Experimental Skink -a -tat

Here's a habitat I have lived with a while now. It was my first build completely from scratch. I think it turned out beautifully, but I did learn a lot. I'm sharing my mistakes because I want others to learn. This type of build is not common- a huge, vertical arboreal habitat for a very high humidity species (70-90%!)- you don't come across that every day. But hey, I experimented so y'all don't have to!

My happy choices:

So pretty! The custom backdrop was a nice touch. I love the old school shellac color on the outside.
This habitat holds humidity, and pushes heat to the bottom like a dream. UV Index was great for the species.
The crossover tunnel I put in was a great idea- you can close off one side and work on the other, or separate the animals (see videos below). This came in handy a few times.
So many places to hide, so many enriching changes could be done daily. The oak branches were great for thier nails.
The epoxy floor I eventually installed was a good choice- the bioactive soil that was full of cleanup crew didn't drown if the misters were too much, water drained off out the drain below.
Using Sintra panels for the walls was good, with piercing as little as possible, with caulk in the screws, that held up and water didn't leak through,

Things I will do differently next time:

I won't try to use shellac to stand up against misters. It's so pretty. But so ...wimpy. But hey, nothing can hold up to water forever (See: Grand Canyon)
I will use "hardie board" on the bottom and around the drain, so even if the epoxy is not perfect, it will not rot at all. I'd also use bigger drains, so water gets out faster.
I put many layers of epoxy on the wood shelves, I made little bar tops! And they lasted longer than I thought they would- I thought I'd replace them annually! They were still ok after a couple years, but I wouldn't pierce them again, or use cork as hand-holds. That only sped up the (planned) demise. Still working out the perfect plan for wood shelves under constant water- I'm getting close!

Progress started- I wanted to keep the interior shellac, but alas

An interim phase

Watch the build!

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