Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey,

I always see those foam backgrounds in magazines but they dont make a size big enough for the cage i have so im wondering if there is anyone out there who has made their own? if so what do i need and will it be safe for tree frogs? How do i paint it? I guess im looking for a step by step guide

thank you kindly

For the foam use "Great Stuff". You can buy it at home depot. Beareful it really expands lol. You can use 100% silicon to adhere it to the back. I have seen people us acrylic paint. Most people cover it with silocon and use like coconut bedding or something to cover. By this i mean they let the foam cure once they put it in the tank and they put what they want in it ledges drift wood ect. Then they cover the dry foam with silicon and then coconut bedding. Good thing about making it yourself is you could do what you want to it and make it your own and real looking you can ,ake pockets to plant live plants and all. Just make sure after each step let it cure and dry after you are all dont let it cure for at least a week before you put animals in because it will be toxic when wet but once dry harmless.
hope it helped

Tom

is it a proven building material?....looks cool though

Anywhere you look it is what people use to make the background. You got to give it a couple days to cure and harden. It is toxic to the animals when it is wet but is completely non toxic once it cures. I had it in my old frog and newt tank and still have some in my new one. I just used it for an island in the water and some hills in the land part but has not hurt any of the animals and if you do research it is how everyone does those kinds of backgrounds.

Tom

For the foam use "Great Stuff". You can use 100% silicon to adhere it to the back.

Good advice, but I'm pretty sure most people are using the foam itself for adhesion to the cage walls. Just spray it on and let it dry.
-----
Currently keeping a small collection of various Gonyosoma. Both G. janseni and G. oxycephala.

No usually does not stick very long by itself especially with any humidity trust me i found that out the hard way.

Tom

There are a ton of online tutorials for making a foam background. The best are probably on some of the fish sites. There are a handful of materials and techniques used so you really need to sort through them and try to determine what's best for you.
-----
Currently keeping a small collection of various Gonyosoma. Both G. janseni and G. oxycephala.