Building Dexters new home - what materials?

[KapperDK]

Hey all,

I'm currently in the process of building a new home for my young skink and what I have noticed by now is that he really is a climber. If there's a wall, he wants to climb it. If there's a high pillow, he really REALLY wants to get to the top, usually taking the most steep way. So I'm thinking I should line one of the inside walls with something he could climb on also with some rocks or wood or something.

Do any of you have any recommendations about this? Besides not making him able to climb to the lamp and touch it.
What kind of lining would be the best for Dexter?

[Kya Ajiira]

lol like a jungle gymof some sort? they are not the best wood climbers but big rocks are funt o climb mine always goes on top of his rocky alike hide as for wall well =_= he tries but its glass so id be more worried if it was wood i dont want him to break claws and bleed =/

[Kya Ajiira]

make him a hamac!!!!!!!! lol XD or stairs but the opposit direction fromt he lamp? some hide like a 2 story high cage like they do for some rodents maybe just be careful it doesent fall on his or anything but i think someone here did soemthign similar well when he showed pics of the tank his skink has it was full of hides and climbing spots hum

[Zach]

How tall are you going to make the sides? Generally, you don't need anything on the actual walls...but plenty of things like stacked flat rocks and fake tree/plants are good for climbing.

[KapperDK]

About 19.7 inches height, 51.2 inches wide and 23.6 inches deep, so there should be room enough for building him a small mountain with a cave to hide in.. Should I do something with the rocks like glue them together or anything? Because it seems like he really wants to go everywhere where he can't, so I'm guessing a stile of rocks would be interesting for him to tear apart.

[Leigh]

Mate, I'd use clear silicone,it'll stick anthing together and would not deteriorate when it gets wet,if you need to clean it. try to use abrasive not really smoothe stone, it'll be a great way to keep the nails in order.

[KapperDK]

Abrasive stones like garden tiles or something like this:

[Kya Ajiira]

hum they look kinda huge hum. any more flat like rocks maybe

[Fatal_S]

That looks wonderfully abrasive. Very good for skink nails.

[Zach]

Yeah, just be sure they're secure, because he WILL discover and explore every nook and cranny -- would hate to have something collapse.

[KapperDK]

Yeah just my point Zach, he IS a nosy little bugger and if anything has got a crack in it he will sure enough try to get in there! So silicone between the rocks... oh it's going to be fun to get the rocks out of the tank when cleaning it..

Btw. a quick update! The tank is coming along excellent but when working 8am to 5pm monday to friday, it's hardly a lot of tank building I get done every night, but so far the tank is assembled, the outer edgeds and screw holes has been filled with wood filler, one area of ventilation left (so far 3 x 38 0.28 inch holes on the backside, 1 x 38 holes on the right side), I just picked up the custom made glass doors from the glazier today along with the glass rails. The exterior half shiny black paint is ready for action, as well as the interiour white paint. (any suggestions to other color paint for the inside before I go crazy with a paint brush this Sunday? ). I've also bought a couple of plastic plants for Dexter to climb around in and on but I think I'll need some more. My electrician is currently looking into getting some special lighting in there so I won't have to worry about hanging spot lights (gotta love how the "I do you a favour, you owe me!" thing works ).... I can't wait to get this 103 gallon tank finished, I personally believe it's going to be great! (also my first do-it-yourself project not going awfully wrong from the get go)...

Oh another thing.. In his current temporary tank, there are cork plates glued to 3 of the sides of the tank and I've noticed he really likes to try to stand upright (a skinko sapiens!!) using the walls as help... Should I give him same type of walls in the new tank or is there better materials than cork plates for this in your opinion?

[Leigh]

You dont want to encourage them to climb the walls,they can develop a permenant dent in the back or tail, depending on how long they spend upright , he'll have so much more space in the new tank I dont think you'l have to worry about it.If its made of wood,you could just varnish or stain it a good few times to seal it,I like the look of wood as a background.

[KapperDK]

Oh that's good to know.. I don't want him to have a dent on his back or tail...

The tank is made out of MDF, so it's not the prettiest wood look ever..

[Zach]

Instead of painting the inside, why don't you hang some snazzy forestry, jungly wallpaper! That's what we're doing for our wood interior.

[KapperDK]

Instead of painting the inside, why don't you hang some snazzy forestry, jungly wallpaper! That's what we're doing for our wood interior.

That's actual not a bad idea... hmmm..but how does the wallpaper stand the monthly (or so) cleaning? Doesn't it come off or loosens?

[Bird_Brain]

to my knowledge, wallpaper is usually very durable to cleanings.

[Tattoo]

I wonder if some sort of sticky back shelf liner would work. They are usually very sturdy and wipe up well.

[Leigh]

See if you can get some pictures/scenery laminated and stuck on,that'll make them water proof,another idea is use aquarium back drops they're normally made from plastic to start with.

[KapperDK]

Any of you know a reliable online seller of aquarium back drops?

[Tattoo]

I got mine from ebay. They have everything! Not sure about international shipping though.