# 18"x18"x24" Gargoyle Terrarium



## Deer (Sep 28, 2013)

So after a year or two of lurking on here I've decided to start my own build thread!

I'll be using an 18"x18"x24" exo terra and will be housing my subadult male gargoyle gecko. I want to have plenty of arboreal space for him to use as they are rarely found on the ground and have been rifling through many build threads with some form of fake tree or branch structure for inspiration.

I'd like to end up with something resembling this








Apologies for no credit, it came from pinterest 

I'm planning to use many hardy but small or micro plants such as anubias petite, peperomia and various mosses (gargs like to throw themselves at branches), along with possibly micro orchids depending on what I can get my paws on. All planted on a mix of cork bark branches, epiweb branches and a hygrolon background.


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## Deer (Sep 28, 2013)

This is the progress so far. 
I'm planning to use the polystyrene you can see here as a base for the structure of the "tree" before using expanding foam for the both the rough shape and the tank background. 
I have a whole load of cork bark pieces including a few branches, but should I silicone seal the expanding foam background and then attach these rather than sinking them into the foam? The reason being I can see them wicking water into the foam and causing it to start collapsing a few months down the line!


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## Friggy_frogger (Aug 24, 2014)

Won't gargoyles trample the plants?


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## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

Water should not collapse the expanding foam.

A good bet would be to simply use an eggcrate frame and glue it with expanding foam/silicone. Black filter floss is also a good bet...I think you will get better plant growth this way rather than with Styrofoam. You will want as much root space as possible for large leaved and sturdy plants that you will want for the gargoyle gecko.

Also, a fair warning is that realistically you will see very little of the gecko in the daytime...at least in my experience with these guys and natural setups. In fact, you will see very little of them at night unless they are hungry-they are not very active at all and tend to just come out and perch on a nice vantage point...then retreat to a hiding place by morning. I think a pair(either MF or two females) would work well in a tank this size...you could possibly get away with a trio but risk the male in particular getting bullied. They will likely trample any delicate plants however. There is a good reason why species such as Phelsuma are often preferred for such elaborate setups.


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## FroggyKnight (Mar 14, 2013)

I agree with dendrobait, your garg will not be very visible in a naturalistic viv. He will also trample smaller plants easily, ESPECIALLY any micro orchids. Those are generally not very resilient to physical abuse, even though they are really fun to grow. 

Some good plants that I think could work for gargs include: Alocasia spp., Philodendron spp., Pothos, some Peperomias spp., some Neoregelia spp. and Fittonia spp.

John


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

Where did you get the black egg crate?


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## Pubfiction (Feb 3, 2013)

Various reef suppliers carrier the black egg crate for their frags. 

Black Egg Crate for Aquariums - Bulk Reef Supply


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## Deer (Sep 28, 2013)

Ah thats good to hear, using the unsealed foam to place the cork bark on has been my biggest worry! 

What would the purpose of the egg crate be, apart from a frame? Will it provide more support than the styrofoam? Tell me more 
I was planning to use the styrofoam only to mock up a rough tree frame and then cover it in expanding foam to mould the shape a bit more and top it all off with silicone and coir/moss mix and hygrolon in places.

I've kept him in a basic live planted setup for the past year and I've seen (heard rather!) a fair amount of the wee guy, but I know I'm not likely to see him much. It doesn't bother me as I'm a bit mad about plants anyway, keeping several planted aquariums over the years!
He's only little at the moment so I reckon I could get away with a few small plants, but I maybe won't go all out on them until he's settled in and I can see how much of a plant destroyer he becomes... I'm wanting mainly moss along the "tree", nothing better than lush moss growth!

Edit:
Thanks John for the plant suggestions! I definitely want peperomia spp in there, and some of the pictures neoregelia on a quick search look amazing as well. I wasn't even thinking about broms (they are broms right?) in there but actually they would look gorgeous if placed in small groups... 

Keep suggesting plants if you have ideas - people are ALWAYS looking for suitable gargoyle plants


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## empire3569 (Apr 4, 2014)

I spent the summer setting up a live viv for my crested gecko, and I know they are very similar. Some plants species that will work well: ferns (rabbits foot, button, korean rock fern) peperomias, pileas ("moon valley", "friendship", "creeping charlie", snake plant is another great choice (doesnt really look the best in a live viv, but your gecko will love it) and tillandsias, which are related to bromeliads. Pothos and wandering jew are good hardy plants, but I personally dislike them as the grow fast/big and can overcrowd your tank. As far as trampling, if you let the plants acclimate and grow for a couple months before you move him in, you shouldn't have any issues with the above plants; my crested hasn't killed any of mine. If you have any questions feel free to ask, its nice to see other people making live vivs for their geckos!


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## Deer (Sep 28, 2013)

Yeah, I think pretty much apart from size of some terrariums their housing needs are the same.
Thanks for the suggestions, I don't really fancy that snake plant at all! I had a few broms in my last tank that he seemed to enjoy sleeping in (!) so maybe they will work instead. I think I have a houseplant wandering jew growing out of my fish tank, a purple species? Its flowerinng at the moment and looks gorgeous so a few cuttings will definitely be going in! Hopefully I can handle the trimming... 
This project probably won't be getting worked on until the 10/11 November as thats the next time I have a few days off work!

Quick question in the meantime - Do you guys normally seal the false bottom to its supports or leave it loose so it can be pulled up later on?


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## Deer (Sep 28, 2013)

So a little while later...
































Cat for scale.
































I've applied a moss mix to the hygrolon and am just waiting for plants to arrive so I can plant it all up!


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## oldlady25715 (Nov 17, 2007)

Lookin good. Did you include a hole to get water out of the false bottom? You'll also need a glass lid to keep humidity high if you want the plants to look like the ones in the pic.


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## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

I've actually had better luck with plants in full screen topped tanks.you definitely dont want glass with the gecko.


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## Deer (Sep 28, 2013)

There's plastic tubing hidden in the front corner of the tank so I can siphon the water out.
I've been debating with myself about whether to change out the screen top for acrylic, but like Dendrobait says screen is really more appropriate for geckos as they like the humidity to drop in between mistings. I was thinking to replace half the screen with acrylic, more so I can place the canopy on top of this so it doesn't come into contact with the rain system I plan on installing eventually. Hopefully this will keep the tank just humid enough for the gecko as well as they like it to range between 80-40.
I think the post has just brought some plants for me, so off to check it out!


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## carola1155 (Sep 10, 2007)

NEHerp offers gecko plant packages. The website lists the contents so you can at minimum use them as a guide for what to buy. 

http://www.neherpetoculture.com/geckoplants

Mike breeds gargoyles and he has given me a lot of guidance on how to plant the terrarium for my girlfriend's gecko. I bought most of the plants in that kit and they have been working out well for me so far.


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## Deer (Sep 28, 2013)

Thanks Carola!
Sadly I'm in the UK, so I can't order from that link - but that's so helpful for creating a plant list to order over here! Looks like I'm on the right track at the moment, might have to sacrifice the multiple micro orchid idea, but maybe a few here and there might survive!


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## Jessyaphrodite (Nov 22, 2014)

Greetings from Costa Rica... I'm Just planning to make a Lil paludarium, Just looking for inspiraciÃ³n... Already did some aquarium backgrownd projects, and Im familiar with orchids and some parasite plant, Just want to start with plants first and a small waterfall incide... Will update with pictures later and Its nice to know about this link...

Have a nice one


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## Deer (Sep 28, 2013)

Ordered a few plants last night, not a lot (but I get paid on Friday so perhaps more to come  )

Pleurothallis Grobyi (couldn't resist - this is the absolute cutest orchid!)
Ficus Panama
Neoregelia "fireball" (orginally asked for callisia repens but the shop was out of stock!)

Currently I have peperomia prostrata, anubias nana and a few staurogyne repens cuttings. Also a few tradescantia fluminensis cuttings in a glass of water waiting for them to start growing roots before placing. I also have some more brown silicone on the way to coat some plastic rope with in order to create liana vines - the epiweb branch especially could do with some extra support from a bouncing gargoyle when he gets allowed in the tank!

































Could that be the moss starting to green up?


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## Deer (Sep 28, 2013)

Disaster! The plants I ordered have been delayed due to one of them being out of stock! I'm going to be so bored over the weekend with nothing to fiddle around with!
In the meantime I've added some diy liana vines, and what do you think of the possible second branch placement? I think it would add some shade for plants ( as there will be a second jungle dawn led in the canopy ) and give the garg some more space to bounce about.
Should I add a few more straggly vines also?


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## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

In habitat photos in the wild a lot of gargs are resting in tree hollows in vertical trunks-that might be replicated in the wild.

Also, at night in the wild(and in captivity if given the chance sometimes) they will perch perpendicular on a thin horizontal branch in ambush pose. You can look up the paper on wild R. auriculatus if you wish it has some habitat photos for inspiration.


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## carola1155 (Sep 10, 2007)

Dendrobait said:


> In habitat photos in the wild a lot of gargs are resting in tree hollows in vertical trunks-that might be replicated in the wild.
> 
> Also, at night in the wild(and in captivity if given the chance sometimes) they will perch perpendicular on a thin horizontal branch in ambush pose. You can look up the paper on wild R. auriculatus if you wish it has some habitat photos for inspiration.


Yup... that's basically how mine behaves...

He hangs out during the day nestled between a couple pieces of cork.

At night, he hangs upside down from the bottom of a branch right over top of his feeding dish.


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## Deer (Sep 28, 2013)

Update time 
Havent had much time to work on this, added some bolbitis I had lying around and that's about it! 
Gargoyle is also living it up in there! Seems to love it, also supplies endless amusement for the cats! 
























































I need to get me a cheapy slr, anything better than this iphone! Tank looks so much better in real life!
Recently gotten into the Borneo species bucephalandra - does anyone have any experience? Should I chuck it in here? Or just keep it for the aquarium!
As always, plant suggestions welcome - I'm becoming a plant junkie


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## Deer (Sep 28, 2013)

Quick updates again! Trying to keep up to date on my various tanks so I can track progress.

Bought this as N.Fireball - seems to be reacting to the light finally, nice pink middle firing up under the jungle dawns.








This was sold to me also as a n.fireball, but I reckon it has some grape/purple in it as it isn't pinking up - rather the whole thing seems to be gradually turning dark dark purple!
















Moss is starting to really take off! Ugh so glad, moss is simply gorgeous!








Some bolbitis and gorgeous new peperomia shoots
















Sold to me as a Grobyi Orchid, but again not convinced! I'll post pics when it's started (hopefully!) blooming for further id








I've forgotten what this is, oh dear. A ground dwelling brom?  but it's turning lovely red which if gorgeous 








Some of the peperomia's new growth








New aquarium plant growth! 
















Also some new ficu growth (or another plant?)! Woohoo


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## FroggyKnight (Mar 14, 2013)

Wow! That tank is looking great! It will look amazing once the plants grow in even more.

The terrestrial bromeliad is a Cryptanthus bivittatus

John


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## syndicate383 (May 20, 2015)

Hey, I've been lurking around here for awhile checking out some good builds on this site. I want to do this with my tank, for a cresty. Have any updated pics on how this has filled out?


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## alogan (Jan 7, 2013)

Looks awesome! Like the design a lot!


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