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DIY foam backgrounds?

Kaleidescope_Eyes

Kaleidescope_Eyes

Reptilian Goddess
Hey my roomie found this great link on a guy on a beardie forum that made his own foam insert background. I was wondering if anyone has done this for their snakes and if I can see pics? It seems like a pretty common thing on that beardie forum...
 
Those look really good!

I did one for a fish tank. I had to make it water/fish safe, but it would be easier to do for a viv. I use polystyrene foam, carved it out with a dremel then used a heat gun on it. I then painted it with Krylon spray paint in a few different colors. To make it marine safe, I sealed the entire thing with silicone. I'm now using the tank for my viv and my corn seems to really enjoy crawling along the crevices. I'll post pics once I get them off my camera, but here are a few pics of it in the fish tank.

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Oh I like your underwater one! Why did you use a heat gun? And how much do you think it costs the both of you to make it? I'm really excited to make one with my roomie. =)
 
The only thing I had to pay for was the Foam and Silicone because the rest of the crap I had laying around. I would guess I spent like $30-50.
 
TripleMoonsExotic said:
The only thing I had to pay for was the Foam and Silicone because the rest of the crap I had laying around. I would guess I spent like $30-50.
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Ditto. I think the styro sheet was about $6, and I used 100% rubberized silicone from a Home Depot type place. For marine safety, I had to make sure there were no anti-mildew agents in it, but for about five tubes (I had a gun, but if you don't have one, that will cost extra) I'd say ~ $10. Then a few cans of spray paint at the craft store, about $2 ea. So for around $20 it was a pretty cheap project. Mine was very time-intensive, but to make one for a viv, you wouldn't need the whole curing process. I had to make sure it would stick and not pull away from the back of the tank while under water.

As for the heat gun...because I used a styro piece, using heat after carving it out melted down all the loose little pieces and gave it a nice "crinkled" look. I was trying to make it look as much like a cavern wall as I could.

Good luck with your project. I really like the above posted looks. I think whatever route you choose to take, you'll end up putting your own spin on it and making it look very unique. Be sure to take lots of pics! ;)
 
Hi!
I do foam backgrounds for all my vivs (except quarantine boxes of course, because they are easier to clean without), and I'd say my snakes use them very often fr climbing and resting so I'd always vote for structured backgrounds :)

Here is a thread where I wrote something about making a styrofoam background, perhaps it can help you:

http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65344 (Post #8 )

:)
 
Oh thanks Talinea, that did help! I love that frilled lizard bit! =) I think I might try this in a month when I get back from my vacation. I'll take pics for everyone! =)
 
Well am working on making an old china cabinet that i got off of craigslist for $25. I decided to try making a cool background for it out of the spray foam "great stuff". i looked online to see if anyone had tried it, but couldnt find anyone, so i decided to try it anyway. so i sprayed it on, carved it a little, and spray painted it with a textured spray paint. hope my pics work, it looks awsome i think.

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This ones of the foam before i carved and painted

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This one is the same section after carving and painting

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This is a shot down the whole thing.

I love how it came out, but im finding it a little small for my beardie, at about 10 inches deep.
 
I think it looks amazing! I've tried to use that Great Stuff, but I end up getting it all over me, my tools, everywhere and it's soooo sticky. What did you do? Lay it down and let it dry before carving it?

Looks really good!!
 
ya, i let it dry for about 4 hours, then started carving, but where it was deeper it still wasnt completely dry yet, so i let it sit for another 24 hours
 
TripleMoonsExotic said:
Yeah, you're not supposed to carve until it's dry. :nyah:
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Pffft! Smarty! ;)

I meant, when you spray the stuff out, do you just glob it on there or try to smooth it or what? I guess I was trying to "mold" it so it would dry the way I wanted it to look.

Guess I'll let it dry next time. :rolleyes:
 
LBoz said:
I meant, when you spray the stuff out, do you just glob it on there or try to smooth it or what? I guess I was trying to "mold" it so it would dry the way I wanted it to look.
Click to expand...

Well, as I'm sure you found out that's a bad way to do it. ;) If you look at my example (which lists the steps), I just put layers of the GS down and then carved it out after it was dry. I didn't have to do a lot of carving because I was covering up with a textured background, but some flat spaces and what not were added.
 
Lol okay good thing to note: let dry! Lol I can see that being messy. ;-) My roomate miraculously produced a 20 gal long that she had rats in for a month last year and she gave it to me for $15. So I am going to spruce it up and get to make a foam background sooner than I thought! =D
 
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