Multi-Species Paladarium

sploke said:
Here is what I would do. Paint the walls and ceiling with epoxy paint, and cover the floor with pond liner (basically moisture-proof the room). Build in a vent with a fan on a humidistat to control humidity - not too difficult if the room has an outside wall. I'd lay down some sort of shredded bark on the floor. For the water feature, I'd build a, above-ground pond, basically. Frame up something out of landscaping timbers, and use pond liner inside it. Unless you are on a concrete slab, you will most likely need to do some significant floor reinforcement so this doesn't fall through the floor. Make the pond about 3' deep and maybe 6x6 or 8x8 footprint. I'd built a ledge around the edges of the pond so you had a marginal area that was maybe 1-2" deep where you can put some marginal plants, fill it with rocks for a turtle or some other herps. Find some nice huge planters and get some small trees to plant in there.
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I like some of these ideas.. the epoxy paint is a great one but I would remove all the dry wall and use Green board, which is used in Bathrooms. It withstands the humidity and will help prevent Black Mold.

Again, I suggest atleast finding a good carpenter to help you build this, or give you some advice on building it. If you are not a carpenter or into construction, you will need some professional help in the beginning. They can help you design this and look over your plans and ideas for this. They will take out the ideas that will not work and give you some ideas that you may not have thought of.

I am just trying to help save you from some severe headaches down the line in about a year or 2 after this is built.

As for the Permit, you should still check with your city. They may say differently and every city has different rules and regulations.
 
One idea I just had was to build a deck out of Trex decking or some other composite decking. It would preclude your desire for some type of bedding on the floor, but if you made a raised deck and put pond liner under it with a slope to a drain going outside, you could just hose it down.

Agree with the greenboard as well.
 
sploke said:
One idea I just had was to build a deck out of Trex decking or some other composite decking. It would preclude your desire for some type of bedding on the floor, but if you made a raised deck and put pond liner under it with a slope to a drain going outside, you could just hose it down.

Agree with the greenboard as well.
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you know, I like that as well building of a raised deck but instead of that, how about building just large containers with pond liners even for the plants.
If you build a light well in your room this would help the plants greatly and reduce the lighting bill. I can picture having ornamental grasses in there along with a small bush or ficus tree. You could even do a pond as well with Lilly pads but again the structure would have to be reinforced for this weight.
Then you could use bench seats, and maybe have outdoor speakers and play some classical music in this room.

Now the entrance into this room, you could remove the standard Door and place some Glass french doors but make sure it has a good seal.

Sploke what is your take??
lol we could really design this room for her. lol
 
cam191919 said:
although they dont eat poo, hermit crabs would be pretty interesting given the right habitat, especially since they like to climb
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Keep in mind that land hermit crabs need fairly deep, moist substrate (like sand or coconut fiber) to dig down in to molt. This can take weeks or even months in which time they shouldn't be disturbed.

ETA: actually, I recall reading that LHC have been seen eating poo in the wild. I'll look around and see if I can find where I read this... I know mine LOVE worm castings.
 
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What, no one liked my idea of an indoor beach? Thats what I would do. Anyway, I think sploke is giving you some good advice. Just think long and hard about your plans before you set things in motion; especially regarding waste removal.
 
Hmm... As for cleanup, no animal EATS poo. Animals may sift through poo to see if they can find more, or have some mental disorder - like my girlfriends dog - to where they eat it because they want to. I have never heard of an animal eating poo, unless there is some exotic animal I've never heard of, then by all means, shoot me down.
Microorganisms convert it into things for plants to eat, then animals eat the plants, animals get eaten, and poo is made again to restart the cycle :]

I'd suggest having a smooth for your ground base... not really tile, but something smooth with drains in the bottom, with small areas for plants - 80% concrete/tile/w.e and 20% actual dirt with plants growing.
Just a suggestion to make cleanup a little easier.

I really like the idea, if you do it - I'm coming for a visit!
Hah, jk, but really, you seem very well planned and ready to make this thing happen!
 
red_wall said:
Hmm... As for cleanup, no animal EATS poo. Animals may sift through poo to see if they can find more,
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Sifting throught the poo for the "good" parts and eating them to me is still eating poo. My LHC absolutely love worm castings. The dish is empty in a matter of days. Also, I remember reading a post over on one of the LHC forums about someone offering guinea pig poo to their crabs and that being a big hit too.

I'm not saying adding hermit crabs to this paludarium would help with clean up. Actually, I think it's a bad idea to add them. I just thought it was worth mentioning.
 
just a thought, hosing bird poo outside may be a bad idea as it could spread diseases you may not even know your bird has to wild populations

juvie chinese water dragons eat the poo of adults, but thats only to gain the bacteria needed for digestion...
 
dung beetles and many other insects eat poo. I'm also fairly certain that some rodents will eat their poop to get more out of their hard to digest diet. I'm sure there's more.

Sorry, I couldn't help myself. The why's don't really matter but the fact is, a lot of animals do eat poo.
 
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