Vivarium Construction

1) Attach cork background to tank wall with aquarium sealant.
2) Add drainage medium. I used featherlite (a glass composite). you may also use clay pellets or gravel.
3) Cover the drainage medium with a barrier that will keep the substrate out of it. I use sphagnum moss (lightly moistened and pressed down).
4) Add the substrate of your choice. (you may add a little activated charcoal beneath it to absorb smells)
5) Add wood and/or rocks and other stable things
6) Add plants
7) Add accents like moss, leaves, water dishes, etc.

You can buy live plants for your own vivarium by using the link below.

Beginner Naturalistic Vivarium Supplies and Cost

This is a list of supplies one would need for a basic 10 gallon tropical vivarium. This is by no means the definitive list. Some things can be removed like the the cork background, and other things added like a thermometer, humidity gauge, or water fall. Also the price I listed is a rough estimate that will be different depending on where you buy the supplies or how much of each you buy. This is still a good guide for the beginning hobbyist.

Ten gallon tank
screen top
Tank hood with light
wood for wet habitats (cypress, cork, ghostwood)
Cork background
water dish
Substrate (like the mix I give in an earlier post)
sphagnum moss
A drainage medium (featherlite or clay pellets)
plants
live moss
under tank heater
silicone sealant
activated charcoal (some don't use it, but it removes off smell:it doesn't last long though)

Cost: $184

Reptile No Nos: Plants to Avoid Feeding Reptiles

The following list of plants will not kill you reptiles if you give it to them once in a while, but they will significantly harm their health if they make up a large part of the diet.

The Oxalates (cause calcium deficiency)
-chard
-spinach
-rhubarb
-dock
-sorrel
-beets
-beet green

The Goitrogens (Cause iodine deficiency=thyroid problems)
-cabbage
-broccoli
-kale
-cauliflower
-brussel sprouts
-bok choy

Summer Vivarium Project

This summer I plan on constructing a few different vivariums just for fun. Perhaps a few tropical ones, a desert one, a paludarium, etc. I'll keep you posted on the construction and what-not. The above pictures are not mine, but a little inspiration from the web.