# Unusual Themes in Terrariums?



## Regan (Oct 30, 2007)

I was wondering if anyone's had a "theme" to their terrariums they'd like to share (I remember seeing a Transylvarium one). If you do could you post a picture?

I'm asking because I have one last boring tank to convert to a terrarium, and my friends are giving me a hard time because of a statue I've had in the current one for a long time. The statue... well, ahem... it came with a Karma Sutra book I got at my bachelorette party. Yeah, and I've been told I have to have it in the new vivarium, somehow someway. So I am sketching ideas for a "Garden of Earthly Delights" theme and have bought some decorative tile that I want to break and age, and maybe get some living moss growing on it. I may have to face my fear of dealing with grout and mortar to get the stone look I need.

But it got me to thinking if anyone else has had a little creative fun with their vivs. I'll try to post my sketch when I get a nice one drawn.

Thanks!


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## xm41907 (Nov 26, 2007)

Regan,

your idea for a garden of earthly delights sounds cool. i think creativity in designs is wonderful. post some concept drawings or pics if you have any. I, myself am currently designing a mayan wall terrarium. here is a link to my ideas, let me know what you think. 

http://www.dendroboard.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=34929&highlight=

Best of luck!

James


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## the Dregs (Dec 16, 2007)

http://www.dendroboard.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=34977

This one is kind of out there. I am curious to see if it works out.


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## Regan (Oct 30, 2007)

I'll post some drawing soon, I kinda want to watercolor them, they'll be neat to have when the viv's done.

Anyway, here's a sneak peak at the wonderful statue I have to work with, get ready to fog up those monitors :? 










I love the Mayan example! holy cow! no, wait that's hindu... ooo! Is Karma Sutra hindu?


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## xm41907 (Nov 26, 2007)

Regan,


Isn't it Kama Sutra, not Karma Sutra? It's Indian Hindu. Thanks for complement on my design concept. I'm not too sure how best to go about it. I might end up giving in on this viv and hold it off until my third viv. I plan to get some scrap styrofoam and try building the wall first. If it goes well, then I will prob finish it out. If not, then I'll prob go with a more traditional background with maybe a statue or something. Best of luck with yours, looking forward to seeing the end result!

James


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## Regan (Oct 30, 2007)

xm41907 said:


> Regan,
> 
> 
> Isn't it Kama Sutra, not Karma Sutra?
> ...


Hahaha! Oh, I know that, but the holiday's turned my brain to mush! that cracks me up  Yes, and I'll be putting in a Karma-karma-karma-karma-karma-chameleon in it. He'll come and go... he'll come and go-o-o-o...

ah, man... Shitake mushrooms, I did it twice! Argh!
that cost me some intellectual points there


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## Regan (Oct 30, 2007)

Here's my sketch:











planning for it being half sand (on right) and half layered substrate. My leopard gecko likes bedding in sand, but likes to explore over land, too. Thinking I'll have a succulent of some kind on the gravel/sand side, and a creeping fern, African violet and a brom on the soil side. Also a fern mounted on the side since the gecko doesn't climb a lot.

Hope you like!

Regan


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## frasertheking (Jun 3, 2007)

loving that desig regan


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## RPN (Mar 25, 2007)

Sketch looks amazing,.


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## xm41907 (Nov 26, 2007)

awesome design. It's similar to what I've had in my head about a mayan wall along the back. I love the broken pot idea. I think a greek column would look nice as well. Can't wait to see pics!


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## AlexD (Sep 19, 2007)

Very nice. A friend of mine has an Egyptian theme tank for his leo. It is similar to your sketch. The leos LOVE the broken pot things, by the way.


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## jdogfunk99 (Oct 16, 2007)

Viv's can be analogous to aquariums, you see a lot of cool themes in aquariums. I've been in the planning stages of my large viv for months and want to do a miniature relief version of Angkor Wat on one side...it would look like old ruins.


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## xm41907 (Nov 26, 2007)

jdogfunk99,

take a look at my design concept. Your's sounds similar.

http://www.dendroboard.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=34929&highlight=


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## Mywebbedtoes (Jul 2, 2007)

This might make things easier for you all, or you might hate me for this if you were hoping to creat something no one else has, but you might want to shoot Patrick an e-mail about this...
http://www.saurian.net/htm05/terrariumstore_terrariums.html

Scroll down the page almost to the bottom.


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## Regan (Oct 30, 2007)

Thanks! Doodling terrariums has been a fun part of the process for me (especially when I don't constrain myself with logistic things like cost, time and space!).

I went and checked out the Angkor Wat ruins, and that would be awesome! Egyptian would be equally neat for one, too. 

It's sort of fun to pick a theme that matches what's living in one. I have a bearded dragon in a big set up, but outside of sticking a boomerang or a 6 pack of Fosters, not sure I could do a theme for him!


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## xm41907 (Nov 26, 2007)

Mywebbedtoes,

I've been on http://www.saurian.net and never noticed that viv. While it is similar to what I've had in mind, it's not quite what I picture in my head. Mine will be more ruin-like, with more overgrowth throughout. I'm thinking now of having the water feature be a break in the wall which runs into a small pond. That is a nice viv though!


James


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## jdogfunk99 (Oct 16, 2007)

Regan said:


> I went and checked out the Angkor Wat ruins, and that would be awesome! Egyptian would be equally neat for one, too.


I like Angkor Wat (actually Angkor Thom if you want to be a stickler) because it already has that overgrown jungle ruins looks that would integrate well in a viv. Here's a pic:
http://easilyamazed.com/blog/uploaded_i ... 715545.jpg


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## Regan (Oct 30, 2007)

Mywebbedtoes said:


> This might make things easier for you all, or you might hate me for this if you were hoping to creat something no one else has, but you might want to shoot Patrick an e-mail about this...
> http://www.saurian.net/htm05/terrariumstore_terrariums.html
> 
> Scroll down the page almost to the bottom.


Oh, nothing's new under the sun, I'm not worried about that. I'm also not looking to take someone else's idea, either. I was just curious to see if others here had made little personal touches.

Hey, and that makes me wonder... Do people, who for various reasons don't have a dedicated "frog room," gravitate more toward themed terrariums since they're set up somewhere "public" or in living rooms? I would probably do mine this way anyway just because I can't turn off my creative streak. I wonder if schools or other places that hire builders make crazy requests... "Yes, we'd like for you to design a 150 gallon terrarium, oh, and can it have a working volcano?"


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## xm41907 (Nov 26, 2007)

> Hey, and that makes me wonder... Do people, who for various reasons don't have a dedicated "frog room," gravitate more toward themed terrariums since they're set up somewhere "public" or in living rooms? I would probably do mine this way anyway just because I can't turn off my creative streak. I wonder if schools or other places that hire builders make crazy requests... "Yes, we'd like for you to design a 150 gallon terrarium, oh, and can it have a working volcano?"


Working volcano? now that, I would love to see! lol


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## Tatooineboy (Feb 21, 2008)

Whoa, I love this thread  I'm thinking of incorporating either a Mayan/Aztec theme into the viv, but not sure where to start. I would like to make my own section of a temple, similiar to someone else's post, so it would have a 'cave' like feature for the entrance, but I am not sure what I could make these structures out of.










Since the tank will be very humid and moist, with plenty of water making contact with this material, I don't want it to become soggy and eventually fall apart.

Any ideas? Suggestions?


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## jehitch (Jun 8, 2007)

Tatooineboy said:


> Whoa, I love this thread  I'm thinking of incorporating either a Mayan/Aztec theme into the viv, but not sure where to start. I would like to make my own section of a temple, similiar to someone else's post, so it would have a 'cave' like feature for the entrance, but I am not sure what I could make these structures out of.
> 
> Since the tank will be very humid and moist, with plenty of water making contact with this material, I don't want it to become soggy and eventually fall apart.
> 
> Any ideas? Suggestions?


Since the temple architecture repeats itself, you could carve a master of one section out of any material you feel comfortable working in, make an RTV silicone mold, and cast as many sections as you need out of resin. Casting resins usually have a brownish tan tone to them, so you might be able to get away without painting the castings. You should wash them well with detergent to remove any mold parting compound, but the resin itself is inert.


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## Tatooineboy (Feb 21, 2008)

Resin can be obtained at hardware stores? Or perhaps craft stores?

Also, what type of paint would do well in a Viv?


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## jdogfunk99 (Oct 16, 2007)

Tatooineboy said:


> Resin can be obtained at hardware stores? Or perhaps craft stores?
> 
> Also, what type of paint would do well in a Viv?


I would think any type as long as it's sealed.


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## Tatooineboy (Feb 21, 2008)

jdogfunk99 said:


> Tatooineboy said:
> 
> 
> > Resin can be obtained at hardware stores? Or perhaps craft stores?
> ...


With a poly coat over the paint? There is also a type of rustolium that is for aquametal (Boats, ect.). Would that type of paint work in a viv?

Also, is GS easy to work with? While wet, can it be pushed and molded at all? Or does it just form as heavy/light as it is applied?


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## tzen (Nov 22, 2007)

Read a good chunk of this thread for discussion on materials and making things look good:

http://www.dendroboard.com/parts-construction/topic22606.html

You can start about halfway down the second page at what HX has to say.
There is plenty of discussion on paint in there, as well as other techniques that you will want to use if you are going to make ruins. I think it will pretty much answer all your questions.


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## jdogfunk99 (Oct 16, 2007)

For the Cambodian tree ruins, you can buy a small root buttress from an aquarium supplier; they look pretty realistic. An alternative is a bonsai ficus (the giant one in the pic above is actually in the same family). I bought mine on ebay but it died before I could put it in my new viv.


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## Tatooineboy (Feb 21, 2008)

That thread has a lot of awesome info. Thanks! I will have to get some foam boards, heating gun, grout and some epoxy.

jdogfunk, did you see how HX make his tree ontop of the rocks? Looks like he made a wire frame, added GS, then grout, etc.

Grout comes in different colors? Or we add the colors by adding paint to it?

Thanks again.


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## Nick K (Jan 3, 2008)

Right now I am working on a Maya theme for my 70 gallon hex. This is some of the minor detail. And before anyone gets on my ass, yes, all materials including pigments are nontoxic and based on materials I read about in the "making fake rocks thread" :










This themed project has, however, ended up being so incredibly time consuming. There are times when I have wanted to walk away and just do the simple things like a GS with latex background. In the end though, I think it will be worth it. I won't post a lot of revealing pics but I assure you it will be cool...and fun 

And as an FYI which doesn't really mean anything, "Mayan" is only used when describing the language of the Maya. Everything else, for example architecture or history, "Maya" is used. That is what you get for having a girlfriend who is the curator of a museum of anthropology.


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## Tatooineboy (Feb 21, 2008)

Nick, thanks for the correction. My bad  

Colorful pieces you have there!


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## Nick K (Jan 3, 2008)

Thanks! It's not really a correction, I mean everyone says Mayan instead of Maya anyway because of the semantics of the English language - there is no reason to believe going on a crusade will make people change their minds anyway. So I just throw it out as random information.

The color scheme is actually based on what I have seen in some real Maya engravings.


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## bLue_reverie (Mar 2, 2008)

i'm brainstorming at the moment for my 55gal

i have a 20gal with a basic waterfall and grottocave system with fake diamonds embedded in the cliffs making it look like an old diamond mine. i had maybe 2 pieces of emerald diamonds and i didn't know how well they would've worked out. turns out, when the lights bounce off of them and into the water, it looks amazing. i'll try and add some more colored diamonds without making it look too much


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## msellers86 (Feb 17, 2008)

bLue_reverie said:


> i'm brainstorming at the moment for my 55gal
> 
> i have a 20gal with a basic waterfall and grottocave system with fake diamonds embedded in the cliffs making it look like an old diamond mine. i had maybe 2 pieces of emerald diamonds and i didn't know how well they would've worked out. turns out, when the lights bounce off of them and into the water, it looks amazing. i'll try and add some more colored diamonds without making it look too much



Would love to see a picture! :mrgreen:


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## Tatooineboy (Feb 21, 2008)

bLue_reverie said:


> i'm brainstorming at the moment for my 55gal
> 
> i have a 20gal with a basic waterfall and grottocave system with fake diamonds embedded in the cliffs making it look like an old diamond mine. i had maybe 2 pieces of emerald diamonds and i didn't know how well they would've worked out. turns out, when the lights bounce off of them and into the water, it looks amazing. i'll try and add some more colored diamonds without making it look too much


Reminds me of the movie Congo, where the old diamond mines are protected by giant apes. Except in your vivs, its giant frogs


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## Ontariofrogger1973 (Oct 18, 2008)

ive definetly thought about making an aztec viv, that would be awsome


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## morselchip (Jul 17, 2008)

If you want to cast a few simple arches, you might be able to find some pre-made molds at your local hobby store. I found several nice molds of rocks and simple structures in the model railroad section- for people who make more elaborate setups with tunnels, mountains and such.


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## Ontariofrogger1973 (Oct 18, 2008)

so i saw all of the vivs at saurian and i noticed alot of them had fairly deep water. wouldnt some PDFs have a problem? maybe drown in this?


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