[chelseagrin]

i posted it already. i want a rainforest type viv. and i want to put a cool back ground in it with caves and such

[chelseagrin]

probably to house a few neon blue day geckos, sorry dont know the scientific name.

[Riverside Reptiles]

Their latin name is Lygodactylus williamsi and they come from East Tanzania. So you'll want to research that locale to determine how best to set up a naturalistic vivarium properly for them. Tanzania - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[chelseagrin]

i know how to set up a naturalistic vivarium i need help with building the actual tank! i know alot of people on this site have done it but nater gave me the only info ive gotten off this thread so far and i need a bit more to undertake creating a tank. im guessing wood would not work with so much moisture in the tropical set up right?

[rhino43grr]

you'll need something with a screen top so uvb light can get through. it would be much easier and probably much cheaper to just buy an aquarium or exo-terra/zoo-med terrarium rather than building an enclosure completely from scratch.

[MariaW]

I build most of my vivs, mainly from wood but have also done a couple of glass ones.
Glass (or plastic) vivs are not easy - you need to get the glass cut to exactly the right size and also find a glazier willing to smooth grind the edges or you're going to end up with a lot of cuts on your hands!
Once you know your exact sizes you need to find some suitable sealant/glue - types sold for aquarium use are best.
You're also going to need to figure out how you're going to access your viv - are you putting doors on? Are you having a sliding top? Or a mesh top? ALL of this needs to be taken into account when measuring up for getting the glass cut.
Plastic (perspex) is of course a lot easir to cut yourself but most of it will scratch and mark over time so you won't get a good view inside the viv.
When you've got all the bits cut to the right size and all stuck together in the correct places you'll need to leave the viv for at least 7 days for the sealant to dry and the fumes disperse - so don't leave it in a room that already has reptiles in it, some can be very prone to these fumes.
You can of course convert an old fish tank, easy to build your own lid if the tank is alreay tall enough, or if you need taller then stand it on end and fit some sliding doors.
Good luck with it, like I say, they're not easy and in the end I'm sure you're going to realise it'll be a lot easier, and not much more expensive, to buy a pre-made one.

[nater]

Originally Posted by chelseagrin

probably to house a few neon blue day geckos, sorry dont know the scientific name.

If you're dead set on building it yourself... well... come at us with some requirements. I realize this is probably going to be a continuing point of contention in this thread, but I still don't think you've given us enough information. The material is chosen based on the design, not the other way around. I'm not trying to discourage you or anything. Believe me, I know how exciting starting a custom build can be.

It sounds like you're pretty confident in your abilities, so I assume that you're comfortable working with wood, painting, welding acrylic, and simply gluing glass together with silicone?

Go glass if you're not doing anything too fancy. You're going to have to look into the types of glass that are appropriate yourself, as I don't know. I do know that you don't want to use tempered glass on an aquarium. I have no clue if it would be appropriate for a vivarium, though I suspect that it would not be (more for external bumps and dings than anything going on inside your viv).

The main drawback to acrylic in use as noted earlier in this thread is its tendency to scratch easily. Some acrylics claim to be as scratch resistant as glass. The drawback to acrylic in building is that its kind of a pain in the butt to prepare the edges, get everything sitting right, weld without dripping, etc. It is clearer than glass though, and if done well look much nicer than glass in my opinion. Plus, unlike glass you can drill holes. Well... you can in glass too, but it creates microcracks that under pressure get bigger, though I suppose that since this isn't an aquarium it isn't that big a deal. Assuming you can drill it without cracking the hell out of it.

If you're going to use wood, you might want to look into using marine epoxy to seal it, and of course make sure that its safe to use for your geckos.

I tend to not like the look of the foam structures, and going vertical with them seems to be a hassle. Look into kitty litter clay backgrounds. I assume they'd hold up in a natural planted viv well, but thats completely an assumption.

Hope this helps. MariaW gave you some good information as well, especially on the glass edges.