Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Okay, so I went to Petsmart today to look for a better basking platform than what I have and they don't have anything real. Its all ceramic and breaks easily. Do you guys just find big real rocks and clean them? Is there anywhere online that sells good products? Are driftwood peices fun for them to climb on?

If you can't find any good ones, why not build your own? It's quite a bit of work but you can design it to fit the tank.
The pic below is the basking spot my fiance built for Ra (my mali). He likes to hide in the bottom part for the night and will climb up and down it like crazy.

Hope this helps

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1 Mali Uromastyx named Ra

I have often admired your construction. Would you be willing to divuldge how you constructed that terrain? Any detailed pictures would be highly appreciated!

I'll give them to you. It's actually pretty simple to measure out. It's the cutting and nailing them together that's kind of tricky, especially if you don't have the right tools (God knows I didn't ). I believe they were also drawn out using metric measurements so you'll probably have to convert them. I don't have a scanner so I'll redo them with some sort of art program. Feel free to modify it any way you wish.

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1 Mali Uromastyx named Ra

The underground part is what I'd have no idea how to make. What kind of platform did you use to raise it off the bottom? Or is that what you're talking about?

The wooden basking spot has 3 levels as it is a single unit. The basking spot is resting on the glass bottom of the tank. I covered up the bottom part with dirt and allowed Ra to decide if he liked it or not.
If you're wondering about the dark area in the front, right part of the tank (the wooden basking spot is behind it), that is a pagoda rock that is sitting on the bottom of the tank (I secured it so it will not fall on him) that I filled with dirt. Ra dug it out and uses it as a hiding place.

I hope this helps.
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1 Mali Uromastyx named Ra

Okay...I'm a little confused. It looks like there is a little hollow tunnel that runs the full length of the front of the tank. Is that right? or is that actually dirt?

but that hollow part that Ra's standing on (the one under him) is just a hole created by a U-shaped (inverted of course) rock. It doesn't run the full length of the front of the tank. Just think of it as a shallow underground cavern. I hope the pic below helps.
If you want to design some underground tunnels that won't collapse, you could try putting in some PVC pipes in the dirt with the ends exposed at the surface.

Hope this helps

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1 Mali Uromastyx named Ra

I went to a gravel place and got like 11 rocks for free. It's a lot cheaper and it gives you so many different rocks to choose from. Then i just washed them all really well. Worked for me!

You can build very simple ones with the help of the friendly Home Depot guys. The ones I use are called "retes" stacks. All you have to do is cut plywood in 12" squares, use 2x2 pieces of wood in between and starting with the two wood pieces on each side, nail/screw the plywood platform on top and continue the stack until you are satisfied with the basking temp on the highest part. You can use a smaller size like and 8"x8" if you don't need the 12". Then I get the stick on velcro and put it on the top and attach a dark tile rough side up to hold the heat. I have a picture of one of mine, but I have since put more two more levels on it as I was not happy with the temp on top. You can buy a small 24"x24" piece of plywood and the 8' 2x2 for less than $6.00. At Home Depot they will cut it for free (ok, they are only supposed to do two cuts for free) but just use your charm on them and voila, it's all cut for free. The animals now have a multi-level hide and basking spot, with each level producing a different temperature, getting cooler as you go down. You can see this stack by going to www.proexotics.com. It has pictures of the stack. I wish I was talented like Sunfox, his hide is so cute! Cork bark also works well for hides. Good luck!
Pam

Thanks for the tips! Your cage is really beautiful, where did you find it?!

Thanks! I can't take credit for building it though, only staining and varnishing it. I bought it from a guy in Michigan and his business is call Reptats. He has a permanent display at the Lee Watson Reptile Show in Streamwood, Illinois. The cage works great for my ackies as it holds the humidity quite well. I use mostly glass cages for my uros, also ordered from the same guy. You can order any size you want and they are custom made. I will post a picture here of some of my uro cages. Good luck!

Pam

Wow, how many do you have?

I have 9 uromastyx:

0.1 u. geyri (Saharan) Fanta
1.2 u. ornatus (Ornate) Husani, Bintu and Zari
2.1 u. benti pseudophilbyi (Rainbow Benti) Rafiki, Kito and Anu
1.1 u. ocellata (Sudanese) Zuhri and Ashai

4 Ridgetail Monitors:

1.3 varanus acanthurus brachyurus (Ackies) Dorodo, Daisy, Dora and Pudge

2 White's Tree frogs:

0.0.2 litoria caerulea Yoshi and Dumpy

1 Chilean Dwarf Tegu

1.0 callopistes maculatus Mosiac

Gargoyle Gecko

0.0.1 rhacodactylus auriculatis Smudge

1 Florida Cooter

1.0 pseudemys floridana Scooter

1 Copes Grey Tree Frog

1.0 hyla chrysoscelis Simon

Soon to join the group:

Varanus Storri (Storr's Monitor) and/or
Varanus tristis tristis (Black Headed Monitors)

Pam

Wow ! I could use a whole heck of a lot of those,

Nice Job !
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Eve

Head down to your local Lowes or Home Depot's garden center and pick up some great pieces of slate/brick/etc..