wood viv with glass front? only if it's redwood or some type of bog tree. i wouldn't suggest that, because i am afraid of rotting. I posted a little details about the vivarium I built for my rainbow. these are the addresses. good luck! show us when you build it I love seeing vivs! =)
http://forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=1349612,1349620
and the other one is so old that i will just post my replies to people's questions:
I worked on that damn thing for about 6 months, so it was by no means easy. I only have two snakes, so I like to make their cages pretty. everyone suggested that i not make a viv for my rainbow, and i see their point, it is a pain in the butt, but i have to say that making the cage doubled my enjoyment of snake keeping in general. It is like going to a job you love, it's work but you dont care. I am now starting on the viv for my other rainbow. whee! I got the idea from my boyfriend. he keeps dart frogs, and most dart frog keepers have vivariums, so i looked at his and thought to myself, now why can't i do the same for my snakes? I am so glad the 'Rainbow Masters' approve, I was afraid you would tell me to tear it down and keep my snake in a more sanitary environment. (by the way that viv is very clean, I clean up the visible poop and the plants absorb anything else)
as for the long term build-up of toxins, I water the plants a lot and the water goes through the soil and I siphon it out of my drainage layer, so the soil is being cleaned in a way. as the water flushes out much of it. and coco bark seems to inhibit mold growth. as for the water I have a filter in there, and I clean it out when she poops in it. (which is about every 5-7 days) I imagine I will have to change the soil out every 6 months, but I was planning on that, because i have my plants in pots with potting soil submersed deep in the cocobark, because they have a hard time growing in coco bark. So I have to change the soil often anyway, because my plants are going to become rootbound in there.
when i say i clean the water out when she poops in it, that means I shop vac it all out, and replace all of the water. it's not a very effecient system, but i'll probably learn little tricks along the way.
Thanks! it is a 125gal, the pond area is just tow slabs of glass siliconed in at an angle to make it more realistic. I then covered the whole water area with black slate by siliconing the slate to the glass. the bottom of the pool is just a bunch of black slate i didn't silicone that down for easy cleaning. There is a simple fountain pump in the pond that goes up the back and spills onto my driftwood background to make a water fall. (see my gallery in the photos section) the background is expanding foam and cypress driftwood(so it doesn't rot) covered in black silicone and coco bark. the land areas are a little trickier. the passion vines are actually in unglazed terra-cotta pots submersed deep in the rest of the substrate. the rest of the substrate is cocobark cuz it doesn't mold. inside the submerged pots there is regular(unfertalized, just to be safe)(this is what the orchid mix arrow is refering to in my picture) potting soil.(do not use potting soil for the whole substrate or it will mold) this is covered in tropical moss(no other kind any other kind will die off in these conditions.) the moss prevents burrowing to protect the snake from any potential mold in the submersed flower pots. there is also a turtle filter outside the tank, with tubes running to the pool. below the substrate there is a drainage layer made of hydoton, this allows the water to leach toxins out of the soil(the water has to siphoned out) and it keeps the plant roots from rotting. I made kajika a hide hut out of black slate to match the pool. and the vines are wired to the background and the top. The lights are grow lights, and I think that's it. I suggest going to blackjungle.com they will give you a step by step on how to make the background. And if you email me: atheris_squamigera@yahoo.com then I will send you my step by step photos, cuz I took some along the way. If you want more info you can email me or go to dendroboard.com and look at the vivarium forum.
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-Jasmine
1.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boas
(Mercutio and Kajika)
