[kyleh04]

So after my prior thread discussing my two female R. Imitator's fighting, I've decided to build out a new, larger setup to see if that eliminates the issues. Since I can't figure out the locale that they are, I can't try and get a breeding pair, I really don't have any other option. The build is going to be based on a 24" x 18" x 24" exo-terra.

A while back I picked up this really cool artificial stump from Petco. It's super realistic, and hollow. I cut out the top and bottom of it. I added eggcrate to the bottom, and will add window screen to it next. My plan is to fill it up (including the roots) with ABG mix. Then I'll have some plants and leaf litter on the top of it, to give the frogs a bit of a shelf, landing area. Then, I can also drill holes in the roots, and plant ferns or bromeliads.

For the background, I plan on doing a great stuff base, with DIY roots, using this amazing build as inspiration: Pics my new constructed vivarium

I'm thinking of only doing a background on the back and right side, and leaving the left side open. So you can view the stump as the centerpiece, almost like a corner tank.

Here's the rough layout for how the stump will sit in the enclosure:

Using a standard eggcrate false bottom, already drilled the bulkhead in the back right corner:

 

[thegeminijungle]

How's this build going? Excited to the progress you've made... The tree trunk is really cool!

 

[kyleh04]

Yes! Some good progress.

I drilled a bulkhead in the back corner to make draining the tank much easier. I then siliconed fiberglass window screen on the eggcrate for the false bottom and inside the tree stump. I've had issues with substrate getting into the drainage layer before, so I made sure to silicone all edges to prevent this. To protect the frogs from hurting themselves on the underside of the screen on the stump, I attached some burlap to it with silicone. To make sure water can drain from the stump, I drilled holes on all of the "roots".

Before starting on the background, I siliconed the stump to the glass in the corner. For the background I decided to use great stuff, the black pond version. To make sure it adhered, I first siliconed some extra eggcrate to the glass on the two sides. I then applied a couple of layers of foam to each side. Then using a razor blade I carved it as best as I could, giving it interesting texture.

The last thing I did for this update was to paint the background using tinted drylok paint. I used standard acrylic paint to tint it. I started with a mostly black base layer, then progressively used lighter browns to just paint the highlights. I also touched up some of the log to make it a bit more realistic.

Next step is going to be to add some coco fiber to specific areas of the background and log, as well as start the very intimidating process of building out the vines to add them to the background!

 

[ocboat]

That looks great. Looking forward to seeing the rest of your build.

 

[thegeminijungle]

The progress is looking great! I’ll be keeping an eye out for updates on this build. I have a feeling this is going to turn out really great