# First go at a habitat build.



## Gruni (Jan 29, 2012)

This afternoon phase one of preparing a habitat started with the old 2ft fish tank getting a long over due clean. The old castle will make a good hide and I have some old black beach rock I want to set up as a basking rock under a ceramic heater. I have put some astro turf in as a substrate. A branch and water bowls will go in over the next little while in anticipation of a childrens/spotted/stimson yearling.

Two questions...
The black rock has some fragments that I want to join to make something more interesting for the little tike to squirm through. Do I use _liquid nails, silicon or something else_ to bond it together into a type of arch?

I am also having trouble finding somewhere online to buy some small plants to add a bit of a scrub/jungle feel to the habitat. Where can I get them other than my local pet shop?

I will be going to the pet shop to get some tank background wall paper to put on three sides of the tank which will help insulate the enclosure in adition to being in my loungeroom wall unit. I'll whack up a photo when there is something more to show than what I have at the moment.


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## Jake007 (Jan 29, 2012)

Go to eBay and just type Reptile and u will find hepz of back ground trees ect .


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## Gruni (Jan 29, 2012)

Cheers, after a few reptile combinations I finally found some good plants ranging from $5 upwards.

I had another thought about the rocks... I have a hot glue and am wondering if that would be an option???


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## Jake007 (Jan 29, 2012)

Yer it would be fine as long as no glue leaks out the the snake can rub it self on should have no problem cause it doesn't leave a bad toxi smell ect

I have used wood glue in my tank to build a jungle gym for her 


Egernia007 - this is a seller I buy a lot from has good plants ect


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## Gruni (Jan 29, 2012)

I need something with a bit of strength to it so I can lift it out in one piece when it's time to clean the enclosure. Which is why I wasn't sure between the hot glue or the liquid nails.


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## mad_at_arms (Jan 29, 2012)

Use aquarium silastic to fix the rock.Don't use hot glue, especially if its a basking area. Allow it to cure for the recommended time.
Check out Spotlight or copperart(Homeware stores) for fake plants. $2 shops normally have some that may suit.
Cheap enough to throw away if you don't wanna clean them.
That said I always get compliments on some of the ones I got from Egernia.


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## Gruni (Jan 29, 2012)

Thanks for that I'll get some of the silastic next time I'm near Bunnings. Egernia is the seller I found on Ebay who impressed me with the range of stuff they have, including the ceramic heater fixture.


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## Gruni (Feb 2, 2012)

Well I tried silasticking the rocks together and when I was lifting them in and out of the tank tonight some of the silastic let go but I can work with it. I have borrowed some heat stip matting and am trialing that in the tank and I'll try to get my hands on an infra-red temp measurer and see how that is working and work out if I need any other heat sources and to what extent.

On the up side I may have found a resident for the enclosure in the form of a Spotted yearling.


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## Jake007 (Feb 3, 2012)

Gratz will have to put a pic up of him/her when you have him/her


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## DazTopEndPythons (Feb 3, 2012)

you can also get cheap plastic plants at spotlight if there is one near you


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## Gruni (Feb 3, 2012)

Spotlight is 2 3/4hrs drive frm here so I'll just get what I need off Ebay... not that I can fit much in the tank once I add the water dishes to what is already in there. 

I borrowed some of the thin heatmat stripping from a mate that fits about a third of the tank and put a layer of newspaper in the bottom, then the mat then the astroturf to see if that would heat the tank adequately. Using an I.R. thermometer the hot end of the substrate is 29*, The cool end of the turf is 21*, inside the hide is 19* and the basalt at this stage is about 21* but the heat mat has only been on for about 2 hrs.


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## Vincey (Feb 4, 2012)

The turf sounds like it may be stopping the heat of the mat penetrating multiple layers. You want another 3 degrees either side of your temps, 2 hours should be long enough for it to heat up by give it a while and see what happens with temps.


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## Gruni (Feb 4, 2012)

I just took some new readings, the rock is now 26*, the turf is 34* and the hide is 24*. I am in the process of getting a halogen down light with a 50w globe that will sit on the steel mesh above the rock which should lift the basking temp nicely into the 30's. 

The mat is not penetrated multiple layers it is between the newspaper and the turf. The paper is insulting the bottom of the tank so I don't lose heat that way. The heat only needs to get through the turf.

The overall the ambient temp appears to be about 26* based on the glass temp of the tank.

So here are the first pics of the tank. I have been testing the heating with a friends heat mat and I am very happy with the consistent temps. I bought an undertank mat tonight and the rock look water bowls are on their way too. The pics is just a test fit up. The back drop picture will eventually go around three sides of the tank. Now that I have my tank light I will get the mesh lid made up to get rid of the glass and give the tank good ventilation.

I'm liking the look of it so far and can't wait to tidy it up and finalise the setup.

View attachment 237376


The basking rock...
View attachment 237377


The hide...
View attachment 237379


For some reason the images show up in the editor but only the links when I look at the post... what's with that???


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## IgotFrogs (Feb 7, 2012)

If you go into manage attachments and add your pictures via there they will show on the page


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## Gruni (Feb 7, 2012)

I'll try that then... 



The Hide...



Basking Spot...



As I said above there are a few tweaks and modifications yet but it should be fully set up next week. 8)


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## IgotFrogs (Feb 9, 2012)

its looking great well done


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## Gruni (Feb 9, 2012)

Well it's coming into its final stages. The best part is the lid a mate made for me was ready this afternoon and it looks great. It fits really snuggly in the top of the tank and is definitely too heavy for the snake to lift and has no gaps at all. It's made from shower door frame and has a magnet to help hold the hinged lid shut. Now that I know I don't need the child locks I can stick the background on tomorrow night. The last few bits are in the post so by Monday I should have the water dishes and undertank heat mat. then I'm all set to get the new resident next weekend!


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## Jake007 (Feb 10, 2012)

who thats cool


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## cools2036 (Feb 10, 2012)

This was one I prepared earlier  all purchased from egrrnia (seven hills) silk plant specialist.





Ill also be using their plants in my new build "bigger and better". no maintenance and they look awesome.



Gruni said:


> View attachment 237703
> View attachment 237704
> View attachment 237705



This is looking awesome!


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## Gruni (Mar 17, 2012)

I was in FDB's today and they had some fish tank plants that looked quite nice and stood up without needing water to foat them so I grabbed the three natural looking ones and although they aren't all that big they make such a difference to the look of Skittles' tank.


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