How-to: Raised hides

[Katrina]

This is pretty basic, but as I was making these I took a couple pictures in case it will help anyone else out. I use these raised hides to place my water dishes on, this way it is much harder for a messy skink to track substrate into their water (harder, but not impossible!). This would also be good for raised basking spots, just make sure the BTS cannot get too close to the heat lamp and that the surface temp doesn't get too hot on top.

Step 1: A bunch of tiles and tile cutter. I started with 12x12 slate tiles and then a bunch of 3"x6" tiles that I cut in half. The halved smaller tiles were used to make legs of 3"x3" square tiles (seen in pic).

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Step 2: Halved 3"x6" tiles are stacked. I stacked mine 7 tiles high because I have a couple chunky ladies who still need to fit underneath these. I used a tile adhesive but you can also use silicone to glue these together. Just make sure whatever you use isn't toxic when dry. Aquarium grade silicone is a good choice. Apply liberally to each tile, stick together, push down firmly and allow to dry fully.

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Step 3: Beer. Also, glue 12"x12" tile to the legs.

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Voila!

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I'm thinking we should do a little How-to subforum off the General Discussion Forum so that newer members can easily find ideas and inspiration. If anyone has done little DIY projects like this, or ideally, built their own enclosures, if you could take time to post about it, it would be greatly appreciated!

[Karen]

Step 3: Beer. (Is the most important step)

On a serious note, I think I read on another forum that it is better to use the aquarium silicone that doesn't have anti-mildew (might have been anti-fungal) agents mixed into it because they could potentially give off harmful fumes when heated. I'll have to see if I can find the thread discussing it, I'm not sure if it was correct or not as I was just lightly skimming the forum at the time and I can't remember if there was any proof presented.

[Nae]

Im definitely up for a how to subforum Ill be doing quite a bit of DIYing pretty soon~!

[Katrina]

Beer would have been step 1, but I didn't want to be judged.

Yes, the anti-mildew / anti-mould is the reason to use aquarium grade silicone over regular silicone. I ended up using tile adhesive instead, it is supposed to be 100% safe once dried.

Please title any DIY / How-to threads with How-to: XXX and if we get enough I'll move them all over to a subforum. I'd love to get a good collection of DIY posts. Thanks everyone!

[Alioop]

I don't have any 'how to' photos (though I could probably find some photos of beer...), so I'll just throw this one up. Its an alternate option for the raised hide. I use one on the cool side for the water bowl, and one on the warm side for the basking spot.

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I use PVC pipe for the feet, cut into 4 pieces about 2" long. You can glue with a hot glue gun, but expect the feet to pop off occasionally if you aren't super careful when cleaning the tile. Now they're secured with aquarium silicone.

[jayeszoo]

Awesome !!! I love that idea and pictures of all. I have no imagination when it comes to decorating her home. I haven't had time to do a search on the forum for pictures yet.

jaye

[Linnea]

this is so cool i could ask my sister to make things like this....

[New2Blues]

I already have some PVC pipe laying around here so instead of using tile as the "legs" I'll probably use the PVC pipe. =) I am going to steal this idea though. I love it! It's great. Thanks for sharing!

[Katrina]

Good photo Ali, I didn't get the "in the home" pics. And lots of things can be used for the legs, you don't have to copy exactly what I did. Raised platforms for water dishes really cut down on the substrate in the water, although shedding and pooping in there are still a go. But there are lots of little things you can make to save money.

I think wine would pair nicely with Ali's.

I'm adding a really old pic, this is another raised basking spot I did with silicone using red slate and rocks.

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[New2Blues]

I really need to go find some rocks. lol That is a great idea! I love it.

[jayeszoo]

Do I find aquarium silicone at a pet store? I went to Lowes and Menards today and both said they don't have it. I started looking at Silicone and wasn't sure what I was to be buying. They directed me to some Marine Epoxy. I didn't buy that, wasn't sure. What type of Silicone should I be buying?

jaye

[Susann]

I use Gorilla Glue. Once cured, it is absolutely harmless and can be used in aquariums as well. Be aware though, when it says permanent, they really mean permanent.
Sorry, I don't know anything about silicone.

[Alioop]

Yes, Aquarium silicone can be found in pet stores.