New to the site, new setup as well.

[williamsr815]

Hey all, just joined the forum so i can take advantage of the wealth of knowledge here.
Back in June i bought a Leo along with a 10 gallon tank a few other things. I named him Stig after the driver from Top Gear.
Here is a shot from when i first got him:

As you can see his tail was not exactly plump, here he is from about a month ago:

Well he grew out of his tank so i found a 55 gallon long tank on craigslist from a reptile rescue alont with some driftwood and another light.
I took some ideas from people online who used foam and grout and decided to make my own fake rock background.
Here is my setup now, i just got it setup a few hours ago so im still getting it right. I'm not sure how the temps are going to be yet so i might have to get some more lights. There are 2 heating pads under the right side, they are 10 gallon size but since i already had 1 i just bought another of the same size.
Here are shots of the current setup:

 

[clockwurk]

Nice tank

I'm curious about this foam/grout idea to make custom rocks. Would you happen to have a link for more info?

 

[williamsr815]

Here is the link where i first got the foam idea:
http://www.geckotime.com/diy-naturalistic-foam-fake-rock-enclosure/

Then i saw this one:
http://www.lizard-landscapes.com/hobby-people.html

After looking for a while at other setups i decided to jump in and make my own.

Here a tip to prevent a huge mess if you work with foam: Take a wire clothes hangar and cut it up, bend a small square on one end and heat it with a blowtorch, it will cut through the foam like butter without any mess at all.

 

[GothicGurrrl]

did you use excuvator clay burrowing?

 

[williamsr815]

No its Calci Sand. I was thinking about the burrowing stuff but i wasn't sure, i haven't heard too much about it. I'm trying out the sand, it was in the old tank and did just fine but I know i need to watch out.

 

[roger]

No its Calci Sand. I was thinking about the burrowing stuff but i wasn't sure, i haven't heard too much about it. I'm trying out the sand, it was in the old tank and did just fine but I know i need to watch out.

Yeah in the short term sand is ok but not in the longeterm its not a good idea,but i think u know that already

 

[jerry]

Nice Set Up

 

[williamsr815]

Thanks guys, he has been hiding in the corner under those rocks and had only come out to eat. I just hope he is acclimating to his new tank and will start to roam around eventually. It is also only about 80 on the hot side right now so he might just be cold. Im in the process of building an insulated top to keep some of the heat in. Hopefully i wont have to spend any more money to heat this thing.

 

[williamsr815]

so i found out that I NEED MORE HEAT!

The hot side will not go over 80 with 2 10 gal size heat mats, a day bulb and an infrared bulb. I have yet to complete my insulated top and i hope that will do the trick but if that doesn't help, i need ideas. I have a hot rock that came with the setup when i bought it and im thinking i can bury that under the sand in his hot side hide. I have heard many bad things about hot rocks but if i bury it would that lessen the chance of injury? Any other ideas to keep some heat in?

 

[roger]

so i found out that I NEED MORE HEAT!

The hot side will not go over 80 with 2 10 gal size heat mats, a day bulb and an infrared bulb. I have yet to complete my insulated top and i hope that will do the trick but if that doesn't help, i need ideas. I have a hot rock that came with the setup when i bought it and im thinking i can bury that under the sand in his hot side hide. I have heard many bad things about hot rocks but if i bury it would that lessen the chance of injury? Any other ideas to keep some heat in?

I'm assuming you've given him a warm hide.Can u have bare glass under his warm hide so the heat doesnt have to travel through a bunch of substrate .The sand is keeping the temps below what u need.