Has anyone else taken up a lizardlandscape project?

AmbushArachnids

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So i had seen a video on youtube. Lizardlandscapes.com has a few projects for bearded dragons. They have done some waterfall enclosures. Has anyone else taken up any of these projects for lizards or Tarantulas? I am in the process of painting Mine. I have created a Pool area for my 2 two month old bearded dragons. They are the only lizards i have owned. I got them back in june. I would like to learn any tips or ideas people have to offer. I am thinking about possibly doing one for a tarantula. Any ideas on what type of theme. Arboreal or terrestrial. If i remember right Redneck was interested in doing one for a T. :? The site has alot of info but is lacking somewhat in ideas.
 

Redneck

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So i had seen a video on youtube. Lizardlandscapes.com has a few projects for bearded dragons. They have done some waterfall enclosures. Has anyone else taken up any of these projects for lizards or Tarantulas? I am in the process of painting Mine. I have created a Pool area for my 2 two month old bearded dragons. They are the only lizards i have owned. I got them back in june. I would like to learn any tips or ideas people have to offer. I am thinking about possibly doing one for a tarantula. Any ideas on what type of theme. Arboreal or terrestrial. If i remember right Redneck was interested in doing one for a T. :? The site has alot of info but is lacking somewhat in ideas.
I am interested in doing one.. But I have not taken the time to actually build one.. Would love to see how yours is coming along..
 

AmbushArachnids

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I started the project last night at 8pm and went until 4 am. I got everything done and ready to paint.



The problem i had was the great stuff shrank and left a space between the grout. Some of it cracked over night so i had to go over the broken parts with really thick grout.





You can see the light areas are where i have patched it with thick ceramic. Maybe i should of bought the grout strengthening liquid.. Cost 10 bucks more for a gallon, But i wasnt sure if it would be safe. The site never said anything about using it.



This is a view from the front. My kitchen is ground zero! But i dont mind. If i had it my way My room "T room" would be the only clean place {D
 

NikiP

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Are you looking for info on setups with bodies of water or setups with & without?

A friend & I got into making things for a bit. For my exo terra, I had an idea to do a tree ruck:





For him, we did a rock wall to go in his African cichlid tank, which failed miserably. My biggest recommendation if you make your own wall or rock formation for a body of water, use aquarium silicone. I bought the wrong stuff, which came off in the water. We could have fixed it, but my friend's impatience caused one wall to hit the other, causing both to break.



 

Redneck

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Looks good so far agent... Though.. I would have made it a tad more round-ish... Other than that... Good job!

Niki... I like that rock hide that your friend had made.. I might ahve to give that one a go once I get my flat rock scorpion.. :)
 

NikiP

Arachnobaron
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Thanks :D It would have been totally awesome if it hadn't collapsed :( I felt horrible since I bought the caulking that screwed things up.

It was pretty big also. The tank is a 92gal bow front corner.
 

AmbushArachnids

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I was going to go with a round container but it would of been obsolete in a couple months when my dragons were bigger. I picked out a shoe box for the container. I went to 3 different stores looking for one that would fit a dragons full body length. :wall: I was about to give up when i walked through an isle at the dollor store. :D
 

AmbushArachnids

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I have a tank that is 24" tall 24" long and 12" wide so i might try to create a basking area above that. The tank is not ideal but i can still utilize what ive built now in a larger tank in about a year.

Edit: This is the major problem i am having. The foam shrank. And i should of used a thicker grout. :wall:
 
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NikiP

Arachnobaron
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Far tooooooooo much spare time......

Nice though.... :)
It's fun though :D:D Especially when involving other people. my friend & I took several days to do his wall since we had to work outside & it's so hot/humid here in NC. His parents even spent a few of the days watching us work on it.

Course i'm happy to have found someone who is only interested in this stuff :D

Am going to do a smaller/similar version of his failed wall for my mudskipper tank when I upgrade them to a 55gal.
 

redrumpslump

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I don't know what looks better agent, the waterfall or your moustache lol.
 

AmbushArachnids

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Far tooooooooo much spare time......

Nice though.... :)
Yeah i do have alot of spare time! Concrete work is slow for my company. Been sitting around all week besides getting some good time in at the river swimin under a bridge where i grow my mustache.
I don't know what looks better agent, the waterfall or your moustache lol.
There is no water fall. That would cause too much humidity for my dragons. its just a standing pool. I am going to put another plastic shoe box in it so i can change it easily.
Nothing like a nice moustache.....
{D{D{D I had a beard to go with it but i caught an elbow to the chin and had to butterfly bandage it up. I miss that beard.. :D
 

Jaymz Bedell

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I've done many of these projects, quite a few of them in a zoo setting. right now I'm far too exhausted to do the kind of post this deserves, but to get you started check out dendroboard.com, run a search on fake backgrounds. there is some of the best, most complete information about this subject on that site. I will definitely get back to this thread tomorrow after I've had some time to rest. as to the acrylic concrete fortifier, it is absolutely safe once cured, and then you need to cure the grout. the grout needs to be applied in several very thin coats, and then cured, which will take 2 weeks or longer, but will go a very long way toward giving you the strength needed. I will definitely post more about this tomorrow.
 

AmbushArachnids

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I've done many of these projects, quite a few of them in a zoo setting. right now I'm far too exhausted to do the kind of post this deserves, but to get you started check out dendroboard.com, run a search on fake backgrounds. there is some of the best, most complete information about this subject on that site. I will definitely get back to this thread tomorrow after I've had some time to rest. as to the acrylic concrete fortifier, it is absolutely safe once cured, and then you need to cure the grout. the grout needs to be applied in several very thin coats, and then cured, which will take 2 weeks or longer, but will go a very long way toward giving you the strength needed. I will definitely post more about this tomorrow.
Thanks for the link! I have torn the whole wall apart around the water hole. There was too much space between there as i showed in the picture above. I am looking now at expanding the project and creating a roof level for basking. I feel more confident now on what i need to do. I mean I do concrete for a living. Been in the trade since i was 8 yrs old. I will be up al night construcing a monster of a project :D Any advice anyone else has to offer or inquiries on what the (edit) is goin through my head feel free to ask. {D
 

popcangenie

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So i had seen a video on youtube. Lizardlandscapes.com has a few projects for bearded dragons. They have done some waterfall enclosures. Has anyone else taken up any of these projects for lizards or Tarantulas? I am in the process of painting Mine. I have created a Pool area for my 2 two month old bearded dragons. They are the only lizards i have owned. I got them back in june. I would like to learn any tips or ideas people have to offer. I am thinking about possibly doing one for a tarantula. Any ideas on what type of theme. Arboreal or terrestrial. If i remember right Redneck was interested in doing one for a T. :? The site has alot of info but is lacking somewhat in ideas.
ummm dude if that is a pool for your dragons then where are they on land just the edges? and he pool is way to deep it should be no deeper then there shoulders and then if you keep them in there with the water they could fall asleep or dunk under the pool ive seen it happen in my bathtub he falls asleep from being relaxed and he head sinks but i was there to save him you might not be
 

AmbushArachnids

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ummm dude if that is a pool for your dragons then where are they on land just the edges? and he pool is way to deep it should be no deeper then there shoulders and then if you keep them in there with the water they could fall asleep or dunk under the pool ive seen it happen in my bathtub he falls asleep from being relaxed and he head sinks but i was there to save him you might not be
I have had a pool in my dragons cage for a long time. As long as the water is not warm they will not pass out in the water. Thanks for the consideration. Like i said in my last post i am making a second story for them to bask. I will be puting rocks in the pool for them to sit on too. Not to mention i dont have to fill it up all the way. This project is designed for a dragon that is full size but will accomidate my 2 month old dragons they are 4" from head to back hip. So they are not very small.
 
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AmbushArachnids

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You can see my cage is quite small. But thats not a big deal. I can always find a larger tank or build one. I put in a second story for basking to make more use of this tank. I broke off all the grout around the edge of the pool and installed a new shoe box i can easily remove from the enclosure. for cleaning. I may install a coco husk wall on the left side. I had a coco husk style back drop in there previously and they loved to climb it, even sleep on it. {D This is alot of work but i like work. Ive spent about 100$ in supplies but i can make alot of these.
 
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