# Arboreal Vivarium



## rodillablanco (Jul 5, 2012)

It's been quite a while since I've been on the boards. 4 years back I lost my house to forclosure -and a sizable T collection too. It took almost 4 years to get back to where I could even think about getting a T.
Back in the day, I could never think about getting a Gooty (P. metallica- but you folks know that). It seems the economics has changed a bit and slings are MUCH more reasonable than back when I was firmly addicted.
But as part of the diplomacy that is always involved in a spider fanciers' marital bargaining- it has to appeal to my wife as well. So, I'm going to take the tact that's worked before and make a 'bitchin show case that adds both aesthetics and harmony to the room. I've done well with a couple of planted aquariums, and used to make really cool environments for my Dart frogs- so I'm going to make a vivarium- to have both natural beauty and functionality. The trick has always been to keep the humidity high whilst maintaining awesome ventilation. Live plants could give a fresh concentration of O2 that is sooo helpful for the book lung set.
I have an old terrarium that used to house a very nice, very big Suntiger. She's actually in  my Avatar picture right over there. I'm going to modify it.
I'll put up photos tomorrow ( I have almost a whole week of, so I can play a bit). But I wanted to ask you folk first about an idea I had.
This particular terrarium is a lizard cage turned sideways, so the screen top is on the side- or back as I have decreed it. Ventilation is great for a humid environ, but there's that screen wire and tarantula foot problem. It wasn't ever a problem for the Suntiger- but we're talking Gooties here, so I wanted to "seal" the weave so there COULD never be a torn claw/leg incident.
I searched DIY screen coating but had little luck. I kept searching. I started just looking for coatings.
What I found was spray-on epoxy- designed for appliance touch ups. I'm going to try it on the screen tomorrow, but thought I'd run it by you all first.
Has anyone tried to DIY a screen coating to seal those nasty wire weave sections?
I've used epoxy around very sensitive critters, but has anyone had a bad experience with spray-on epoxy?
If no one has a horror story, I'm going to spray in the morning and begin a build thread.
I'm going to construct a background in terra-cotta- glaze and fire the background: deli-cup waterer holder, epiphyte attachment places and a hide- all to fit in the back of this terrarium.
I've always loved "build threads".
So I'm starting mine with a couple of questions.


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## grayzone (Jul 5, 2012)

no clue about spray on epoxy, but why not just use a sheet of thin acrylic? ditch the screen completely. Acrylic would work well AND look clean/prettier in the long run (likely, all i have to reference youre idea on is my imagination)
The backdrop sounds very interesting, and im DEFINITELY gonna keep an eye on the thread to see how it progresses. 
I hope all your effort gets you the justification you need in the end  welcome back to the hobby


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## spider62 (Jul 5, 2012)

I think a pice of plexiglass/acrylic with holes drilled for ventilation and attached with velccro  or zip ties towards the center of the screen(to keep them out of reach) This is if you place it on top or the side. Epoxy should work as well, try looking for aquarium grade epoxy/sealant.Good Luck it sound's like your Ts are in good hands.


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## rodillablanco (Jul 6, 2012)

*Let the build begin*

Okay, here's the pics..

First, here's the tank as it comes out of storage with the chosen epoxy paint. I really want to try the screen sealing, because nothing else ventilates the same. It it fails, I'll try the acrylic with a few hundred holes in it.
	

		
			
		

		
	




I did 8 coats on the screen- front and back on each coat. I oriented it both portrait and landscape ( if that makes sense- think of pages in the printer) so that the spray would flow evenly in all directions. I wish I could show an extreme close-up, because it did seal the weaves.



Once I cleaned out the tank, I realized that I really needed to do a pattern (template) of the background to make sure it would fit, and could be removed. Here's the template and the template in the tank:
	

		
			
		

		
	





Now that I know the size- next is to make the background. I'm conditioning a block of clay for tomorrow. It's going to look pretty big becaue the Clay I'm using shrinks about 12%.
I'll try and get the next pics up tomorrow. Things won't move quite so fast once the background is sculpted.


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## rodillablanco (Jul 7, 2012)

*Rough Sculpting*

Well, I got some time today. And it actually only took a couple of hours. I have to admit that I know an awful lot about structural Terra-cotta- I used to do it for a living. I did the 2X2 ft tiles of columbines on Coors stadium in Denver years back, amongst a lot of other jobs. So that's why I was able to do it so fast. If you want more detail about the process I could probably break it down more.
But let's get started: here's the tools and Clay- ready to go.



I cut a big slab and whacked it into shape, and then rolled a slab with the slab roller ( on right in 1st photo)
Here's the first slab:



I mentioned that clay shrinks when you fire it. This clay is a stoneware with grog (pre-fired particles of clay for strength). Since I know it's going to shrink 9%, I upsized it and began cutting slabs. I made the main back plate, a tube (tree) and a side piece- to slow down the T when I slip in goodies.
Here's the rough structure:



Then I got creative. I started to make a rock, a water cup (deli) holder, and some vines. Tried to texture the tube to look like a log. I made some "vines" and then my son said the water holder looked like a mushroom- so I made several mushroom shaped epiphyte/air plant cups. I did see an awesome background with shelf-mushrooms sculpted in here on the boards - so in the end- I used ideas from the best. I'll have to look it up again to give credit.
So here's the rough sculpt. I have to let the clay relax in and then toughen a bit before I go for fine detail:



Now it gets slow. In about 5 days the sculpting will be done. Then the leather clay will need to dry out to bone. I'll update when I fire (unless there's questions about how to do this) If it works it'll be a very strong, hygienic backdrop with plenty of T exercise spots.

Reactions: Like 1


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## poisoned (Jul 7, 2012)

That backdrop looks really amazing, teach me master!


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## hydrophyte (Jul 7, 2012)

That is really cool. I don't think I have ever seen a backdrop made of real ceramic before. This sure is a lot more classy than something made of foam or plastic.

I need a slab roller. What make/model is that one?


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## rodillablanco (Jul 7, 2012)

The Slab roller is an Amaco
here's the link:
http://www.amaco.com/shop/product-193-brent-mini-src.html
Here's the hint: buy a used one. The price used to be outrageous- now it's even worse. I saw a link to a DIY slabroller here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOCoivzq_pg

There is no doubt that a slab roller makes this 10 times easier. Uniform thickness really helps when the time comes to fire and big flat surfaces like to warp.
In the end this thread is an experiment, because I've never made a Terrarium background this way before. I've made lots of "furniture" ( waterfalls, hides, etc.) So hopefully, this succeeds and we have a thread on how to do it in Ceramic.


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## poisoned (Jul 7, 2012)

Is there any easy way to fire clay at home?


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## rodillablanco (Jul 8, 2012)

Unfortunately, unless you have a kiln, there's no firing at home. Yo need between 1300 and, say 1700 degrees F. to fuse the clay, most ovens don't have a melt-down setting. Schools and community colleges often have kilns, and they are often willing to share- the only problem being it's taken out of your hands. The upside of that is, if you don't have ceramic experience, the person overseeing the firing might be more knowledgeable, and there for an asset for your project.
I'm going to do a few more posts than I had originally planned to cover some of the finer points on handling this type of 3 dimensional stoneware. Potters have it easier in some ways that a spherical shape tends to strengthen an object. And different types of clays fire at higher and lower temperatures. In general, for stone ware (and our critter want stoneware- only food safe for them!) you need to reach 1064 F- this is called the quartz inversion- where silica fuses and re-crystallizes. A lot of the stuff I make goes much hooter- to really make the clay body brick hard. I have fired up to 2300 F.
I'll be sure to include firing shots, because it's kind of cool to see things glowing.


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## grayzone (Jul 8, 2012)

rodillablanco said:


> .
> I'll be sure to include firing shots, because it's kind of cool to see things glowing.


 You had me interested at Fire/glowing lol.. i cant wait
So far it looks AWESOME already, and cant wait to see more steps and the final product. Good job


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## rodillablanco (Jul 27, 2012)

*Firing one is a success*

In ceramics patience is THE virtue. It took awhile to dry the piece, and then my 13 year-old son (who's on summer break) beat me into the kiln with a really cool structure for his salamander tank (you'll see it later)
First: here's it going in the kiln:
	

		
			
		

		
	





Here's the promised photo of it glowing at somewhere over 1000 F.



Basically, this form is a tile. And with handmade tiles, the biggest problem is with square. Did it shrink evenly enough to stay square?
It seems it did:



 You can see the side guard is a little less than perfect. But it should still work.


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## rodillablanco (Jul 27, 2012)

*Firing one is a success PRT2*

View attachment 106492
View attachment 106492

	

		
			
		

		
	
Sorry. I reached the image limit so here's the rest....

Here it is fitted in the tank:



Looks good. 
The top "mushroom" it made to hold a deli cup. I made holes beneath it, so that when spills occur they tumble down to the next "mushroom" to water the air plants that will live there. A test in the sink had water cascading perfectly from one to the next in a watering frenzy. As long as I don't clog them in the glaze fire it should be sweet.
Here's a detail of the holes:



You can also see the cut-away back on the log that gives extra T room, as well as allows the creation of a blind to view our little darling when she (gotta be a she- right?) doesn't want to be seen.

So finally, let's look at my son's piece, which is cooling from it's glaze fire as I write this.
Here's the sculpting phase:



And here's the fired piece with glaze before the second fire. The glaze is definitely NOT paint. So it will in no way resemble the colors you see. It should come out as really cool patterns in naturalistic colors- all made of glass.



This project is really turning out. I'll update with the glaze shots before my next fire. And shots of his Salamander kingdom.
I have some very interesting twists I'm going to try. And if it keeps working- this could really be a viable method of constructing naturalistic- and hygienic- enclosures.


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## rodillablanco (Jul 28, 2012)

*Salamander "furniture"*

My Son took his piece out of the kiln this AM. I was at the fire stations annual pancake breakfast all morning, so he went ahead and stuck it in with his amphibian crew.
It really came out astounding! All the shots have Salamanders in them, but what are you going to do?
There's a Salamander nose in the "bunkroom" under the un-glazed lid.



Not Only did he nail it technically, I think his color patches make a sort of unnatural color scheme  seem natural, it's really beautiful.
Here's another view:



And one more: now you can see he's managed to raise 3 salamanders from rescue in peace and Harmony.



Crap, now I have to live up to my 13 year-old son. He really did a good job and deserves to be shown off here.
I begin glazing tomorrow.


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## grayzone (Jul 29, 2012)

thanks for the fire/glowing shot lol. That thing is really coming along. I cant wait to see it finished... your sons creation is cool too.. looks marble-esque Im sure those salamanders love it


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## rodillablanco (Jul 29, 2012)

*Glaze firing*

I did get the time to glaze the background today, so it's going into the kiln tonight. I'm going to let my son run the fire while I'm at work. It's nice to have someone else around who likes doing it.
Here's the glazed piece:



It will look totally different, but I'm happy with how it is pre-fire.
I left a lot of area un-glazed. The back is completely glazed black.
I plan to try an innoculate the rough, open ceramic surface with moss blended in buttermilk. The plants should be able to grow right into the micro pore of the ceramic and really give it an awesome effect. Yet another experiment ( I can re-fire with more glaze if I'm wrong about the moss growing) that hopefully will work and result in a really cool background.
Stay tuned.
Sorry I can't open the kiln to get a really good glowing shot, but that often doesn't work out well. ie- things explode from thermal shock- this firing :1680 F.


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## grayzone (Jul 30, 2012)

i would IMAGINE you wouldnt want a camera that close to an open kiln lol.. 
this is one of the most anticipated endings ive seen so far. Very original attempt, and so far it looks and sounds very promising. 
Damn, the things we do for our creatures:sarcasm:  SPOILED.. every one of them lol

Reactions: Like 1


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## rodillablanco (Jul 30, 2012)

Our pets get to enjoy the freedoms we don't. And that's okay...
Maybe some day it'll be our turn:
[YOUTUBE]HpkmtweNQ-U[/YOUTUBE]
"We'll make great Pets!"

Reactions: Like 1


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## rodillablanco (Aug 5, 2012)

*First glazing*

The glaze fire completed, and it wasn't quite what I thought. Two glazes, that I've used a lot- but never together- appear to be almost the EXACT same color. So my vines came out the same as the surface behind them. As I've said, glaze is not paint. It doesn't alway behave- some times this leads to great discoveries, other times to crap...



This is somewhere in between. The black back came out fine, as did the log- it's pretty cool, but there's just no contrast in the vine area. Mushrooms are quite nice as well, so I'm batting around 60% here. Not good enough for a Gooty, though. Here's the back:
	

		
			
		

		
	




So I stared at it for two days, and then did a little strategic re-glazing. It's in the fire now. Fingers crossed.


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## grayzone (Aug 13, 2012)

what gives.. been a week.. any updates? Im curious about this backdrop.. Never seen a ceramic one before, and i admire the creativity. Very different approach


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## J Morningstar (Aug 14, 2012)

I've been working with ceramics for about 30 years and yea the glazes can be interesting depending on temp distance from the flame or elements and good stuff like that. I mustt weigh a substantial amount? I liked the glaze on the first log attempt, excited to see what effect the layering has. Great job on the details, the mushrooms are def. my favorite.


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## rodillablanco (Aug 31, 2012)

*It's back, and it didn't crack!*

Sorry about the long wait everyone, I was prepping for vacation- which means cramming an extra week of work in before hand. So while it's been out of the kiln for almost two weeks, I've literally had no time for fun stuff like enclosures and posts. But I have been getting some stuff done.
First: It didn't crack on the 2nd glaze fire, but the glaze sloughed and I got some nice dripping:



The bad news is, look at the vines in the pre-2nd glaze application shot- they're tan: not so on the fired piece. You really get into goofy territory when you start sacking glazes- metals and mineral compounds can sure act funny when super- heated. The good news is: the vines are more distinct now, and not necessarily the same color as the background (which is now kinda psychedelic!)
I've grown to like it- even though it wasn't strictly they way I was envisioning it.
So I mounted it to the tank in preparation for the next stage:



I made this mount,  because as J.Morningstar posited: it's kind of heavy (2 lbs). I used a line of silicone around the top and exterior side to help hold it in- I'll have to cut it out if I want to move it. But that is possible.



So next is the planting phase. or in this case: the cultivation phase. I've been reading papers on moss and lichen propagation for a while now. I'm pretty convinced that the open ceramic is the perfect substrate on which to grow lichen.
So I've been collecting mosses and lichens on my field days at work and acclimating them to artificial light.




So this weekend, I'm going to make a lichen smoothie and spread it on. I'll then keep the whole tank in the moss chamber and try to propagate them. I'll use a method I've seen mentioned for both moss and lichen propagation. In fact I had first planned on growing moss on the Background, but research said lichen. And I found these great colonies at about 10,000' elev. growing right on the pebbles on the ground. Lichen is extremely sensitive to poor air quality- so in the month I've had it inside I've been waiting to see how my air stacks up. Seems to be fine.
 It has grown: I had to carefully pry it off the moss it was sitting on- It was adhering. The moss is growing too, so I plan to use it on the ground with the little fern in the center. This is about full size for this fern type. All the foliage is native, so it should grow here.
Here's a sheet of lichen:



I'm going to put in this link about lichen propagation for those who are interested. I hope the  link isn't a problem.
http://lichenlovers.org/lichen_growth_formula.phtml
I'll post again with lichen sludge shots & a report.

Reactions: Like 3


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## MarkmD (Aug 31, 2012)

That is cool, you have done a really neet job with the backdrop I wouldnt mind doing something like that for my Avic.


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## SamuraiSid (Sep 1, 2012)

I think the vines look great, and are vry pronounced. 

Look forward tro more pics


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## rodillablanco (Sep 2, 2012)

I tried the lichen application. So here's pics and details.
I used the formula from the website I linked in my last post. It's called Magnificent Lichen Growth formula. I modified it because I didn't think I needed as much, and I had a bunch of loose Lichen- I wanted to use most of it.
While I was making it, my teenaged Daughter asked me: "What are you doing?". I said: "Propagating Lichens." She asked: "Why do you want to grow werewolves?"     I think that's a different formula. 
Here's mine:

Mix the following together and bring to a boil stirring frequently:

    1/2 cup milk
    1/4 teaspoon flour
    1/4 teaspoon yeast
    1/28teaspoon gelatin
    1/2 tablespoon green algae powder (Spirulina or chlorella may be obtained from the vitamin department at some grocery stores. Pet stores may carry fish food that is mostly algae.)
   ~1/32 teaspoon water soluble fertilizer with micronutrients (bloom boosting formula preferred, such as 15-30-15 or similar, NOT acid loving formula.) 

Remove from heat as soon as boiling commences, and cool to room temperature.
 Immediately prior to application, add:

    2 teaspoons of lichen flakes collected from common lichens.
   1 teaspoons of healthy soil .

Here's the stuff, post boiling and with Lichen bits (TM)



I actually used a fork to smooth it around after pouring on the open areas of the ceramic background. I misted the ceramic for most of the day before putting this stuff on, to make the surface good and moist (it soaks right in) The tank is laid on it's side, and will be for several weeks until I see Lichen Growth. Or else I see no growth and rancid rot, I have a good feeling about it, but it's still an experiment.



This image was taken 2 hours after I applied the gunk. It kind of dried on and definitely darkened. It was hard to see when it was a wet white puddle of goop. I  put it in my moss/lichen grow chamber and have a humidity/temp gauge in it. I'll be watching.. and reporting.
This could be awesome if it works.


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## J Morningstar (Sep 2, 2012)

I wish you the very best and will be checking ourt your site for lichens!!!!


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## rodillablanco (Sep 16, 2012)

The Lichen lives!
I was working on the moss chamber ( temporary home for the vivarium ) and I'm pretty sure I can declare the first part of the Lichen formula works: they're still alive! Here's a shot of the moss chamber (90Gal tank):



Here's a close-up of the Lichen on the ceramic background. The lichen is standing up. I'm not prone to want to tug on it yet. But there's no mold and the little bits seem to be holding on. Humidity is really only about 50-60% most of the time. This pic is just after a spritzing.



I'm growing several types of moss now. This is a new one I just scored from around a mountain lake at about 8500' above sea level:


It's very"stalky" like little pine trees standing up.

Finally. a shot of another experiment with Lichen and moss just placed on a twig and held in it's own little mini-terrarium. Just to see if the stuff re-attaches well without glues- milk/yogurt, or I've even seen people suggesting using elmers glue. I've read more than a few posts that say: "live moss", but I'm pretty sure are dead, craft store type moss.



I really think that if moss can be grown reliably it could supply a healthy humidity buffer for tree spiders like many use it for frogs. Although I've seen several nicely mossed frog tanks where the moss didn't really grow- it was just replaced occasionally. I'd like to keep it sustainably.
Of course, large spiders can wreak some havoc on their surroundings. So my second hope is that Lichens, glued to rock as they are, will survive being walked ( and Cricket danced) on.


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## skullking (Sep 17, 2012)

It looks amazing so far! I eagerly await to see the finshed project!


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## XLRX8 (Sep 24, 2012)

Really interesting build your doing there rodillablanco! I have been planning on using live moss myself in some tanks, so the info you posted here is of particular interest to me. Great to see some high quality creativity going on! Please do post the end result!


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## longviewsteven (Sep 25, 2012)

Wow, that looks like a hobby within a hobby, very nice.


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## rodillablanco (Jan 27, 2013)

Well, a bunch has happened in the last month or so. I got a Gooty sling, so now I have a year and a half to finish the growth in the vivarium. Which may be about right to try and get everything working well.
Here it is:



I'm not sure if the Lichen is going to make it. It's not so much the blending it into paste as it seems to be the humidity. It has grown, but then it stalled, and a lot fell off the ceramic face, it's more greenish in color and flaccid in texture than the donor tissue. I think it might turn out to be a: "choose moss or choose lichens" dilemma. 
The moss is doing well and i found a good reference book to share. It's from the British Bryological Society and it's a free pdf. Moss Grower's Handbook 
My mosses were hanging on, but not really growing. Now they seem to be doing better, after much study.
So here's what I'm doing now. It seems the mosses I have don't like to touch soil, they seem to be okay with pure peat, but nothing with nutrients. Nothing in which competing things can grow in.



I then used native peat ( dead moss matter crushed and re-hydrated) And then mushed down the the moss. Apparently it like getting walked on. Moss doesn't have roots so it need to be right in contact with whatever it's on. My first moss that "grew" grew on to a rock. Moss likes to be rained on too, so it has to be top watered, it's really useless to hope that it will draw water from a soil. They have Rhyzoids that are more like microscopic straws. Moss can't transport water, so I water it directly with an awesome spray bottle I found:





You pump it up and it pressure sprays from a mist to a blast. It's good for filling water dishes too. I got it at a Pot grow store ( I live in Colorado, so there's a lot of them)

So Finally, the little sling herself. And quite a little pig "she" is, she's been eating about 1 prey item a day (crickets, dubias) and is quite fat.

Reactions: Like 1


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## SirCupaTea (Jan 30, 2013)

I am blown away! This is going to look amazing!


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## Petross (Feb 3, 2013)

You have talent.


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## DaveSB (Mar 4, 2013)

Reading this has really inspired me to do better with my Vivariums.  A brilliant thread! Can't wait to see the final final product!


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