Building a Vivarium Background - NO FOAM, ALL CORK! Vivarium Build | Big Bioactive Vivarium Build #1

Today, we build a 3D DIY vivarium background for my new lined day gecko enclosure! This design includes no expanding foam, stryrofoam/polystyrene, drylok, paint, or any of the other arts n' crafts-type materials: just cork bark, sphagnum moss, and some aquarium-safe silicone to hold it all together.

The most involved part of a bioactive vivarium build is making the background. It is this feature which makes a vivarium or terrarium: the animals will explore it; the plants will grow up or around it; and it can become the centrepiece of the setup. Therefore, it is important that you design your background with its long-term existence in mind - it should not only be well-built enough to last through the years, but you should also consider how functional it will be once lighting is installed and plants have grown in. With all of this in mind, you will see that I kept the vivarium background mostly flat on the back pane of glass, as this allows plenty of space for broad-leaved plants to grow in front of it; on the side pane, a larger cork bark "trunk" with a projecting branch offers a basking site for the reptilian inhabitants this enclosure will receive. ("Broad-leaved plants", which I will be adding to the enclosure in the next video in this series, are also intentional: I have found from experience that lined day geckos will only readily climb on plants with big, wide leaves, so these will form the bulk of the planted area of the vivarium. We want the geckos to be able to use as much of the enclosure's volume as possible!)

The vivarium being developed in this video series was purchased from Custom Aquaria. If you would like to buy a similar vivarium from them, you can message Matthew and Lisa - the business owners - on their Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/CustomAquaria.Rushden/

You can find all of the rest of the products shown in this video on Amazon via the links compiled in the following kits. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission when you purchase through these links (you don't have to pay more than if you were to find the products on Amazon of your own accord, though):
UK glass vivarium background kit - https://kit.co/JTB_Reptiles/glass-vivarium-background-kit-uk
US glass vivarium background kit - https://kit.co/JTB_Reptiles/glass-vivarium-background-kit-us
Ca glass vivarium background kit - https://kit.co/JTB_Reptiles/glass-vivarium-background-kit-ca
New to the channel? You might want to start here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUJZ04sqhxk&list=PLs_fAG9ufg72pWfQNKDA7Hx9G9NopB90y

Follow nature’s example - https://www.youtube.com/c/JTBReptiles?sub_confirmation=1
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jtb_reptile/?hl=en
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Video-Creator/JTB-Reptiles-472487643238124/
The supplies I use - https://kit.co/JTB_Reptiles
Advancing Herpetological Husbandry - https://www.facebook.com/groups/AdvancingHerpHusbandry
Reptile Lighting Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/ReptileLighting/
The Reptile Networks - https://reptilenetworks.co.uk

Видео Building a Vivarium Background - NO FOAM, ALL CORK! Vivarium Build | Big Bioactive Vivarium Build #1 канала JTB Reptiles