Step 1: Find some blocks of packing Styrofoam. I used some from a portable swamp cooler and the new kitchen sink we purchased (the kitchen will be another project I will highlight on my blog). Then, you just start cutting chunks with a knife, a steak knife does the job or whichever you prefer. WARNING: This is a messy part... well... there are a lot of messy parts to this project. The little pieces of Styrofoam fly everywhere, and you'll find them all over your house for the next month.
Step 2: Hot glue the pieces together. You just have to put a bead of hot glue on one piece and stick it to the other, it's just to keep the pieces together for a little while. We even used paper clips to hold some pieces together while hot gluing; just un-bend them and stick one end in one piece and the other end in another piece, then, take them out when you're done with hot gluing. Another thing, it's best to try to put it together in the tank, or at least set it up in the tank and have an idea of how to put it together and then glue outside of the tank. The reason why is so you know what can fit in the tank. Don't want to make it too big to where it won't fit.
Step 3: Fill in cracks with Great Stuff Insulating Foam Sealant. With the Great Stuff, you just stick the nozzle into gaps and cracks and let the foam expand, don't worry if you have too much, you can cut it down and shape it. Let the foam harden. WARNING: Using the foam insulation can be very messy. The foam can ruin your clothes, so don't wear anything that you don't want to turn into a rag.
Step 4: Shape and sculpting. After the foam has set, start shaping. You can use whatever tool you like to shape; like a knife, file, sandpaper, Dremel (my favorite). I think the shaping is one of my favorite steps, it's where you can be real creative, like sculpting a masterpiece... for a bearded dragon. I think it's fun! WARNING: The shaping is just like cutting the Styrofoam in to pieces, gets everywhere. And, I would suggest to wear a mask or respirator because those are some fine particles flying through the air. We have fancy respirators because we do things like this a lot.
Step 5: Grouting, this will provide the strength the Styrofoam needs. We just used grout that you would use on tile floors. You can pick just about any color you want, they even have dyes for the grout too. We decided that this tan color would be a great match for The Dragon's Lair, kind of looks like a rock from Australia? Maybe? Basically, mix the grout and "paint" on to the Styrofoam. WARNING: Another messy step, just don't wear anything fancy.
Step 6: Sealing with Polycrylic. After the grout has dried and set, you need to seal the whole thing. You want to use a sealant that is water based since your bearded dragon, or whatever animal you're making this for, will be in direct contact with this rock. Apply about 3 coats. Now, like I said at the beginning, we didn't invent this. One thing we heard people talking about on the other tutorials we seen out there, the Polycrylic can make the rock kind of slick. We decided to add playground sand after we would apply a layer of Polycrylic, then sealed it in with the last layer of Polycrylic, no sand after that. This is how we did it: Polycrylic - sand -
Polycrylic - sand - Polycrylic (last layer to seal everything in). Hope that makes sense. WARNING: Again, can be very messy, use caution.
Step 7: Once everything is dry, place your Dragon's Lair into the tank.
Step 8: Place bearded dragon into tank and enjoy!
Thanks for checking out my first tutorial. Any questions feel free to ask in the comments. Like me on Facebook: facebook.com/caliradan Follow me on Twitter: @Caliradan
Happy Imaging!
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