Substrate Idea- Think It Would Work?

[happy gecko]

I was thinking about using styrofoam as the substrate in a leo cage. I would get a piece 4" thick and the footprint of the tank. Then I would carve it down to form caves and hills, as well as a thin spot (1/4"-1/2") over the UTH to allow heat transfer. I was just going to paint it and then seal it so it is washable. So basically like the Exo Terra fake rock wall.

Do you think it would work?

The reason for this idea was that I wanted a substrate that was:
-easy to clean
-lightweight
-looked good
-solid (safe- no ingestible pieces)
-easy to assemble.

An added bonus was that I could form really cool caves and landscape structures, such as ledges, that would help increase floor space.

What do you think? My biggest concern was that the leos claws might rip up the styrofoam?

 

[happy gecko]

Or could I just use the Exo Terra background as the substrate? There cheap, already made (avoids mess), and will probably look 100x better than if I made it myself. Only downside is that I can't form the caves I was thinking of.

 

[Dom3rd]

i know people use styrofoam for caves and all and use grout and sealant on it, but the only thing i see as a problem is the heat from the heat pad and the styrofoam might give off chemicals but idk.....

 

[Snowy & Petra de Gecko]

If

If chemicals are given off then, it would not be good.

There are various posts that say that when you make your own set-up or if you are glueing rocks and things together that you have to make sure that everything is dried out before you put it in the cage with your Leo.

 

[nats]

If you had the foam on the floor, and you UTH under it, it would
act as a insulator and the heat would never penetrate.
Also, unless you put some kind of treatment on it, little pieces will
flake off and can be ingested by your leo.
Just my thoughts

 

[SLY]

If you grout/paint/seal it, you'll be fine. But, as mentioned...the foam will insulate the heat from the UTH, so it's not good on the bottom. you could cut out a chunk right over the UTH big enough to fit a piece of tile or rock in. Or backfill it with something.