ogre999

Greetings All , I'm newb to the sight and kinda new to this whole reptillian pet thing as well. I have to admit that since we got our new Chineese water dragon "Mushu" I'm amazed at how attached we got to him. I am personally a dog person but this little guys really cool.

Okay we have been doing fine in his habitat with the standard cocnut bark , synthetic vines and so forth but i also want to step up the game a bit. One goal is to provide him with more water to frolic in. We have a watter safe terarium ( bear with me till i get terminologies down please?) manufacturer recomends it not be filled more than half way to avoid warping. MY idea was to list my plan here and have any of you more knowledgabe punch holes in it for the safety of the lizzard and the purpose of gaining knowledge:

A) to cast the base of a terrain with cast-crete or some other concrete dirivative no more than 2" thich reinforced with steel mesh for stability(making sure mesh is completely enveloped in the concrete and not exposed directly to the water)

B) while the pour is still wet; to secure areas for the stump props that hold his vines , the waterfall and micro filter set up to help the water keep clean between changings, and the foundation layer of natural rocks we have chosen ( hich were cleaned and sanatized with a 5% bleach.water solution , the house water is already filtered). The Rocks will be arranged and set with aquarium safe silicone in order to provide a water tight containment barrier for basicly three types of substratta. One large area for bark which he seems to favor, another with sand ( I have a phosphorecent fettish and desperately want to use the glow in the dark sand but am leary for the lizzards sake). Of course the last being the water area which will be formed more naturaly with a sloped are leading down to the base of the filter and an extra depression to contain solids and waste like "scat" , the theory being that it will settle in the lowest part keeping it corraled for easier cleaning.

C) Knowing the concrete surface can be rough I am looking for a few suggestions.

I considered setting sand into the drying surface of the "pond" ( water area) my thought being it will provide both traction and a more natural feel to the surface. OR alternatively "polishing smooth exposed surfaces and trying to find a sealent that wont toxify the process. The local petsmart girl is pretty knowledgable as she actually owns reptiles but I'm still not 100% comfortable with her knowledge. According to two sources properly dried, set and cured cememnt should be no problem. Washed after setting with the bleach water solution thouroghly rinsed and dried I've been told it will be safe for "Mushu". I am open to any suggestions here...

Secondly to provide an asthtetic value and make it seem more natural I was considering using MOSS to secure in between the rocks used to create sealed "dry" areas but have read some stuff saying mosses can be dangerous. Can any of you clarify this or offer suggestions?

Lastly the whole base will be kind of heavy (estimated at about 30lbs) once cured and cleaned the idea is to make footings with silicone caulk to lessen impact and wear and tear on the glass ... Our cleaning plan considers that with the purified water (lessening the parasite/bio hazzard to begin with and the "scat Pit" design along with filtering should facilitate being able to do a thourough cleaning about once a week or every seven days. To do this as Hauling this monster out of the tank all the time would be unreasonable ...would be to remove the water and residue with a wet/dry vac ( after mushu is on his leash or in temp. digs safe ) then flood the area with the water bleach solution scrub the "scat pit " and pond surface and then refil 3-4 times to rinse and dilute any remaining clorine residue...refil with clean water and set the lil bugger loose again.

So thats it thats me plan ...if you guys set here a sec Ill go take some pics and try to post em here so it gives a better idea of what im babbling about ...


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studdedsham

Sounds good so far. I have a soft shelled turtle that I've attempted to give a nice scaped tank, but he digs everything up. I do have that same filter though. It works well and provides a nice basking spot.

From the second picture it looks like the water will be very shallow. I feel like you'll have to make the water a bit deeper (~3") so that you can get to the minimal fill line for the filter.

I've had plenty of reptiles and only in the beginning did I really do things "the right way". IMO unfiltered tap water should be just fine as I've never had a problem with water borne pathogens yet. But it won't hurt anything.

In the second pic it looks as though you're going to fill each of the triangles with a different substrate. Is that right?

ogre999

well yes , the initial course of rocks laid are simply a foundation for the rock/silicone barrier the 2" concrete pad just functions as a base and will completely submerged. By staggering the rocks in a gradual large to diminishing pattern from the land base out towards the water it should provide a stable reinforcement against the weight of the water in the tank, plus the displacement from the whole assembly should reduce the water weight while raising the water level... pardon the expresion its "****house enginerring" but if i have any grasp at all on the basic laws of physics we should be cool. so in the end on the wet side the idea is to make a sloping grade down to the "scat pit" so the water depth will range from negligable at the edge of the sand "beachy area" to aprox 7-8 inches deep. Again this is an estimate.

You know its funny , i read about newb's overcomplicating things in a sticky post ...I want to know how they knew i was comming? cause thats me to a "T". Of course im that way with everything , I made a picnic table once ...was the size and weight of a battleship , just a couple of rotating turrets short! I would also like to toy with the idea of using this as a negative mold to cast others for sale and use in this size tank...can you all suggest some safe casting materials?


the wooden border is aprox 2" high and attached to the work surface below for stability. the structure is sealed with a solid bead of apoxy to hold the cement when its introduced... the filter will be removed during the pour and presure set after the cement begins to set ( critical timing ) so that it does not block the intake area. Rocks remain in place during pour to create a solid foundaition against the water pressure. Basicly on top of that we will build a tiny rock wall , using aquarium grade silicone in place of "mortar" does anyone have any idea if the spongy moss is okay to set between the rocks or will it be detrimental to the health of the chineese water dragon?

I think the tapwater in most cases is probably correct ...the heavily treat the water here in Dover De. and frankly if we cant get it past our noses to drink it cause it tastes like pool water ( why we have a filter installed in the first place ..lol) ...then it cant be good for him. I'm also figuring that with this set up , with kids , pets, and other potential emergencies , if we cant get to changing water or cleaning on schedual then it should be able to hold out a little longer without placing him at significant riskas well.

Shawn(Ogre)

studdedsham

sounds like a solid plan.

studdedsham

I forgot to mention... you were talking about a sloped area. Is that going to be sand?

I've never used any mosses in a herp tank to date. So I'm not a good source for that.