My new set up..

[Oukan]

Well I got a 55 gallon tank. Sprayed foam across the back side then put pine chips over that and let it dry. Then I poked some air plants into the cracks and crevices here and there and placed a Hibiscus vine in the tank corner. disguising the pot it is in with spanish moss. Then did the same with another plant that had mixed tropical plants in it. Then I put some wood chips on the bottom covered with a mixture of sand and peat moss soil (not very much sand), and then green moss over that. After words I positioned all the vines, had to do some trimming, and then put the bamboo in. I was gonna put a water fall in but the dang thing was too big, so I'm gonna have to get another water fall but smaller. It will be in the right corner.

Let me know what you all think.

 

[Oukan]

sorry for the cruddy picture quality my camera never does well with glass...

 

[rshiery88]

Hi. I think that your foam and bark ideah is brilliant, seems like it might be a lil tuff to clean but otherwise seems to be astheticaly a great way to add some texture and more climbing space, Im shure ill use that trick in the future, thanx! Im no expert but i do believe that more bedding would be good, maybe cocofiber. And you might try planting your plants into smaller pots that are easier to conceal so you dont have to lump up moss on the left side. Here r some shots of my setup theyre from different stages but my potting technique is the same.

All but two of the plants are living (the one in the top right is silk) and i really had to work at it to fit them all in beacuse i divided the tank in half. But luckily i figured out the perfect free alternative to actual pots, if your near a McDOnalds which im shure you are, then you could go in and ask for some of the black 1$ Side Salad Container bottoms, theyre about 5 inches across and only about 3 inches deep. I punched some holes in the bottoms for drainidge and jsut made shure i spread the roots when i transplanted my plants. I have had this setup for about a month and i love it, i can hide the shallow pots right under the cocofiber and i rarely water because of the 70% humidity i keep. Neways i think what you've got is good but with a lil work it could be better I'm sorry for the novel of a post :s and good luck!

 

[Oukan]

Thanks, now that the foam is completely dry it expanded some so there is some spots showing that I need to go over with a hot glue gun and cover up with some more bark. The Hibiscus plant is way too large to go in a smaller pot, I already tried this lol is a shame but hey it still works. I plan on getting more substrate but for now it will have to wait, our local walmart stop carrying the brand that I use that has no additives in it. They are begining to replace the garden center with Halloween stuff. And I don't like paying the overly priced stuff at one of the pet stores. Its ridiculous how much they hike that stuff up.

On the other side of the conversation. I have a baby male crested I will be adding to the tank as soon as I am satisfied with it. I want to make sure it is perfect before I add him in. He is quite the unique little crestie. I haven't seen one with his patterns before. When I got him he was shedding and looked like a usual dark Harley with cream going down his back and tail. But after he shedded he has reviled some hidden beauty. I will take a picture of him later, but right now my camera's batteries died on me again. I really need to get some recharable batteries lol!

I can describe his markings though. He has a dark base color to him that changes from dark brown to olive green, and his head is a rusty, bronze color almost, and that runs down his back to his tail. The cream markings go over that all the way down his back and cover most of his tail. Then along his sides and his legs, there is a rusty bronze color pattern. The pattern doesn't seem to be tiger striped, more blotchy here and there.
I'm hoping as he gets older the colors will get brighter and show up better.

 

[Oukan]

Those are some very nice set ups by the way, rshiery

 

[rshiery88]

Your gecko sounds really handsome 8) I cant wait to see some pics. And thanx, ive really worked hard on them, in the top picture you can see my two females, and the bottom shows my male. Its really a shame you cant replant the hibiscus because its the only thing that keeps me from loving your setup, everything looks really natural Im also interessted to hear how big you gecko is, because i have learned from the expierience of raising my male that substrate plus juvies is not a god mix, my male was a fierce hunter but after getting bark jammed in his jaws a few times he has strayed away from live foods. I have also read about impactions coming from babies getting too much bedding in with each snack So i would watch out, and maybe use paper towels for bedding for a while till hes bigger and a better hunter, its not verry pretty to look at but your gecko will thank you :wink: BTW how can i get to youre web-site? you should put a link in your signature because ive wanted to check it out everytime i see your posts but i cant get there

 

[AWL Reptiles]

Looks great!

This is my foam-background:

The setup is not complete, as you see. =) Plants, branches etc are missing lol. :wink:

 

[Oukan]

Yes the crested I have is very young. I would say 5 inches total. But the bark that I have in the tank is very large. Not nearly small enough for him to get in his mouth. Plus I have a very soft soil over the bark, and then a layer of moss. So there is no harm of him getting anything in his mouth other then food or the occasional piece of moss. Which wont hurt him.


@ AWL very nice! What did you use to cover the foam? I'm curious.

 

[Oukan]

well for everyone that was interested in seeing my gecko I made a thread, it should be here in the crested forum some where. Go check it out. I got some great pics.

 

[rshiery88]

Hey, AWL i really like your foam. Is that sand on there? because thats a great ideah, you guys just used that insulation foam in a can/tube that expands right?? Im wondering how maybe some kind of paint would look on it, like flat browns and such, and what cocofiber would look like on the foam too? Or maybe if you used a rag or something on the foam while it was wet and kinda sponged the entire surface to make it look like volcano rock? Wow, i got a lil carried away... neways both ur foam backings r great, i will definately do the same with all of my future gecko setups 8)

 

[Oukan]

I tryed working the foam before it dryed but the stuff is hard to shape when wet. It just sort of collapsed when I touched it with a spoon.

 

[rshiery88]

ooh, that kinda rules out my sponging ideah then

 

[AWL Reptiles]

It's fine, red sand. Thanks, I'm happy with it!