# Custom floor and back wall.



## Peter Mellor (Mar 19, 2018)

Hey folks,

I’m half way through my back wall and floor setup for my Murray Darling Python. 

So far I’m at $10 worth of materials.

Styrofoam / Polystyrene base with a mortar and concrete finish. 














My question is what do I use for the water bowl to seal it? Any advice?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## DisturbedDave (Mar 20, 2018)

Pond sealer would be your best bet. Safe for fish, safe for reptiles


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## ronhalling (Mar 22, 2018)

@Peter Mellor Personally i would have made the water bowl with an insert in mind so that come cleaning time the insert can be removed, cleaned of detritus and water slime and then replaced before refilling, the way you have it at the moment is going to be awfully hard to clean, and yes i agree with @DisturbedDave a clear or colored pond sealer would do the job.





*( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) -ronhalling-*


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## Scutellatus (Mar 22, 2018)

Further to Ron's comment, you could possibly make a removable latex bowl insert. Lay some glad wrap in the bowl you have created, making sure it is a snug fit all around and then paint latex over this, once dry remove the glad wap and you have your easily cleaned insert.


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## Pauls_Pythons (Mar 22, 2018)

I gave up on rock walls and stuff years ago. Still have 1 enclosure to rip it out of which is my easter week off project.
Why........because regadless of how awesome they might look they are a total pain to keep clean.


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## tigahawk (Apr 17, 2018)

Pauls_Pythons said:


> I gave up on rock walls and stuff years ago. Still have 1 enclosure to rip it out of which is my easter week off project.
> Why........because regadless of how awesome they might look they are a total pain to keep clean.



Please do explain! As a hobby i've just started toying around with small tanks for inverts with a 3d background of foam / silicone / cocopeat + moss + twigs and fake leaves so what am i going to be up against in regards to cleaning?

tx heaps!


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## Pauls_Pythons (Apr 17, 2018)

tigahawk said:


> Please do explain! As a hobby i've just started toying around with small tanks for inverts with a 3d background of foam / silicone / cocopeat + moss + twigs and fake leaves so what am i going to be up against in regards to cleaning?
> 
> tx heaps!



Don't get me wrong they look great but I found the cleaning process was impossible.
Pic below is one that I have recently gutted, it was purchased with the rock wall already installed. (Could be that the quality of installation might not have been as good as some of the guys on here can come up with but thats another story)

I find the surface is too rough to facilitate easy/thorough cleaning. Snake pee can be like glue, sticks to any slightly rough surface and can take some elbow grease to remove. With a rough surface that pee can get into tiny nooks which leaves the enclosure never totally clean.
I guess with ground dwelling animals it might be better but for arboreal animals who like to defecate from up high and splatter everything below them it just became too much work.
Fake leaves look good for a while.....I have a fake tree in one of mine but the leaves get battered and need replacing to maintain the appearance.
It is/has to be about the animals needs but I dont have time to spend hours cleaning rock wall enclosures so its back to basics for this enclosure.


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## dragonlover1 (Apr 17, 2018)

Pauls_Pythons said:


> Don't get me wrong they look great but I found the cleaning process was impossible.
> Pic below is one that I have recently gutted, it was purchased with the rock wall already installed. (Could be that the quality of installation might not have been as good as some of the guys on here can come up with but thats another story)
> 
> I find the surface is too rough to facilitate easy/thorough cleaning. Snake pee can be like glue, sticks to any slightly rough surface and can take some elbow grease to remove. With a rough surface that pee can get into tiny nooks which leaves the enclosure never totally clean.
> ...


it's unfortunate you have to go that route Paul,I know it can be a pain in the A but I'm firmly in the camp of providing enjoyment however small.We force our creatures to live in small boxes so we should make their lives as enjoyable as possible I think.This is my take on things and everybody is free to do it their own way.


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## Pauls_Pythons (Apr 17, 2018)

dragonlover1 said:


> it's unfortunate you have to go that route Paul,I know it can be a pain in the A but I'm firmly in the camp of providing enjoyment however small.We force our creatures to live in small boxes so we should make their lives as enjoyable as possible I think.This is my take on things and everybody is free to do it their own way.



I don't disagree but I actually found that the 2 diamonds we have housed in that enclosure (at different times) didn't do well in it at all. Both are now in similar sized enclosures but with more height/headroom and seem as happy as can be. 
They have climbing branches and ledges at multiple levels. The 'new' home seems to be more functional and gives them more ability to climb/move around.
I bought that specifically for one of my diamonds with the mindset that it would provide good enrichment but it didn't really go that way unfortunately.


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## Mick666 (Apr 18, 2018)

I agree with Paul, in my first enclosure I had a fake rock wall with waterfalls and ledges, it was a nightmare to clean.


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