Magellan's Home

I upgraded Magellan from his 40 gal breeder to a custom enclosure that i built...heres the step by step pix of the process materials that i used to make this are: * 1/2 inch thick sheets of styrofoam (i also had a few extra pieces that were much thicker too but u can just stack several pieces together and glue them) * non sanded tile grout (can be premade or the kind in the bag u gotta mix i used both) *great stuff for gaps and cracks (foam in a can) * several paint brushes of diff sizes * 2 empty spray bottles * liquid nails and a caulking gun * acrylic paint (i used burnt umber) * mod podge 100% nontoxic sealer (can be bought in any craft store) i did this over the course of a week but it can b brought down to a couple days depending how much work u put into it per day...what you gotta do basically is design how u want it and cut it out and then glue it in place where you want it with the liquid nails...on a side note you can also pull away at the edges to give a more natural look to it instead of all straight edges and/or you can use the great stuff to add more foam in weaker spots to add support or a wild abstract edge or rock formation...but then once your done gluing things down you need to let it dry overnight and on the second day you can start grouting...the 1st layer should be extremely watery and with each layer (i used 5 layers) it should get thicker and thicker until the last layer is almost clay like but still being able to brush the grout on with the paintbrush...you can go about painting it 2 ways....you can tint the grout with the acrylic paint or you can just buy the grout in a color you want or you can just paint it after the grout dries over night, which i did...in order to paint the grout i took a empty spray bottle and added paint and some water and sprayed everything down and applied 6 coats letting it dry in 20 min intervals...i also took some black acrylic paint and did a very faint dry sponge technique to put some darker accents on the "rock" i let that dry overnight as well and the last day i sealed everything with mod podge...i put that in a spray bottle and added water and applied the sealant just like i did with the paint and added 6 coats and let it dry every 20 min b4 i added another coat i let that cure for 48 hours before i put my dragon in and there ya go!

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• bearded
• dragon
• enclosure
• custom
• Magellan

[DinamiteLizard]

WOW! You've inspired me to posibly do something like that for a future reptile of mine! SO COOL! 

[civicgrl88]

@DinamiteLizard Glad you liked it. It was a lot of fun to do

[tdizzle10]

why did you use tile.. i dont think your dragon is indigenous to a bathroom. you shoulda used great stuff foam on top of the Styrofoam, it would have given a more rocky look, then put that mortar or w.e it is on top of the GS foam.

[civicgrl88]

yes i used tile because im one of the people who dont like to use particle substrate for the fear of impaction and them just being plain unsanitarty...the tile holds heat well is easy to clean and my dragon doesnt mind it at all...but as far as the suggestions on the rock wall stuff thanx...this was my 1st one so i wasnt expectin it to be perfect

[tdizzle10]

oh, but yeh, using the great stuff foam next time would look way cooler because it sets all bumpy and looks like real rock once you put the mortar onto it.

[civicgrl88]

i actually used a bit of great stuff on this enclosure but not too much since i never used it...i made a couple lil decorations using it nd they turned out pretty good

[avoidthegreat]

@civicgrl88 the tile looks so much better anyway

[neoContraVo]

wow when i wanna waste some time ill do the same.

[civicgrl88]

thanx =]

[civicgrl88]

i got the tiles from home depot for $8 and i even had left over tile to tile my other beardie tanks...you can use any tile for a house that has some texture to it so your lizard doesnt slip everywhere...i also smashed my tiles on the ground and did it mosaic style