SleepyDee Geckos

A number of times when people have come to view my leo's and their set-ups I've been asked about the various hides, rock caves and picture backgrounds I have in my vivs and where did I get them from and ~ when I've explained that they were 'home made' ~ how to make them, so I thought I'd post up a selection of my 'blue-peter lazy hides' to show that if I can anyone can .....

Here is a rough, simple picture guide on how to make a basic hide which can be applied to making a wide assortment of hides, caves etc; as well as how to make your own picture backgrounds.....

Take one egg carton lid (large or smaller half-dozen) or a flowerpot saucer cut in half with half circles cut in the sides/fronts, add a bit of pva glue, tiling grout and non-toxic paints (and even a bit of plastic greenery and wood ......... and voila ~

Flowerpot Saucer and Eggbox Lid Hides

• Polystyrene ~ sheets or recycled from packages
• Tile Grouting ~ I prefer using the powdered grouting and mixing it myself
• PVA glue
• Hard as Nails glue or similar ~ for glueing pieces together firmly
• Cocktail sticks ~ ideal for holding pieces together until glue has dried
• Assorted water-based, child-friendly/non-toxic paints
• Sand
• Assorted kitchen roll tubes, toilet roll tubes, cardboard egg-box lids, flower-pot saucers
• Grease-proof or Waxed paper
• Assorted cheap paintbrushes

Cost-wise I spent just over £10 on the floor tile grout powder and builders pva and about £2 on child-safe paints and cheap brushes with the kitchen rolls, toilet rolls, egg box lids etc being saved up over time and recycled. (I save them anyway for use with hatchlings and in the quarantine rubs) and I've still got loads left and that's after making various hides, cliffs, caves etc plus the fake bark.
With my bits of fake bark it's several layers of grouting/pva mix built up and gradually made thicker with each layer and using old brushes it naturally makes a ripple/bark effect ~ though on a couple I managed to make the 'knots' as well.

With all the hides etc the first layers when it needs to be sloppy I use about one third Builders PVA (ready made/liquid) to two thirds water followed by enough grout powder to make a runnyish mix (sort of like when ice-cream has melted lol)..... after a few layers of this allowing to dry between layers then I start adding more grout powder to liquid ratio until the final lot is like putty.

The grout powder I use is the Unibond Tile on Floors Quickset Waterproof Grout powder and it comes in Sandstone, Granite, Terricotta and Rustic Brown (there may be more colours but that's what my local B&Q stock ).

Tips and Tricks

1. Standing projects on grease-proof or waxed paper not only protects surfaces from wet grouting and paint but also when standing wet grouted surfaces on it helps provide a nice flat bottom for hides and cliffs as it peels off easily so minimising 'wobble'.
2. Wearing thin latex or plastic gloves protects hands.
3. When mixing the grout I mix one part PVA to three parts water and then gradually add the grout until it reaches the consistency wanted ~ a runnier mix and several layers is better then just a few thick layers .... slowly build up the thickness's.
4. When using plastic roughen all surfaces first using either wirewool or sanding paper before painting with a layer of pva ~ this helps key the surface and prepare it for the grouting mix enabling a better 'fix'.
5. With polystyrene paint all surfaces with pva and allow to dry before starting with the grouting mix.
6. Make sure that all polystyrene or cardboard is completely grouted and covered as crickets and mealworms have been known to hide in any nooks or crannies they want.

Interesting Facts

A leopard gecko can live up to twenty years.

Leo's tend to choose just one area to defecate in ~ this area is poshly known as a 'Defecatorium'