Creating a Custom Naturalistic Background for Your Gecko Cage

This is a simple way to build a background that looks much better than plants hung on the back. A solid back also makes good hiding spots easier, so your animals feel more comfortable. I built this one in an Exo Terra 30 × 30 × 30 cm (12 × 12 × 12 in) cube for a small species. Most geckos need a bigger cage, but the method is the same.

What you need

• A terrarium
• Black or brown silicone
• A can of Great Stuff foam
• Disposable gloves
• Cork bark and grapevine
• Fine-grained dirt: shredded coco fiber or ReptiSoil both work

Most of this is at any hardware store.

Step 1: silicone the back wall

This step is optional, but I always do it. Great Stuff is an ugly yellow, and wherever it covers the back glass you see that color from behind. A thin layer of brown or black silicone over the back wall fixes that. I go about 5 cm (2 in) up each side too, to leave room for the foam to expand and hold the decorations. Let it dry overnight. It must be fully dry before the next step.

Step 2: foam in the decorations

Hold each piece against the background where you want it and use Great Stuff as the adhesive around it. The key point: cork bark is usually concave, so fill every gap all the way around for a flush fit. Otherwise a gecko can crawl in behind it, get trapped, and you can't get it out.

Great Stuff dries faster than silicone: after a couple of hours it is firm and the pieces will not come out. It expands a lot, so mine rose too high for the lid.

Step 3: trim and shape

Trim the excess and carve the foam into the shape and texture you want. I use a plain razor blade held by hand; it slices through easily. Be careful, and if you are younger, have an adult help.

Step 4: silicone and soil

Lay the cage on its back and cover all the yellow foam in the same silicone. While it is wet, pour soil over it and pat it down gently. I leave the dirt on for a day or two so the most soil sticks, though all that dirt slows the drying.

Step 5: finish the cage

Stand the cage up. The loose dirt falls to the bottom and becomes the base substrate; gently brush off the rest. I added two more handfuls of ReptiSoil to even it out.

• Pillow moss: soaked in warm water to brighten it, then laid over the soil. It isn't required, and geckos can live on a dirt floor, but it brightens the cage and holds humidity very well.
• Mossy vine: I cut a 1.8 m (6 ft) vine in half with wire snips. The cut end can have wire poking out, so I push that end into the substrate where it can't poke a gecko. I wrapped it around the sticks and a Pangea mini acrylic food ledge, which also makes a good anchor for vines.
• Basking spots: the sticks foamed in straight out from the background give a place to sit right under the UVB light, if the species is diurnal.
• A small artificial plant for cover. I don't like suction cups; they don't hold well. Getting them wet helps.

I will add a ground-level hide too. Expect some dirt to keep falling off the background as you mist and the animals climb.