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My first DIY 3unit display viv!

blueturtle

blueturtle

Aida's the name!
Here's the finished product before the snakes being moved in.

DSC04076.jpg


Here is Alcy's new home. She loves it much better than the paper towel temporary setup I had her in for a couple of months. I had a bug encounter with Petsmart's and Petco's aspen. Eww!
l_e8772ab0b18a4efd991d94cee67032c4.jpg


This is Red's new place. She's definitely digging her upgrade from her 16qt tub.
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The bottom unit is being used as storage until this summer. I'm looking for a 1.0 Ghost stripe.

In case anyone was wondering, I finally found aspen at Walmart by the brand of AlphaPet. They only have the smaller bags of 1500cu in for about $3-4 but I like the quality. I haven't noticed dust with the exception of the end of the bag much like the Kaytee I was using. It also seems to be shredded small pieces. Looks kind of like the ZooMed snake bedding. Nice and fluffy. The package states that it's laboratory quality. I wish I could have found a co-op store near me to buy the big bales for cheap but this will do until then.

So what do you think?

Thanks for looking!

-Aida
 
nice set up im sure they will love it good luck with finding the ghost stripe i just got a 4 month old female ghost stripe last week i am going to mate her with my normal lewis in a couple of years she is beautiful any way well done on the vivs they look awesome
 
Looks great!!

You may need something to protect the peg board. When it get's wet it will swell up.
 
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That looks super awesome your lucky you don't live near me I would be putting you to work for sure...nicely compensated of course. I bet they are enjoying their homes very much!! I got a bale of aspen at Hamburg for $18 which seems resonable and it isn't dusty, is fluffy, and pretty finely shredded. I would check out some shows for a bale.
 
blueapplepaste said:
Nice! Looks similar to my design, but modified for three cages. You should have some happy snakes on your hand!
Click to expand...

I initially wanted to custom build it with your plans but I ended up finding a bookcase off of craigslist for $20 and went with that instead. It was fairly easy. Next one I do, I will be following your plans. I just got to wait until I move out on my own and have the room.

reptile_jones said:
Looks grate!!

You may need something to protect the peg board. When it get's wet it will swell up.
Click to expand...

I thought about that and so I applied a paint sealer to it as well as the rest of the entire viv. Its by Krylon. The one that everyone on here recommended is safe to use. I've already cleaned the viv out multiple times during the modification process and the sealer has worked pretty well.

Silvergrin said:
Hey those look really nice! Glad the heating plates were helpful :)

What are you using for lighting? The display is lovely :)
Click to expand...

Thanks again for that little idea. It turned out really well. As for the lighting, I found under cabinet 20" strip lighting at home depot. They were on clearance for $11 each. I forget the name of them but they're really nice and they don't get too hot to the touch. That was something I was concerned about. It stays warm, probably no more than 90 degrees judging by comparison of the heat pad that stays at 82degrees. The lights also came in 30". They're plug in but come with the tools to turn it into a click switch light so you don't have to bother reaching all the way in the back to unplug it to turn it off.


Thanks everyone for your nice comments. I really appreciate it.
 
they're the ones by zoomed that i think most people use. I have the one for a 10-20gal tank as each unit is the same dimensions of a 20gallong Long. You can see in the first pic that I've created a cavity for it with silicone and aluminum plates so that I'm able to slide it in and out through the back.
 
Do you leave the backing on, or is it stuck to something else that you then slide? I'm heading out in a few to go buy supplies to make a couple of similar ones. :D
 
Shiari said:
Do you leave the backing on, or is it stuck to something else that you then slide? I'm heading out in a few to go buy supplies to make a couple of similar ones. :D
Click to expand...

i actually just left the backing on them. i know that if i stuck them to something and then tried to later take it off, it could mess up the heating circuits on the pad. so the pad is sandwiched between the aluminum plate and a piece of foil so that the uth isnt direction on the wood. the whole thing is hooked up to a ranco thermostat and it heats real nice and evenly.
 
blueturtle said:
I initially wanted to custom build it with your plans but I ended up finding a bookcase off of craigslist for $20 and went with that instead. It was fairly easy. Next one I do, I will be following your plans. I just got to wait until I move out on my own and have the room.
Click to expand...

$20 is a steal!! Again, excellent job on the conversion. What a bargain!
 
blueapplepaste said:
$20 is a steal!! Again, excellent job on the conversion. What a bargain!
Click to expand...

haha tell me about it. it was a brand new still in the box bookcase from ikea. only thing was it was white so i just painted the outside black so it better matched the rest of the house.
 
Ok, I hate you! LOL Where did you get a bookcase, 30 inches long. All the ones I looked at that were Ikea were 23 inches wide. Too small.

I love it. Is it melamine? What did you coat it with? Paint peels off that material doesnt it?
 
JustineNYC said:
Ok, I hate you! LOL Where did you get a bookcase, 30 inches long. All the ones I looked at that were Ikea were 23 inches wide. Too small.

I love it. Is it melamine? What did you coat it with? Paint peels off that material doesnt it?
Click to expand...

It's a Billy bookcase. I found it off of craigslist for $20, brand new in a sealed box. Only problem was that it was white. It isnt melamine. The website says its a foil paper. Kyrlon sells a spray paint that is made for plastic and I would think it would stick better to it.

To waterproof it to the extent of cleaning wise, I just sanded down the surfaces that i was to paint with a very fine sand paper to take off the gloss of the 'foil paper' and give the primer something to grab hold of. I was recommended Kilz by someone here on the forum. I used the kilz2 latex primer as the can said low odor. I then coated the primer with black Krylon paint. I then applied a clear top coat by Krylon. Paint can and will chip off if you bang it against something. I just raked my long nails against the bookcase and no paint peels off. I believe it'll only peel off or chip if you have a spot where it didn't grab hold good. So make sure you sand between coats and especially before applying any primer or paint.

Here's the link to the bookcase I have.
Ikea Billy Bookcase

I also saw bookcases online on Walmart's and Target's website that were wide enough. Some come upto 5 sections high. After you find the width its all about how many units you can or want to make it. I also know that Target sells something by closetmaid I believe, that is big enough for 1 unit for like $30 I think.
 
blueturtle said:
It's a Billy bookcase. I found it off of craigslist for $20, brand new in a sealed box. Only problem was that it was white. It isnt melamine. The website says its a foil paper. Kyrlon sells a spray paint that is made for plastic and I would think it would stick better to it.

To waterproof it to the extent of cleaning wise, I just sanded down the surfaces that i was to paint with a very fine sand paper to take off the gloss of the 'foil paper' and give the primer something to grab hold of. I was recommended Kilz by someone here on the forum. I used the kilz2 latex primer as the can said low odor. I then coated the primer with black Krylon paint. I then applied a clear top coat by Krylon. Paint can and will chip off if you bang it against something. I just raked my long nails against the bookcase and no paint peels off. I believe it'll only peel off or chip if you have a spot where it didn't grab hold good. So make sure you sand between coats and especially before applying any primer or paint.

Here's the link to the bookcase I have.
Ikea Billy Bookcase

I also saw bookcases online on Walmart's and Target's website that were wide enough. Some come upto 5 sections high. After you find the width its all about how many units you can or want to make it. I also know that Target sells something by closetmaid I believe, that is big enough for 1 unit for like $30 I think.
Click to expand...


I think I know the one your talking about, Ive looked at it a few times, its 35 by 13 deep, it says its made out of "Constructed of engineered wood with Honey laminate finish" I didnt buy it because I wasnt sure If id be able to coat it with anything.
 
I looked at one of the bookcases in Walmart, its 5 shelf, 74 tall, 29 wide and 11 deep. Im not sure how much room my yearlings would have in it cause thats basically a 20 long.

Anyway....What I wanted to asked was what did you use to coat the inside?
 
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