DIY Fake Wood...the cheap way!

[SludgeMunkey]

Yeah...it is fun to dream though...thanks for the information!

I am going to sleep for about 30 hours now...

[frogandtoad]

Goodness Gracious Johnny! How did you work that magic?

[SludgeMunkey]

I admit, I did these over the last week during downtime at work (gotta do something when there is nothing to fix at the shop- think Maytag man!). I had made one last year as an experiment from a piece of scrap. It was not very good. Last week, we had a small electrical fire that warped a piece of PVC pipe for a industrial gluing system. The pipe sagged and bent. It hit me like a ton of bricks...Use a torch to bend the pipe, then carve it up!

My Hyla chysoscelis were suffering a bit due to a lack of hides a suitable branches to roost on, so I went and bought a piece of PVC and took it to work. These were the end result.

Hopefully tonight I can try my hand at painting one up. A double split shift on short notice really screwed up my Vivaria hobby plans the last few days.

[SludgeMunkey]

Here are some more pieces to examine:

These are made from 6 inch PVC. Only thing different on these is a coating of epoxy based texture. These peices are on commission, so this is a an excellent surface prep for painting. (I haven't painted the original branches yet as they are currently inhabited by some very happy Hyla chrysoscelis...and the little buggers do not want to come out of them when the lights are on!)

And here they are again with the first few coats of paint:

[John]

Fantastic as usual, but it's hard to get a sense of scale from those - what size are they? Can you put something like a ruler in the photos? If I were keeping warm-loving toads in with those, I would be concerned that the dark colour would absorb a lot of heat so they wouldn't be inviting hiding places. Are they short enough to fit sideways in a 10 gallon? A 20?

[Wambli]

how much for one that my bullfrog could get into... I would think a 4" pipe... 6" long... how much would you charge... they look great

[SludgeMunkey]

how much for one that my bullfrog could get into... I would think a 4" pipe... 6" long... how much would you charge... they look great

Send me a PM, sorry about the delay, last week was an epic overtime week a t work for me.



Also, here are the "scale" pictures I promised, of the 6 inch diameter half logs.

That's a female Bufo nebulifer in the log hide. She is just over 6 inches long nose to vent...


And not to be out done, the males get to try them out too. Sure enough, they like "tree holes"...


The male visible is about 4.5 inches nose to vent. (John, that is the biggest of the males there.)

Since these logs have been exposed to my critters, I am in process of making more of this type over the next couple of weeks. The two inch branch style are in the works too- I am still a bit swamped at the moment.

[SludgeMunkey]

Fantastic as usual, but it's hard to get a sense of scale from those - what size are they? Can you put something like a ruler in the photos? If I were keeping warm-loving toads in with those, I would be concerned that the dark colour would absorb a lot of heat so they wouldn't be inviting hiding places. Are they short enough to fit sideways in a 10 gallon? A 20?

I'll post some "scale" pictures when I return home from work. This batch of 11 pieces ranges from about ten inches to 18 inches.

I too thought of the color issue, however, once the painting is finished they will be much lighter in color. You make a valid point though...I will do some testing in different set ups and lighting with a IR thermometer.