enclosure build

[nico77]

I have had an old pantry sitting in my shed for a while and decided to convert it into a enclosure for my big jungle ( betty) . The pantry was bigger but i used a few bits of it for another enclosure so i cut the size down a to 1200l x 600d x 900h .


I wanted to try a better / cheaper way of heating and decided to try a heated shelf . I have tested it without the doors on and it doesnt seem to get up to temp , so i have made a heat panel (like the one baden made) to try out . There is also a light under the shelf for day time heat .
The shelf is 2 bits of malimine with the home made heat mat between them and light underneth . I will leave the mat in the shelf for now so i can test it when i have the doors on .











I have decided to do a basic rock wall ( no big ledges ) using free foam boxes from the veggie shop and some left over bits of expandafoam . I used a heat gun to melt the foam and it is getting coated with a mix of mortar/pva glue/water/red oxide . So far its had 3 coats that were pretty runny and needs a few more to build it up . I am going to use some other oxide colours in the next coats to dirty it up a bit so its not just red .

all the foam is siliconed in place and the shelf and hide are fitted to make sure i can get the masive hide out with the shelf there .








I might try sticking some coco peat in a few spots aswell , i havn't done it before so any tips would be great .


cheers nico

 

[Trench]

wow that looks great

 

[SnakeNBake]

wow that looks great

+1

 

[nico77]

Thanks , it looks more creamy grey now , after seeing some of the great paint jobs latly i thought i will give painting a go again . I will try dry brushing some moss than spray a paint water mix over it and maybe some spray paint over it , any tips will be apreciated .

cheers nico

 

[J-A-X]

Paint and water will give a coat that will allow the colours to show through, spray paint will be to thick and hide all your hard work.

 

[Treg92]

That looks INSANE, a very awesome background. paint mixed up with a lot of water will run to all the low spots a pool (and will also tone all the colors down a bit), whereas drybrushing will hit all the high points, so dark washes and light drybrushing would be my suggestion, but don't be afraid to experiment

 

[nico77]

thanks guys , i have done a bit of dry brushing on it this arvo ( my first attempt ) and im going to hit it with waterd down paint in a spray bottle next . With the spray paint im thinking about doing a lite mist from a distance , just to get a bit of green over spray on the high points like a light moss i hope .
Ill get a couple of pics back soon

cheers nico

this is where its at , should i do more greens/blacks/whites in the gaps or just give a few sprays to see how it is ? going to use a dark brown or black over the top .




cheers nico

 

[J-A-X]

wlith all that greenery i'd go for mid - light browns with a hint of grey here and there. JMHO. if you go to heavy with the black it will be too dark.

with the spray paint make sure it doesnt hit any uncoated foam, it will eat into it.

 

[nico77]

thanks mate , i will start of with lighter colours and go from there . Has anyone tried colouring the pondtight instead of painting then finishing with the clear ?

cheers nico

 

[J-A-X]

Haven't tried it but I don't see why it wouldn't work. It might give it a bit of a translucent effect though, let's us know how it goes if you decide to try it

 

[nico77]

First coat of watery paint

 

[nico77]

Just need to cut the doors now and wait for some more plants .

 

[Trench]

:shock:WOW, so jealous

 

[nico77]

thanks mate , I ended up going over the brown paint/water mix with a waterd down green , couldnt find any pond tight at my local hardware store so i didnt worry about it , every coat has had a decent amount of pva glue in it so i think its sealed enough for now .
The heat mat was on over night and the panel and the shelf was nice and warm this morning , i am going to put the thermomiter on there to test what heat each is putting out once the doors are on .

cheers nico

 

[nico77]

Well its finished for now (waiting on some more plants , and glass doors one day) , i have decided to use this enclosure for mating my bredli girl with a mates male . The temp on the shelf is 32 with no thermostat and the temp under the light gets to 35 but sits on 33-34 most of the day and is on a timer . The snake in the pic is the female ( Wilmar ) she is shedding so when shes done ill put the male in .
I realised the old coffee table was a good size for a stand so i have claimed it and it makes the enclosure a better viewing hieght .







cheers nico

 

[Trench]

Wow :shock:

 

[thomasbecker]

Looks really good. Must be happy with that for sure!

 

[Dipcdame]

VERY nice, wish I had the confidence to do that, came so close to it once!!

 

[nico77]

Thanks , its not that hard , if you make a mistake just go over it heres a couple more pics of wilmar checking out her new pad

 

[mungus]

lot of work..................but well worth it )