Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have just finished making a fake roke background using mortor but it doesn't look very realistic i was thinking of using cement dies also will i need to seal the mortor in any way its in a bosc viv so it wont be getting wet

You can use a wide variety of aggregates to achieve a nice looking background. The material of choice is not so much the key ingredient to an authentic or natural looking background, it is the process and techniques used which allow you to achieve either a real or fake looking background.

One thing that I have noticed in most people's home made backgrounds, is that they take absolutely no consideration into what actually makes up a real rock escarpment or boulder. They make everything off the top of their head, without consulting photos of real formations. Most people often use square pieces of styrofoam, or unnatural shapes and contours, and then glop some sort of aggregate/adhesive on top of that, and leave it as is.

Real rocks have depressions, cracks, fissures, breaks, chips, stratification, variation in color, mineral leaching, etc.. From 99.9% of all the custom rock backgrounds that I've seen on this and other herp fora, nobody ever takes these important diagnostic characters of what makes up real rock, into consideration when designing and creating their own.

I always get a kick out of the people who say "look how naturalistic my enclosure is", and they have random rectangular shelves or platforms(covered in grout) protruding from the walls every now and then... not 'naturalistic' by any means. Usually the coloration looks very fake, or the rock is uniform in color...

There are many different techniques you can use to achieve an authentic look, but it all comes down to studying and visualizing what real rock looks like in person(or from a photo), and not what you think of it being off the top of your head...

Like I said before, materials are not what's important, as a good looking background can be handcrafted using many different materials, it is the technique and approach which determines how it looks in the end.

Good luck!

Bob


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Treemonitors.com

I would suggest getting a couple of earth-tone colors of a high quality exterior latex paint. Dilute the paints to a milk-like consistency, and then use a hand held(hand pumping) garden sprayer, or even a regular spray bottle to apply the colors to the rock. Mortar and cement are very porous, and will suck up the color. This will actually help 'seal' the rock, as well as prevent the rock from having a "painted on" finish-which often looks very fake.

Start out with the lightest color and coat the entire structure. Then, begin adding the darker colors methodically, so that you get areas which vary in color and darkness. It takes a little practice to get used to, so don't get too discouraged if it doesn't end up perfect the first time around.

Good luck, but most of all, have fun!

Cheers,

Bob
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Treemonitors.com