paper maché?

[gob144]

Iv built a new Viv(ill show picks soon) but i was curious. We want to home build a hide. Would it work to build one out of paper maché with a metal mech inner support or what material would work.

[Lennycorn]

Well.....you will need to wash this when the snake poops on it so it might not be a great idea.

[bitsy]

I use paper mache hanging basket liners as hides. They can't be cleaned though (they dissolve when wet from poop or washing water), so I view them as disposable. They just look a bit nicer in the viv than old cereal boxes etc.

You might be able to make a paper mache one water resistant with several layers of varnish, but it may be difficult to ensure that it was.

[marc_g]

my mate mate me a customised viv. he used polystyrene. he just cut it up and stuck it all together ive got "rocks" stuck on the walls. and a hide. he painted them and i left it a week before i put them in the viv. their easy to clean and light therefore not adding any weight to the viv. and where polystyrene breaks up when you pull it apart (as all kids know) it looks really good because its all roughed up and looks natural

[gob144]

any chance you got a picture of that?

[gob144]

what could i use that would be good for moulding onto a mesh frame. Things that came to mind are things like paper maché, fiber glassing gel, modeling clay?

[marc_g]

fibre glassing would be the easiest but if you are going to do that the make a shape using clay and mould the fibre glass around that, it will just fall through the mesh. or some place sell fibre glass strips. (well they do in england dont know about canada) i'll try and sort out a picture for u last time i had problems up loading the on to the site

[gob144]

yea we have all that fiber classing stuff here I used it to repair bodies on cars.

[xreinx]

heres a link that I just love, Ive done a few small projects and used the grouting process they apply in this link. http://www.lizard-landscapes.com/how-to-build-a-waterfall.html you can do your paper mache project then grout it, and maybe seal it after.

I love it, I dont know why, its a bit messy. but it makes some of the best landscapes for tanks.