PVC Tunnels

[leogecko88]

I have two 20 gallon long tanks with a three inch layer of substrate. I think it would be interesting to make a system of underground tunnels with PVC pipes. Has anyone tried this before? What would be a good way to go about doing this?

 

[fuzzylogix]

im just wondering how you can get the surface temps correct with 3 inches of substrate...

 

[TokayKeeper]

can do that easily with lights shawn

A warm ambient air temp in the room helps too.

 

[leogecko88]

Yes, Tokaykeeper is right. Overhead lights provide an appropriate floor temp and basking area. The room temp averages 80 degrees year round.

 

[M_surinamensis]

Full PVC pipes wouldn't be my first choice for geckos without adhesive toe pads. Especially not in an enclosure otherwise containing dirt, soil or sand substrates- an inevitable thin layer of the substrates on the smooth and unyielding plastic surface would create a surface with extremely poor traction. The evenly rounded inside arc along the inside circumference of the pipe would also lead to frequent time spent moving along that shape... which may do odd things to the feet and legs over time.

I'd suggest either using half-pipes (cut lengthwise) with an open bottom, partially buried near the surface simply to encourage digging behaviors... or of buying pipe with a slightly larger diameter and then coating the inside surface with a more variable shape; I'd probably use pea gravel and polyurethane but various clays or epoxy compounds could be used.

The word "system" also has me a bit wary. One thing I can definitely say as a result of my own experiences with more elaborate habitat design is that no matter how cool a given feature may be, you never want to include anything that would seriously impede your ability to manipulate the animal when you need to, with relative ease. If you build an elaborate system of connected tunnels, you'd need to dismantle the entire enclosure anytime you felt it was necessary to get the animal out of it. Once you've pulled the enclosure apart and have the caves up, you'd still need to get the animal out of the tubes. Planning in advance can help with this aspect, but it also imposes definite practical limits on how you design and construct the terrarium feature.

My inclination, for a species like a leopard gecko, would be more in the direction of overlapping shelves to form a sort of horizontally flattened tunnel system, sitting slightly in but mostly on a bottom layer of substrate, which then employs a few partially buried digging encouragements. I always made them out of fiberglass, but have been impressed by some of the results people have gotten cutting and sealing styrofoam, at least for small species where the durability isn't as much of a concern. Properly designed and built, disassembly and reassembly are a matter of seconds, without any risk of ending up with a gecko sitting in the bend of a pipe, too far away to reach from any openings, being poked at with some household object in the hopes that it will un-wedge itself.

 

[leogecko88]

Thank you for your insight M_surinamensis. Perhaps system wasn't the best word choice. I was thinking more of one tunnel with a curve or two. You brought up many points that I hadn't thought of. I am just going to scrap the idea and consider your ways to give the geckos more hiding areas. I am having a little trouble picturing your overlapping shelf description, but it sounds very interesting.

 

[M_surinamensis]

There are a few threads in the DIY section where people have been kind enough to take progressive photos as they constructed styrofoam backgrounds, hides and shelves. I am more familiar with fiberglass, but for small species the styrofoam seems much simpler to work with. You should check those threads, because the specific instructions and the photos are a more thorough description but... basically you cut pieces of styrofoam into the shape you want, paint it, texture it if you desire and then seal it. It makes lightweight, non-toxic (when properly sealed), waterproof terrarium decor with all the versatility and uniqueness you can put into the design. Including tunnels or caves.

I actually favor the use of substrates which allow for some digging behavior, for those people who feel experienced enough and who have the time required to use it correctly. The usual disclaimer about impaction and irritation risks goes right along with it, but it can be used in such a manner as to reduce risk, I believe to the point where the behavioral benefits outweigh the carefully controlled chance for something negative, but that's always going to be a judgment call. Since you're comfortable using it already though...

I'd keep the three inch substrate layer and have the bottom-most shelving unit sitting ontop of the substrate, with a slightly upturned edge. That will provoke digging behaviors, using the stable shelf as a sort of ceiling for whatever tunneling they're inclined to do on their own. I'd also use a digging mix that will better retain tunnel integrity, to minimize the chances of collapse.

Then look into using multiple shelves, constructed out of the styrofoam, built in such a way that they form a hiding spot themselves.


Edit: The forum is automatically left justifying my descriptive lines. MS Paint diagram incoming.


Extending from front to back across the enclosure. Getting the gecko out is as simple as lifting each shelving section until the animal is revealed. It massively increases the surface area for them to move around on and because the shelves are shallowly constructed on a scale for leopard geckos, with the inclusion of some easy ramps, you can put a few of them in there ontop of one another, even in a twenty long, since each layer and gap combined represents about two-two and a half inches. UTH from underneath, lamps from up above... maybe inset some slate (actual rocks, not ceramic tiles) here and there as a more conductive basking surface; it has the potential to be a very nice looking, very easy to dismantle and clean, built with the animal's behavior in mind kind of setup.

Definitely check those threads though, there are a few. Keep in mind that the versatility of the material is, in this case, limited mostly only by your own creativity and design. It's too lightweight for building monitor enclosures, but works extremely well for small species.

 

[Thorgecko707]

Oh buddy, the tunnel thing sounds good until I had to clean up poop in a 14" pipe with a toilet brush. No fun after a week.