Volksvegan
New Member
Hello, all! I've been reading a lot here, but just started posting. This seems like a really great group of people!
I've had my 7yo male Russian, Ludwig, for about four years. I do have an outdoor enclosure for him, but we are in the depths of a Canadian winter right now, so he is in his indoor enclosure, a 160-gallon stock tank. It has 7" of substrate so he can dig and burrow and is fairly well-planted. I've incorporated a lot of visual barriers so he "thinks" it's bigger than it is, and have used a lot of "pathways", hills, dips, etc. Microclimates have been fairly easy to establish with lighting (basking spot, UV tubes, regular incandescent, etc.). On to some pics! (descriptive caption below each picture)
This is the entrance to his hide. I've made it a bit like an actual burrow. It's a Super Pet Natural Tree Trunk hideaway made for guinea pigs, but I cut the door wider and a bit larger for Ludwig and have a "log" pathway entrance. These log things are great for preventing erosion of the substrate in areas where needed.
I call this the "hill path"; it's a divider for a terrarium that I laid on its side. I've used Norfolk Island pines (not actually pines but some other species; they're those mini living "Christmas trees" you can get; I checked and they're non-toxic) to give a natural "bonsai" look. Ludwig sniffed them and isn't interested in eating them, thank goodness, and he's tried to bulldoze them, but they're up to the challenge. Also some "cat grass' (wheat grass) that I keep trimmed. He's not very interested in it.
This is a view towards his pool (it's shallow and very easy for him to navigate) showing one of the "gardens" of spider plants. Our dojo had a fundraiser of baby spider plants, propagated by someone I know so I was able to establish that they had no pesticides or other nasty stuff - I bought almost all of them, LOL! Bridge and tunnel here also as well as another "tree".
I have two of these "planters" that I bought at a local pet store, but I can't remember the brand name and can't seem to find them on Google. They're large, irregular resin made to look like volcanic rock, but are open on the bottom so the plants are protected but can root in the substrate. They're really great!
Basking area with petroglyph (not a real one, of course).
Other pathways here and there.
Garden and pathway.
Ludwig trundling around. Look carefully and you'll see him.
Christmas cacti repotted in substrate and waiting in the wings to be destroyed...er, I mean "enjoyed" by Ludwig once they're clear of pesticides, etc.. I got 10 of these for $6 at Walmart!
Guess that's it for now - sorry I'm long-winded!!!
I've had my 7yo male Russian, Ludwig, for about four years. I do have an outdoor enclosure for him, but we are in the depths of a Canadian winter right now, so he is in his indoor enclosure, a 160-gallon stock tank. It has 7" of substrate so he can dig and burrow and is fairly well-planted. I've incorporated a lot of visual barriers so he "thinks" it's bigger than it is, and have used a lot of "pathways", hills, dips, etc. Microclimates have been fairly easy to establish with lighting (basking spot, UV tubes, regular incandescent, etc.). On to some pics! (descriptive caption below each picture)
This is the entrance to his hide. I've made it a bit like an actual burrow. It's a Super Pet Natural Tree Trunk hideaway made for guinea pigs, but I cut the door wider and a bit larger for Ludwig and have a "log" pathway entrance. These log things are great for preventing erosion of the substrate in areas where needed.
I call this the "hill path"; it's a divider for a terrarium that I laid on its side. I've used Norfolk Island pines (not actually pines but some other species; they're those mini living "Christmas trees" you can get; I checked and they're non-toxic) to give a natural "bonsai" look. Ludwig sniffed them and isn't interested in eating them, thank goodness, and he's tried to bulldoze them, but they're up to the challenge. Also some "cat grass' (wheat grass) that I keep trimmed. He's not very interested in it.
This is a view towards his pool (it's shallow and very easy for him to navigate) showing one of the "gardens" of spider plants. Our dojo had a fundraiser of baby spider plants, propagated by someone I know so I was able to establish that they had no pesticides or other nasty stuff - I bought almost all of them, LOL! Bridge and tunnel here also as well as another "tree".
I have two of these "planters" that I bought at a local pet store, but I can't remember the brand name and can't seem to find them on Google. They're large, irregular resin made to look like volcanic rock, but are open on the bottom so the plants are protected but can root in the substrate. They're really great!
Basking area with petroglyph (not a real one, of course).
Other pathways here and there.
Garden and pathway.
Ludwig trundling around. Look carefully and you'll see him.
Christmas cacti repotted in substrate and waiting in the wings to be destroyed...er, I mean "enjoyed" by Ludwig once they're clear of pesticides, etc.. I got 10 of these for $6 at Walmart!
Guess that's it for now - sorry I'm long-winded!!!
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