Hi All,

I am putting the finishing touches to my fake rock wall-it is about 4ft high with ledges and basking spots formed out of chicken wire covered in newspaper soaked in pva glue. I have filled the back of the gaps with expanding "cavity filler" foam that i intend to coat in pva glue as well to avoid them coming into contact with it although all the research i have done on the stuff online seems to agree that it is safe. It will be coated with tile grout on the front and a coat of textured "granite" paint to give it a good natural looking finish.

My intention was to allow the chucks access to a carved cave system that i will cut into the back of the foam. As it has come together I have decided that it would be futile to try and restrict them to certain areas because they will inevitably find their way into the whole back area of the wall! I am now struggling to decide whether this is a safe idea as I do not want them to get stuck anywhere. I would add holes at the base of the rock for "emergency exits of they can't get out where they went in. The wall will be detachable from the back of the vivarium in case of any problems.

I am troubled because I really want this wall to be enjoyed by the animals as much as it will look great in the viv. They are constantly climbing so I think they will really enjoy the ledges but its the access to the back that is troubling me.

-Does anyone have any thoughts/ideas about this idea?

If you think that this is a bad idea then my backup option is to block up the “cave” openings and use some sort of substrate that will allow them to dig.

-Does anyone know of any cheap substrates/mixes that would allow them to do this and has anyone tried this with chuckies/do they actually dig tunnels?

Thanks for reading!

Ben

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