here is what i came up with

[vwsrcool]

I finished the setup of my 55 gallon tank, now i need to setup another because i just got a pair of red spotted garters, and i also added some green anoles to the cage, the snakes dont even bother to try to eat them
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k285/vwsrcool/novemberebay026.jpg

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k285/vwsrcool/novemberebay025.jpg
eastern het
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k285/vwsrcool/novemberebay027.jpg
albino checkered, california red spotted, regular red spotted
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k285/vwsrcool/novemberebay032.jpg

[vwsrcool]

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k285/vwsrcool/novemberebay021.jpg
albino checkered - above photo-

green anole
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k285/vwsrcool/novemberebay028.jpg
california red spotted
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k285/vwsrcool/novemberebay023.jpg
regular red spotted
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k285/vwsrcool/novemberebay030.jpg

[vwsrcool]

green anoles
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k285/vwsrcool/novemberebay029.jpg
eastern het
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k285/vwsrcool/novemberebay016.jpg

[abcat1993]

If you give a garter vertical space, will it use it? I also wanted to know how much that cost for all of the stuff in it.
By the way, nice tank!

[Thamnophis]

Looks very nice.
You will get some comment about adding the lizards :rolleyes:

I kept in the past some Ruin lizards (Podarcis sicula) together with a number of gartersnakes and this went well.
The lizards often sat on top of the snakes because they were closer to the lights in that way :)

[abcat1993]

The lizards often sat on top of the snakes because they were closer to the lights in that way :)
Sounds like a great way for a snake to pretend it's a crocodile:o .

[Cazador]

Hi Tom,
Nice use of the Realtree hardwoods as a background. The whole thing looks great, and it looks like they're all over that enclosure, checking it out :).
Rick

[Thamnophis]

Hi Tom,
Nice use of the Realtree hardwoods as a background. The whole thing looks great!
Rick

What is Realtree hardwood?

[abcat1993]

Where can you find those backgrounds? I would rather not order online though.

[Cazador]

It's the camouflage pattern (paper) that he put behind the tank to give it the appearance of a woodland environment. A lot of hunters use that design on clothes to conceal themselves while in the woods.

[abcat1993]

I know but can you get it without it being on clothing or guns or other hunting equipment. The turkey blind I was hunting in had some plastic, camoufage pattern on it, but 1) I have no idea where to get it
2) It didn't look that good either, not like that background. But I could give it a shot, its better than nothing

[Thamnophis]

It's the camouflage pattern (paper) that he put behind the tank to give it the appearance of a woodland environment. A lot of hunters use that design on clothes to conceal themselves while in the woods.

Thanks. I do not think the sell this in Holland.
I´ve never seen it here.
Looks nice!

[Cazador]

Abcat,
I know you don't want to shop online, but I have no idea where you could find camouflaged paper like Tom used. I looked online for about 10 minutes at Realtree Camo - Family, Friends and the Outdoors (http://www.realtree.com), but I didn't find something that you like. They have many styles.

[abcat1993]

It's not that I won't shop online at all, I just don't like the fact that you have to pay for shipping and you don't get to look at the product real well. I did a search and will do more on this. I guess that I could get wrapping paper

[ssssnakeluvr]

good thing they don't bother the lizards....wandering garters will chow down! I had a large female eat 4 side blotch lizards I had in a cage with her.... They were to be fed to some night snakes I had, but she ate them.....

[Stefan-A]

Very nice setup, vwsrcool. I'm impressed.

That camo would be difficult to find in any usable form, but I once considered using Rasterbator* and take a suitable background picture myself.


* "The Rasterbator is an application which creates rasterized versions of images. The rasterized images can be printed and assembled into enormous (or smaller, if you prefer) posters."

[vwsrcool]

Im glad you like it. to my suprise the really do enjoy climbing arround on the branches. they can get a little closer to the heat lamps that way also. I try not to spend alot decorating the cages. I will go out in the woods to get rocks and branches, I clean them very good with hot water and clorox bleach, then rinse them well, then let them sit for a few days before using them. I try not to buy the artificial plants from the pet shop, I go to craft stores for that, the plants are dirt cheap! when i get my next 55 gallon setup i will post photos for you all!

[vwsrcool]

oh yeah ,I forgot about the camaflouge. Its cardboard with real tree printed on it, It was used at a beer store for a busch beer hunting display, i asked if i could have it, so i cut the camoflauge print off and taped it to the back of the cage.

[Stefan-A]

It seems we do things pretty much the same way. I get my rocks and branches from the woods (damned if I'm going pay a store for something like that), although I usually clean them either by throwing them in the oven (for an hour or so) or in the sauna (about 4 hours). Wood starts burning at around 300 Celcius, but 100-150 C is more than enough to kill anything that might otherwise cause problems. Before that, I usually might let the branches dry for a month or so, which usually allows whatever insects still inhabiting it to eject themselves. Once I didn't do it, and as a result, I had a few hundred dead ants lying around the sauna.

Craft stores really are much better sources, they have much cheaper artificial plants and the plants usually look more realistic, too.