Terrarium build question

[nighthawk]

I plan on making a terrarium out of an armoire for my whites tree frog. I was wandering if anybody has some tips or advice on making a whites tree frog terrarium. Also i would like to use clay as the background but I have read mixed reviews on using clay instead of great stuff foam.
Here is the plans i'm going to use http://wayneofthewoods.com/armoire.html. I am going to line the inside with plexiglass and instead of having the door be solid wood i'm going to give them plexiglass inserts.

[nighthawk]

I shall post pictures of the frog terrarium when I begin the build process sometime in July. It should look pretty cool when it is all done with at the end of the summer.

[flybyferns]

I shall post pictures of the frog terrarium when I begin the build process sometime in July. It should look pretty cool when it is all done with at the end of the summer.

This will be lots of fun to follow .
Please continue to post photos.
Good luck and have fun !! What a lucky frog . And room for some tank mates. Of course !

[nighthawk]

I have picked up this hutch as the beginnings of my terrarium build this summer

[mrzoggs]

very nice. i will follow this. i am sort of doing the same thing with my glass curio cabinet. im making a rain chamber. good luck! i will more than likely be using GS foam.

[Deac77]

I'm excited to see how this will turn out

[mrzoggs]

im excited for you. this will be my first build. im using this.



its about 5' tall. maybe a couple inches taller. for now im working on closing the gaps around the door. PM me if you have any questions. dendroboard.com has helped a lot also. Read around on that website if ya want.

[nighthawk]

My biggest question is how to make the background out of great stuff and make it look like a real habit with ledges and places for plants to grow.

[mrzoggs]

so i typed in a ton of stuff....then website is not responding........anyways lets try again.

clean off the glass
small layer of black silicone for GS foam to stick to.
Let it all dry. its easier for GS foam to stick to silicone.
squirt in all your GS foam (make sure you wear gloves and preferably long sleeves and safety glasses) it gets messy
After you squirt it in and let it all dry, carve it with razorblades however you want.
then squirt another layer of black silicone over top the GS foam
while the silicone is still wet, smash peat moss or eco earth or whatever mixture you want into the black silicone.
vacuum up any loose pieces. also hold the vacuum about an inch away from the wall you made just to make sure no loose pieces are up there.

also, if you want water dishes or rocks or anything, stick them to the silicone then GS foam around it to hold it in place.

also google "great stuff foam backgrounds" or something along those lines. plenty of tutorials.

[nighthawk]

Does anyone have any thoughts on using glass mirrors in a terrarium for the sides with decorations on them to help disguise them in the cage.

[Treesniffer]

I thought about using the glass bookcase from Ikea but it too has gaps. DETOLF Glass-door cabinet - black-brown - IKEA I want it to look nice, but unsure how to close those gaps without it looking tacky. Weatherstripping came to mind, but I'm thinking that might look too obvious. Perhaps by going to the auto glass store and having them cut long thin strips and bevel the edges, I might be able to silicon glue it to area around door. Just thinking out loud. No solution yet.

[mrzoggs]

tape wax paper all the way around the door that has the gap. wax side up. then for the gap squirt clear silicone all the way through it til its completly closed. let it dry. slide out the wax paper. now the gap should be a lot more closed than it was.

[Treesniffer]

I have a mirror glued to my horizontal turned vertical viv. I love the look. It opens up the area visually. I was concerned my Copes Grey Tree Frogs would jump into the mirror, mistaking it for openness but that has never been the case. I don't know how they know, but they know it not an open area. The mirror also helps to reflect light and stimulate growth for the plants in the viv and the mirrored reflection of the plants makes viv look lush and deep.

Does anyone have any thoughts on using glass mirrors in a terrarium for the sides with decorations on them to help disguise them in the cage.

[Treesniffer]

Oh, almost forgot. I didn't glue the mirror to the side of the viv; that would have shown up and looked messy. I used clear, heavy duty tape along the mirror edges and taped mirror to the viv. Not sure tape has to be clear. Heavy duty duct tape might work just as well if it doesn't extent beyond frame of viv where it would be seen.