Gecko Enclosures

[vindicatedornot]

Cool! Hope you do post Pics! what type of plants will you use? or will they be fake?

My cresties really like that bendy, wired vine thing to climb on at night... ill find a pic.

http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products/jungle_vines.php

going to use schefflera, pothos, ficus, and bromiliads. thinking about trying with my dwarf hibiscus but I'm not sure how that will do. My gecko loves loves loves her brom.

 

[Pure]

Nice Dan!..I wonder how much a covert overnight package from OZ would cost. lol

I'm in the middle of building my veiled a new cage. It's getting screen today (final step) and will be setting up his current exo terra (18/18/24) as a Vorax habitat.

One thing I am going to do is use a large spade drill bit, and hollow out some young oak trees I just cut down. I've seen other's use paper towel tubes and thought this may look better. Expect pics of all I have going on over the next few days.

The cage is going to have shefflera, pothos, and fern for live plants. But I am using pots as I don't want to deal with soil.

 

[jojackson]

Nice Dan!..I wonder how much a covert overnight package from OZ would cost. lol

About $30K in a lear jet LOL

Look forward to pics mate!

 

[NewOwner]

Well. i'm still workin on my Enclosure.. ive figured out some things i am going to do..

Bark Hut / Food Dish's Holder. For this, i got a piece of bark from a log for the fire, baked it,i sanded the inside because it had little pieces that give slivers, i then baked it again, at 350 for about 10 or 15 mins. thats all i got done for it. But i am going to drill a hole that is smaller then the rim of the 1 oz bowl that im using, and bigger then the bottom of it, so it goes into the whole, but will not fall out. i will do 2 holes. 1 for the CGD and 1 for the worms i give him once a week or so, as a treat. Picturing it.. it will sit on a upside down 'U' shape, so that it had a space underneat it. underneath will be a den, with Spagnum moss on the bottom. The back of this Bark will touch the left side of the tank, and have coco husk Siliconed to the glass, so the den stays Dark.

Coco husk / driftwood / Spagnum moss Walls. For this, i am using no oder Silicone, to hold a couple pieces of Baked driftwood to the sides of the enclose and then the rest of the 2 sides, and the back will have Coconut husk Siliconed on. This will make it darker, and someone 'Foresty' . The only clear glass side is the front so i can see inside of it. and the top will have a custome made screen Lid. (Nothing Fancy)

Egg Laying Container This will Be Built in! I am gonna make a barrier about 4-5 inches high on about 1/4 of the tank, made of plexi glass or glass, maybe even wood. i will silicone coconut husk to the open side, and on the other side will be a mixture for the egg laying, this will be a permanent Feature, staying in the tank year round. i will figure out what the best mixture is, for when im done. I will also plant a small ficus in there so she feels comfortable when laying her eggs, and ive heard many animals (Not sure about geckos) like to lay eggs by roots? so they have some Structure to the den i think.

The Lid The lid will be made about 20 inches Above the rim of the aquarium, this will make it something like a 25 gallon Area for the female to use. I will simply make it out of wood, and aluminum screen, unless someone knows a different, better screen. i like this stuff because its silver, and easy to see through, also very tough. All 4 sides, and the Roof will be screen, with a sort of, 'frame' to hold it all together. there will be many Arbutus branches up here for climbing / exercise. i Use arbutus because its very strong! a beautiful colour, and skinny, so i can use quite a lot.

The Rest The rest of the Floor will probably be Paper towels. Also on the walls i will silicone lightly some Spagnum moss to the sides, making it look somewhat like a mosy tree. i will silicone some spagnum moss also to the side of the egg laying bin, which has coco husk on it, in little spots there, and plenty at the bottom, for a spot the gecko can slip if she wishes. Along with this, there will be some pieces of Arbutus branch for climbing.

What do you think about my plans?

-Levi

 

[NewOwner]

I will use Spagnum peat moss, for the egg laying dirt. i am hoping this wont cost more then 50$, i dont think it will because i have most of the stuff, but when i shop for stuff for my geckos i always end up buying extra 'Junk'

I only need to buy...

a plant.
spagnum peat moss.
Silicone.
spagnum moss.
paper towel
wood
screen

and i have already

10 gallon tank
bark
food bowl / containers
plexiglass or wood for egg laying bin

And i have to get, but can get free

drift wood
arbutus branches

So im geussing it wont cost more then.. $30.00 ... i will post the total when i have Completed the Cage

Btw, had anyone on this forum mad a Lid for a tank that stand up to make the tank taller? i know you can buy them, but i cant find them at any stores. Thanks.

-Levi

 

[vindicatedornot]

step 1

step 2

step 3

 

[NewOwner]

step 1

step 2

step 3

OMG..

Screw my idea.

Mine didnt work, the silicone wont stick all the stuf to it, and some falls off.

What is that you used? LOOKS BEAUTIFUL.

 

[vindicatedornot]

OMG..

Screw my idea.

Mine didnt work, the silicone wont stick all the stuf to it, and some falls off.

What is that you used? LOOKS BEAUTIFUL.

I hated working with the silicone. very very difficult to mold and spread.

I used black silicone, driftwood & corkbark, and then 'Great Stuff' expanding foam for doors and windows. I still need to sand it a little bit before I cover it in coco-fiber. More pics soon.

I was soooooooooo afraid I was going to screw up XD

-Andrea

 

[prettykttkat]

How would you clean it? Crested geckos poop on the walls and everywhere. How would you be able to wash the tank out? I spot clean my cages and every week I clean the glass and decor. Every few months I totally break everything down for a good cage scrubbing in my bathtub. If you did this with those walls wouldn't the stuff come off? Just a thought

 

[vindicatedornot]

How would you clean it? Crested geckos poop on the walls and everywhere. How would you be able to wash the tank out? I spot clean my cages and every week I clean the glass and decor. Every few months I totally break everything down for a good cage scrubbing in my bathtub. If you did this with those walls wouldn't the stuff come off? Just a thought

I would just spot clean and weakly disinfect and steam clean. Its only one gecko. Not like its a huge mess.

 

[prettykttkat]

Here is some pics of my naturalistic tank with all live plants and a waterfall. I have Cuban Knight anoles in it but this set up could work for Cresties too. BTW Cresteds love waterfalls. Mine like to sit on them and drink water.

 

[prettykttkat]

Never thought of steam cleaning. I guess that would kill off bacteria, etc Very cool.

 

[Pure]

It's also effective at blasting off most dried up urate and poo.

 

[prettykttkat]

That's awesome Maybe I should start doing it. It sounds easier than lugging huge tanks in my bathtub and scrubbing them.

 

[jojackson]

Yup, Steam cleaners with a little Grunt, just Rock!
Andrea whats it look like finished? Did you seal it?

 

[Pure]

Andrea, I'm not trying to be critical, but how do you clean out the bottom of the pot cave you sealed up? Tweezers?

Your setup does look nice and I will eventually steal your idea.

It will be mine, oh yes, it will be mine. muahahahahaha!!

 

[vindicatedornot]

sorry bad pics this time. was kind of in a hurry to get that gunk off me. hah.
I still need to go over several spots and what not, but for layer 1 i think I did ok. Camera kind of destroys how 3D it really is. There is much more shape and contour to the foam.

Yup, Steam cleaners with a little Grunt, just Rock!
Andrea whats it look like finished? Did you seal it?

I'm not done yet jo, but hopefully soon. I just put brown silicone to seal it and put coco-fiber on that to top it off.

Andrea, I'm not trying to be critical, but how do you clean out the bottom of the pot cave you sealed up? Tweezers?

Your setup does look nice and I will eventually steal your idea.

It will be mine, oh yes, it will be mine. muahahahahaha!!

Hrmm, i'm not sure what you mean. The cave i carved out of the foam. The clay pot is going to have pothos inside hanging down. Pothos dont use a lot of water so it should be ok on drainage.. (i hope >_<)

Steal away! It's messy and smelly, but oh so fun.

 

[Pure]

OK I see now. In the pics you posted it looked like you sealed most of the top of the pot. I was thinking it was meant to be a cave. I guess it was just the angle. my bad.

Looks nice. Eh smelly and messy almost always equals fun. lil tip..next time wear latex gloves.

 

[vindicatedornot]

I did, hah. I just have bad hand/eye coordination and got it literally everywhere.

 

[Pure]

haha..don't feel bad I stained my hand black today. Stain, not paint.