I need help with my leo's vivarium! Please read!

[fearlessgecko_109]

My adult male leo is living in a 20 gallon LONG tank all by himself, he has heat and everything is fine.

The problem is, he needs a home makeover. I want to give him a environment similar or something like the pictures below (But I am very open minded to other designs), I don't want to spend like, 60 dollars on wood. I think its very important for animals to have a lot of stimulation and a natural environment

Any ideas on how to make foam caves/ or save money on this redecoration, perhaps? (pictures welcome, all reply's will be greatly appreciated )
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http://leopardgeckotank.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/leopard-gecko-tank-264x300.jpg
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http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc213/The_Interloper/Reptiles/FinalTank.jpg
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One more thing, I hope I dont sound like a cheapskate, I'm 15 years old and I like to save money in case of any vet emergencies, e.t.c (My parents weren't kidding, they will make me pay any vet bills) However, I am more than willing to spend money on my pets (I've spent 100's of dollars these past years)

 

[Rhaianon93]

You can always look for materials on craigslist if you're looking to save money, you just may need to play around with the wording in your search. I know the suction cup plants at petsmart are around $4 if you want to give it a little decoration and some of the driftwood logs aren't too much, especially if they're on sale. I'm not too sure how much money you want to spend though, hope I helped a little.

 

[Martinotti Reptiles]

For chunks of wood or branches there's nothing like going outside and finding some. Then you just want to wash and bake the wood in the oven and you're good to go. The dollar stores usually sell bags of those medium smooth river rocks in natural browns or black that make good decorating material.

 

[lindsaydo]

I like to convert a lot of things. You can make really cool hides out of sponges that cut up into little bricks, painted with a watered down PVA glue and baked slightly. This will turn them hard. You then can stick them together to build stuff (Pirate ships, Houses, Castles, caves etc). Then you paint them with kids toxic free paints. Then seal them with the watered down PVA again. Allee told me this, and it's great fun to do a little project and build stuff.
Like Oli said, you can go outside and find some really cool stuff. Obviously if the log is crawling with parasites or mould then find a nicer looking one. You can soak and bake them like Oli said, but I filled the bath up with hot water, put in a bit of sterilizer or bleach and soaked them for a couple of hours. Then I left them to dry to the touch and used my hair dryer in the cracks. I am saying this because I have got branches that are quite big and won't fit in the oven Also, silk leaves are good. I used two medium sized logs resting on each other to create a gap underneath, places the leave on the top and a hammock over them, and my gecko's water dish underneath, so it is his little cool oasis. He loves to chill there. I hope I haven't ranted too much.

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

Look in the "naturalistic vivarium" and the "do it yourself" forums for info on how to make great looking stuff for your enclosure.

 

[fearlessgecko_109]

Lindsayo, you haven't ranted at all! You were very helpful!

Rhaianon93,Martinotti Reptiles,Riverside Reptiles ALL of you were so helpful, thank you so much! XD

I greatly appreciate it! (btw, I will post pics of the new viv when its finished )

 

[lindsaydo]

Goood! Have lots of fun with your new project

 

[critternerd]

have you considered some great stuff expanding foam? I have found it works great for backgrounds.

 

[lindsaydo]

I was thinking of doing something like that. Like getting the tank, putting cellophane around the back and using the expanding foam. Then you can take out the expanding foam and carve things into it like little hides etc, I would seal it again though. Then you can just glue it back in, or use a strong double sided tape so you can take it out again in order to clean or just change around. What does everyone else think?

 

[fearlessgecko_109]

hmm

hmmm..that sounds like a interesting idea, I'll look into it!

AND one more thing..

I just created a naturalistic viv for my FBT...how long do I have to wait to let the microbacteria/mini ecosystem get established before adding the toads? Two months?