Mega enclosure (long term project)...

[Rushthezeppelin]

So I've been thinking in my head for a while how I want to build my eventual large enclosure for females. This thing is probably going to be 4'-5' wide and two foot tall and deep and will come with a waterfall and large pool with shallow end for hunting fish.

Went ahead and pulled the trigger though on some styrofoam and got busy shaping for at least one part of the project, the hot side structure. Basically this is going to be an elevated shelf with a small cave underneath for shelter. So far I've already figured out a few nifty tricks in working with this stuff. Got a hotknife for the general shaping but then I've found a combo of scooping with a spoon and finishing off those sections with a lighter can do some really cool stuff with sculpting the foam.

Here's what I have so far after only about an hour and a half of work:
http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n640/Rushthezeppelin/6275AAB2-4DBA-4CBB-9B80-4A67DC159D3A.jpg
http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n640/Rushthezeppelin/4E0B6066-5253-4B85-89B5-5EB50F2AB067.jpg
http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n640/Rushthezeppelin/A5B01B91-8FD0-4E30-9DB2-1DF020AA0306.jpg
http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n640/Rushthezeppelin/1BF4849B-D7F7-4484-8885-2A28AC3CC512.jpg
http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n640/Rushthezeppelin/BE3F8AC3-0171-45A6-BC0F-04E1EB4E7E38.jpg

My idea from here is to put a bit of a winding ramp up the left side for them to get up on. Also contemplating putting a tunnel from the top down into the cave but I'm not sure about doing that as sealing it would be a royal pain. Back is also going to have a hide built into it, this whole thing is basically modeled on my local limestone and there are lots of pockets on some of the cliffs out here with small openings but big interiors. So basically that's what I'm going to try and recreate in the backdrop on this. I will leave the hole big enough to be able to stick my hand down in case I need to get a snake out of there but it will open up inside.

BTW this whole piece will be about 1'6"x1'6".

Whatchall think so far?

[Albert Clark]

Sounds great! Fantastic craftsmanship.

[Rushthezeppelin]

Sounds great! Fantastic craftsmanship.

I'm normally not that artistic but for some reason using a lighter, spoon and hotknife as my brushes and styrofoam as my canvas I seem to actually have a bit of talent. I honestly didn't think it was going to be this easy but that lighter trick saved me a ton of time fine tuning. I can do alot with just the lighter alone. It's really good too for blending the seams of the sheets together too.

[d_virginiana]

Looks neat. What are you using to color/seal it? Just curious, I've never made any custom pieces like that before.

[Rushthezeppelin]

Going to grout over the foam, then I think I've seen recommendations of using acrylic paint topped with a few coats of acrylic sealant. There's a guy online who makes some amazing waterfalls that I've been more or less following his guidelines.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCdDSOT3hu4

[Tommytradix]

rickymar81 makes great stuff maybe he can give you a few pointers

[Rushthezeppelin]

More progress:
http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n640/Rushthezeppelin/2BA7F841-5D72-4B23-8375-E3C4E268A6F9.jpg
http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n640/Rushthezeppelin/7D2D2A44-7AC3-4852-A0E3-49F323146818.jpg
http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n640/Rushthezeppelin/C0DFB6E6-F73F-49C7-A2FA-4E1E9E0B646A.jpg

[Albert Clark]

Very nice work.

[Rushthezeppelin]

http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n640/Rushthezeppelin/3A2F5685-9EFA-4A30-A086-564BA7FD6F2E.jpg

[Rushthezeppelin]

Still not sure the exact logistics on the back. It's going to be composed of two 2" thick sections and I'm going to hollow out the interior to pretty comfy proportions even for a full grown female (maybe two I got alot of room to work with). As of right now I'm thinking of making the back removable so that I can clean inside the hide. Right now I'm thinking of having wooden dowels being at each corner used to align and more or less hold that back section in place. Just not sure how much thickness the grout is going to add so I don't know how much tolerance I need to give for the parts to fit together properly in the end.

[d_virginiana]

Not related to the enclosure, but since you're thinking about getting her a friend, what species are you looking at? Sorry if you've mentioned it before and I just forgot :p

[Rushthezeppelin]

I'm extremely interested in those Achromatic Radix actually. I figure they should play nice.

[rickymar81]

http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n640/Rushthezeppelin/3A2F5685-9EFA-4A30-A086-564BA7FD6F2E.jpg
that is looking sick! Can't wait to see the finished product

[rickymar81]

You should have the cave part as your water feature. Make the water come out of there. That's would be awesome.

[Rushthezeppelin]

My water feature will have a cave under it. The waterfall will go off the lip of the cave. I betcha it would create a nice naturalish humid hide.

[Rushthezeppelin]

More work done on the hide background......more like a lair than a hide lol The purple foam board will be the removable back plate for cleaning and adding moss if humidity is needed (and maybe fishing out stubborn snakes).
http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n640/Rushthezeppelin/5D4D746A-D2FB-4F00-B28F-C7481480EEC1.jpg
http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n640/Rushthezeppelin/D3D112ED-52C5-4F78-B608-E46AAC72D77F.jpg

[slipknot711]

this is great. i look forward to seeing the finished project

[Fly0x]

Wow, I wish I was that skilled

[Rushthezeppelin]

Wow, I wish I was that skilled

I'm telling you it takes no skill at all. If you knew me you would know that I'm hardly artistically inclined. I blame all that work on my Bic. Just scoop out random chunks with a spoon and finish it with a quick pass from a lighter. Get a nice wand lighter though and not a bic.

[Simland]

That looks awesome.

I'm curious, though, is foam something that is often used for terrarium furniture? I'd be worried about off-gassing (especially in the basking area) and about plastic molecules finding their way into the water (same thing that happens when you reuse a none reusable water bottle). Or does the sealant take care of that.

This is exactly the kind of project I'd like to do, at some point.

[Rushthezeppelin]

Ya proper sealing keeps it from offgassing. I plan on sealing with drylock when I get around to finishing that piece (I've got too many things on my plate ><). There are plenty of people who have been using it in the koi ponds for a long time. Just make sure it cures for a week and there is no gassing and it's completely waterproof. You can also cover foam in silicone and pat eco earth on it. You can do this with both sytrofoam and the great stuff brand spray foams.

[Simland]

Thanks for the info.