dfourer
New member
Here is a vivarium I put together pretty quickly, using tricks I've learned.
I started with a 10-gal aquarium, 25cm x 50cm. Raised it to 46cm height, using 4 pieces of plastic taped on the 4 corners with clear packing tape. This sits inside the lip of the aquarium. No glue, no fuss. This is a surprisingly stable and easy way to make a tall tank. It lifts off for easy clening. The cover is thin plywood with a 1cm wood rim to overlap the plastic. Helps strengthen the whole setup.
The main light is a spiral fluorescent 23watt in a 20cm round aluminum dome reflector. some pegs hold it in position. A cloth cover keeps more heat inside. There is also a cut-out for vent screen, and a feeding hole.
On the back is a heat tape for extra warmth. About 6 watts is my guess. The inside of the glass is covered here with paper or cloth, glued to glass, to prevent harm to geckos from burning. Actually it hardly feels warm to touch. Styrofoam across the back and behind the heater, to keep the heat inside. I didn't want to heat under the soil. That would drive moisture up and make it steamy all the time, and might kill the plants.
The soil is very shallow, to maintain aeration of all substrate. Common house plants need little soil, but spread their roots throughout. Mostly peat moss and fine sand, kept pretty wet. About 1cm deep and deeper around the plants. I also like to keep the weight down. Lots of rock and dirt can be very heavy.
I used birch bark rolled up into hoops for hiding, and other rotted bark that peels off dead trees. Bark is naturally mold resistant so I avoid wood. If some rotting has occured in the wild, then it's more stable and little additional mold grows.
Plants are any nice house plants that won't grow too tall. Try to select plants for the temperature and humidity you will need. Not all house plants like warm conditions or even humid conditions. Bring small plants home from store and wash the leaves and roots under garden hose or in bucket of water to remove any insecticides or soil chemicals. I don't wash away all the soil, but a lot of it. Then re-plant. They grow quickly in the warm, humid, and well-lit vivarium.
Thermometer from Target. For $10 they have digital with a thin wire and sensor to run inside the vivarium. Nice digital read-out.
I clean up droppings from the geckos. I water weekly with a sprayer that washes and cleans all the leaves and bark as well as watering the plants. After 6 months I will take everything out, replace soil, put everything back in. That takes about 2-3 hours. Not much work. I like a jungle, but not over-crowded. As plants grow, I prune. Naturally, I put the tall things toward the back, low in front, so I can see in.
Because the animals are nocturnal, I installed a 1/2 watt LED orange night light ($3 at hardware store) outside on the left. This gives them a little "moon light" to hunt by, and allows me to watch their behavior in the dark.
I put one young tokay and one skunk gecko about the same size in here--not ideal but they seem to be getting along. Perhaps I'll give one away. This is good setup for watching their behavior. I have a lot to learn about their behavior and care.
I started with a 10-gal aquarium, 25cm x 50cm. Raised it to 46cm height, using 4 pieces of plastic taped on the 4 corners with clear packing tape. This sits inside the lip of the aquarium. No glue, no fuss. This is a surprisingly stable and easy way to make a tall tank. It lifts off for easy clening. The cover is thin plywood with a 1cm wood rim to overlap the plastic. Helps strengthen the whole setup.
The main light is a spiral fluorescent 23watt in a 20cm round aluminum dome reflector. some pegs hold it in position. A cloth cover keeps more heat inside. There is also a cut-out for vent screen, and a feeding hole.
On the back is a heat tape for extra warmth. About 6 watts is my guess. The inside of the glass is covered here with paper or cloth, glued to glass, to prevent harm to geckos from burning. Actually it hardly feels warm to touch. Styrofoam across the back and behind the heater, to keep the heat inside. I didn't want to heat under the soil. That would drive moisture up and make it steamy all the time, and might kill the plants.
The soil is very shallow, to maintain aeration of all substrate. Common house plants need little soil, but spread their roots throughout. Mostly peat moss and fine sand, kept pretty wet. About 1cm deep and deeper around the plants. I also like to keep the weight down. Lots of rock and dirt can be very heavy.
I used birch bark rolled up into hoops for hiding, and other rotted bark that peels off dead trees. Bark is naturally mold resistant so I avoid wood. If some rotting has occured in the wild, then it's more stable and little additional mold grows.
Plants are any nice house plants that won't grow too tall. Try to select plants for the temperature and humidity you will need. Not all house plants like warm conditions or even humid conditions. Bring small plants home from store and wash the leaves and roots under garden hose or in bucket of water to remove any insecticides or soil chemicals. I don't wash away all the soil, but a lot of it. Then re-plant. They grow quickly in the warm, humid, and well-lit vivarium.
Thermometer from Target. For $10 they have digital with a thin wire and sensor to run inside the vivarium. Nice digital read-out.
I clean up droppings from the geckos. I water weekly with a sprayer that washes and cleans all the leaves and bark as well as watering the plants. After 6 months I will take everything out, replace soil, put everything back in. That takes about 2-3 hours. Not much work. I like a jungle, but not over-crowded. As plants grow, I prune. Naturally, I put the tall things toward the back, low in front, so I can see in.
Because the animals are nocturnal, I installed a 1/2 watt LED orange night light ($3 at hardware store) outside on the left. This gives them a little "moon light" to hunt by, and allows me to watch their behavior in the dark.
I put one young tokay and one skunk gecko about the same size in here--not ideal but they seem to be getting along. Perhaps I'll give one away. This is good setup for watching their behavior. I have a lot to learn about their behavior and care.
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