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bigJME
Hatchling
125 Posts |
 Posted - 11/05/2012 : 17:58:14
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That glass isnt on the normal search you have to really look to find it. And yeh thats what i will use or the same as they use in shower doors to prevent moistire coming out.
Found a huge 120mm vent in the shed so have put that in, we've also found some yacht varnish in the shed so ive put a coat on and moved my snake out the room till the smell goes, will put a second coat on later today and if theres enough left i will varnish the outside, otherwise it will be varnished a beech colour :) should be finished tomorrow, give it 2 weeks or so for the smell to go
May do what i found on the internet though, someone said if you cut up an onion and put it in the viv it makes the smell go quicker so worth a try :)
In total the entire viv has cost me £60
I couldnt buy a normal 3ft viv for that :) |
Edited by - bigJME on 11/05/2012 18:19:20 |
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a2c7
Hatchling
United Kingdom
320 Posts |
Posted - 12/05/2012 : 08:59:53
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Very nice! And no, you'd struggle to find a viv at those dimensions for that price. The onion trick sounds like a good one - I'll give it a go as my yacht varnish did take about a week and a half to cure properly...and made the whole house smell like a freshly made boat for that time as well.
Next it's onto decor for your new viv, you've got plenty of time to 'harvest' some from local woods if you know what you're looking for and what you can't use. |
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bigJME
Hatchling
125 Posts |
Posted - 12/05/2012 : 09:04:45
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| Harvesting wood where i live wont be easy unless i go cut down a tree :) i have some long vines to build the height and will look at making a custom background to add in some platforms higher up, decor is my weak point |
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a2c7
Hatchling
United Kingdom
320 Posts |
Posted - 12/05/2012 : 10:15:46
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I wouldn't suggest cutting down a tree...but we went into a nearby forest and may have accidentally stolen some handy looking branches. (most were from the floor as they'd recently had a prune of the walk ways, handy) Guess if you live in a city there isn't a nearby forest and you're stuck buying stuff from shops or online.
http://www.decorativebranches.co.uk/index.htm Just to show you sometimes reptile specialists will rip you off for wood, you can get all sorts of things here. Just treat it as you would any other wood, give it a 10% bleach solution over night and then bake it if it'll fit in the oven or leave it somewhere to dry. You can also pour boiling water over it just to be extra sure. |
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bigJME
Hatchling
125 Posts |
Posted - 12/05/2012 : 10:55:49
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| yeh im not near many forests, and the only ones near me has rubbish think branches or huge ones lol, i wonder if i could get some cheap from the hollybush near me, might be worth checking |
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bigJME
Hatchling
125 Posts |
Posted - 13/05/2012 : 17:47:56
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quick question though a2c7, i think im going to make a custom background or atleast platforms for my viv to add in the extra levels, as you've made a background how strong did you find the polystyrene after it was done? i.e. would you recommend it for a platform that can hold my snake, a hide or 2, plus plants?
and where did you buy yours from? B&Q and Wickes do it, i can get 2400x1200x50mm for around £15 but it would take half the sheet just to make the background. 50mm should be rather strong |
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a2c7
Hatchling
United Kingdom
320 Posts |
Posted - 13/05/2012 : 20:20:49
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It's covered in grout so it's pretty strong. I got the poly from Wickes, our B&Q didn't stock it.
Other people put plants on it, what I've done to strengthen them is used BBQ skewers. On my biggest platform I've used two pieces of carved poly, bbq skewered them into position, put aquarium sealant to stick them together and join the edges to the other polystyrene. I let that dry for a day and a half at least and then applied the grout over the top. Once painted and varnished over the grout you end up with a fairly heavy object.
 After grouting.
My boa is only a baby but weighs 154g, I've got no worries about her climbing around on them. The biggest is about 5 1/2 almost 6 inches out from the back of the viv - I cut a cave all the way through the polystyrene for some. I did use the 50mm poly, it's fairly inflexible. I'm confident it'd hold a bag of sugar at 1kg but I can't test this right now as Aysha is glaring at me from the platform. |
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Edited by - a2c7 on 13/05/2012 20:21:19 |
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bigJME
Hatchling
125 Posts |
Posted - 13/05/2012 : 20:24:09
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| lmao ok, i got a temporary one made out of mdf that im going to screw on and varnish, its 400x300mm and slightly shapes, should do the same job for a while |
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a2c7
Hatchling
United Kingdom
320 Posts |
Posted - 13/05/2012 : 20:49:19
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You can always cover that shelf in poly and grout to blend it in with a background if you do decide to create one - that way it'll be strong enough. I always think the 'fish tank' background posters look good as well and are so cheap by comparison.
I'd be wary of how strong your back board is on the viv if you're bolting things to it - a corn is going to weigh ~700g so you should be fine with the MDF, but a fully grown boa sitting on a shelf all day might warp the wood if there is no counter balance or even snap the wood around the screws. |
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bigJME
Hatchling
125 Posts |
Posted - 13/05/2012 : 21:27:33
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| My shelves are all corner shelves so if anything will hold the tank better, i will post a picture of my one shelf in a second |
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bigJME
Hatchling
125 Posts |
Posted - 13/05/2012 : 21:44:48
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its 24mm thick |
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bigJME
Hatchling
125 Posts |
Posted - 14/05/2012 : 14:26:48
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right just took my old light out my viv.... and its nowhere near bright enough to light up my new viv, so looks like im going to be looking for some cheap LED strips on ebay
i brought this;
5m SMD LED White - £7.49
5m SMD LED Red - £7.49
theere's 60 LED's per meter, and i can run them down the sides if i dont think its bright enough due to the height, luckily i have my LED controller still so i can adjust the brightness :) I've seen them used on here so for those eyaing the thread was old and not needed you were wrong :) i was going to use these ages ago when i first went for LED's but was told not to, that was over a year ago though |
Edited by - bigJME on 14/05/2012 15:02:56 |
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bigJME
Hatchling
125 Posts |
Posted - 15/05/2012 : 14:41:27
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| Ive also just brought 2 new hydrometeres i think it is, measures temp and humidity, im going to place one by the right hand cave under the shelf and one by the heater but as it is an ahs and obviously kicks off heat when its on, where do you guys think it would be best to place it? Below the heater, directly above, or higher up on the left around 500mm up before the second shelf im going to add in? |
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a2c7
Hatchling
United Kingdom
320 Posts |
Posted - 16/05/2012 : 20:30:42
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| Uh...place what? We have a digital thermometer which has 2 probes for hot and cold end, we use a hydrometer/thermometer which is portable to check the humidity where ever the snake is at the time really - towards the hot end I guess. |
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bigJME
Hatchling
125 Posts |
Posted - 16/05/2012 : 22:18:01
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i mean place the probes as i will most likely drill 2 holes, one either side for either hydrometer, my LEDs came today so i have them just placed in the tank, heres them in there
the bowl in the middle contains chopped up onions and water if anyone wonders |
Edited by - bigJME on 16/05/2012 22:18:36 |
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bigJME
Hatchling
125 Posts |
Posted - 22/05/2012 : 20:47:13
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right then ive just made my larger shelf for the viv, brought a huge bag of aspen, removed the onions as it really didnt help, i have a tube heater in there now, with a microclimate DL1 thermostat keeping the viv at 33 degrees for 12 hours a day then allowing the viv to air out for 12 hours. Cant get rid of the smell so looks like im going to be waiting a long time which is a pain as my snake hasnt been out his cave in the room he's in now :( my probes came, one was faulty so im waiting on the other now.
My lights are sorted, i havr red and white switch-able with a switch to dim both. i have a switch attached directly on the viv for my AHS power so the entire viv is seperate from the mains and can be disconnected easily. Im going to have a mesh guard built around the AHS once its in made of stainless steel mesh because the heater will get considerably hotter then normal. Just need to smell to go now so i can move things in and start to look at decor :( |
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a2c7
Hatchling
United Kingdom
320 Posts |
Posted - 23/05/2012 : 19:54:22
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| Just give it time with the smell, it really does need to be gone before snakey face gets to explore! It's looking really good. I've never asked..what snake is going in there? 33 sounds suspiciously boa-ish... |
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Sta~ple
qeeun speler
United Kingdom
6129 Posts |
Posted - 23/05/2012 : 21:30:13
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| I like the little shelf! |
   
A very special super, duper thanks for K :3 |
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kev 5
Fully Grown Corn
United Kingdom
3065 Posts |
Posted - 23/05/2012 : 21:34:03
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| looks really good |
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bigJME
Hatchling
125 Posts |
Posted - 23/05/2012 : 22:31:17
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thats having my corn (3.5' long) but as you can tell it may have something larger later..... when i talk my parents into it.
the 33 degrees is from the tube heater which is one i have sitting around if im honest, but this is 33 degrees all over, no gradient atall. We have this heater and the controller sitting in my room doing nothing so i may aswell use it for a bit
when its done the viv will be 31-21 (hot-cold) obviously i could get away the with tube as the height allows a much taller climbing area to allow to bottom to become colder then the top, unsure whats best yet
i have also done a much larger top shelf, its had a single coat of yacht varnish, ran out now so one coat will have to do, but that will be at the top. If anyone else is interested i will post a picture of my aspen bag, it was £24 and its huge! the normal bags of aspen i usually buy have gone up to £6.50 each and i need 3 atleast so easier to buy the large one
since this project went well, i may buy a projector for my room and build an even larger viv if i decide to get more snakes, heating is the problem i have due to the cost of the heating and the price of running it all, too bad noone does a heater which has channels what carry the hot air able to warm multiple vivs..... be worth looking into :) |
Edited by - bigJME on 23/05/2012 22:33:51 |
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Possible Vivarium Build
