Nice viv Rick,
I've done a drawing (again!!
) to illustrate my description of what I plan to do....a picture paints a thousand words!
I always use two heaters, independent of each other, one main one to provide the ambient warmth and a hot spot, and then a smaller one under the water bowl with which I can control humidity quite precisely. I've always (well, for years anyway) followed this method, as it makes the vivarium very versatile. It can be used for anything from tropical rain forest environment, through temperate to arid desert, with just the twist of a couple of thermostats. I've drawn heat mats but I actually use cable for the main heat source, you can "snake"
it around anywhere you want it then.
My doors are always paired glass sliding ones, to save space and make fitting a lock easier. I use ground-in finger grips, rather the handles so the doors can cross over each other. They could be made to be removable, but I generally like to make mine a closer fit, so once they're in, they're in!
For substrate I use large pieces of slate, as in roofing slate. These are cemented into place and neatly pointed-in, trapping the heaters below. This is (I think) very attractive, dead easy to clean...just wipe clean, and won't harbour parasites or other nasties. Water spills etc. quickly evaporate off the surface, so humidity stays in my control. It also stops the animals gaining direct access to the heat source and cooking themselves! If for whatever reason a different substrate is required, this can simply be spread over the slate.
My water bowls are large ceramic ones, also cemented in as an integral part of the floor. This necessitates bailing-out and cleaning in situ, but it's not really a problem, being ceramic they easily wipe clean.
Lighting is broad-spectrum (daylight) strips, on a timer of course.
The finished vivaria are decorated with hides, climbing branches, cork bark, rocks etc. as dictated by the needs of the species to be housed.
The general design is very basic and simple, but looks great once it's decorated, and as I said it's versatile....this week tree frogs, next week
Uromastyx!
