have a looot of rocks, because I think coating hundreds of pebbles is also a pain haha. But that's up to you obviously, I think it could work.

For river rocks I almost recoment just your local dollar store. The river rock bags at pets mart are something like $7? But I found smaller bags of them at a Dollar Tree for a buck each, and they come in different sizes. So I would check that out if you don't want to spend a lot. I know I don't haha But maybe Home depot has some too, although I'm not sure.

 

[Wind Dancer]

The jelly idea could totally work as long as you don't have a looot of rocks, because I think coating hundreds of pebbles is also a pain haha. But that's up to you obviously, I think it could work.

For river rocks I almost recoment just your local dollar store. The river rock bags at pets mart are something like $7? But I found smaller bags of them at a Dollar Tree for a buck each, and they come in different sizes. So I would check that out if you don't want to spend a lot. I know I don't haha But maybe Home depot has some too, although I'm not sure.

ooo, good idea! we have a huge dollar tree 3 minutes from the house! perfect! and i'm not thinking about a bunch, just like going up (stair step style) to about half way up the back and then back down. or something like that

 

[Wind Dancer]

i had lots of good ideas last night, but i need some feed back.....

#1. i thought it would be cool if i got a large(ish) tupperware container and sunk it into the ecoearth(more like set it in the tank and then put the ecoearth in) so that the bottom of it was resting on the bottom of the tank. but i wasn't sure a) if this was practical/would work or b) if it should go on the warm or cool side:main_huh:.......

#2. i could start the back wall with a base of really thin foam, cut it to size and spray the greatstuff on that so that i wouldn't have to mess with covering the whole tank in plastic to get it to fit(does that make any sense, lol?)

#3. while i'm at it with the foam i could shape some of it and use it as the stuff to climb on. embed it in the (wet)greatstuff, maybe put some on it(?) and spray paint it with the rest!

thoughts?

 

[Wind Dancer]

um, one other thing i forgot to ask about..........
what can i use to keep the background on the back of the tank that isn't permanent:main_huh:

 

[Olimpia]

#1 - yea totally, it's what I did with the lay box back when my female way laying eggs. So that can absolutely work But depends what you're using it for - I keep my wet hides on the cold side and a dryer one on the warm side. Everyone has their own preference, so there no real right or wrong way to do it.

#2 Yea, that's deffinately a good idea. Because then you know where you need the edges to be so you can cut straight lines better.

#3 I don't know what you mean there lol

 

[Olimpia]

You could probably stick it on with a bit of that double sided tape for posters and stuff. Some is non permanent and it's what I use to stick my hydrometers and stuff, because you can just scrape it off later with a fingernail.

 

[Wind Dancer]

#3 I don't know what you mean there lol

instead of the rocks we we talking about. kinda like but not exactly what Double D did


these are some rough drawings i did on the computer of a setup idea. one is just square, the other i add the bowfront. not that it really matters.

ratios may not be perfect(food/water dishes, openings in hides) and i couldn't figure out a way to add the 'rock climbing' area to the back:main_rolleyes:.


i'm thinking put the large hide on the warm side(?) on the bottom, so that the hide would be all nice and toasty, but i'm not sure if that would work? the hide with the climbing would be on the cool side with more eco-earth i guess, kept moist(er than the rest) so it's humid.......
but if i sink the big hide it'll mean the eco-earth is gonna have to be 3-4 inches thick. would that be bad?

 

[Wind Dancer]

do i need to use some sort of sealer on top of the spray paint?

 

[Olimpia]

Forgot to reply haha oops. I think that sounds good - if you sink the hide into the ecoearth you can just put more ecoearth around the hide and that's it, it's what i do for my lay box. The geckos don't mind climbing up the little hill.

And yea, I'd probably use a clear coat of sealant just to help finish it off. I think it can help it stay easy to clean, which is also nice. And it helps keep the plaster (or whatever you're using) and paint from flaking off.

 

[Wind Dancer]

Forgot to reply haha oops. I think that sounds good - if you sink the hide into the ecoearth you can just put more ecoearth around the hide and that's it, it's what i do for my lay box. The geckos don't mind climbing up the little hill.

And yea, I'd probably use a clear coat of sealant just to help finish it off. I think it can help it stay easy to clean, which is also nice. And it helps keep the plaster (or whatever you're using) and paint from flaking off.

should the hide go on the warm side or the cool side? i guess the cool side would make more sense if i use the 'hill' approach, because their burrows are cool, not warm and as long as the eco-earth on the other side is thin enough........
right?

 

[Olimpia]

Yea, the cool side works. I have a hide on each side so they can choose where to be, but it's all a little bit up to you

 

[Wind Dancer]

ok.
the sealer.....does it come in a can like the spray paint or what?

 

[Olimpia]

I used a spray one that was on the shelf with the sand colored spray paint I used. I'd go to Walmart's paint section to get all of that stuff because it's cheaper but just as good

 

[Wind Dancer]

ok, that's a really good idea!