Bio-Active Substrate for Reptiles

I've searched with minimal results for bio-active set ups on this site. I was curious if anyone else does this. I've had my BP's on it for about a year now and I've seen a HUGE cost and maintenance decrease ever since.

For those of you that don't know what a bio-active set up is; it's essentially a small self sufficient ecosystem that takes care of MOST of the cleaning for you.

Here's an article that explains it in more details:

http://reptileapartment.com/bio-acti...g-reptile-art/

Aside from the false bottom (because I have live plants that take care of the extra moisture), my set up is the same. I am also aware that BP's don't require special lighting. The lighting you see is wired to a light switch that is turned off and on for proper night/day time hours. It's main purpose is to help plant growth. (Being the first time posting, I can only hope that the picture comes out right:P)


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I don't think I would recommend it for feeder racks though. Simply because they produce far more waste than reptiles do. I would imagine it would work but you would have to add an immense amount of microfauna in order to keep up.

I've heard of this somewhat but never researched it. I read the link you shared, thanks for sharing! I'm going to look into it more. You got me interested! I'm curious if anyone else on here does this as well.

Kingsnake in one, corn snake in another.
So far, so good.

The rosy boa will be transferring into a naturalistic desert viv in a few weeks. Hard to really be bio-active with so little substrate moisture, but she will live with some succulents.

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Originally Posted by Ashley96

I read the link you shared, thanks for sharing! I'm going to look into it more. You got me interested!

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No problem! There are many sites that talk about it. That was just one of the first places I found on a quick Google search. Lol! I love it! NEVER an odor. Even with fresh poo in the enclosure. He deficated 3-4 days ago and it's almost completely gone!

Also, if you have a Facebook account, here's a group that has a TON of information on it as well. It's actually where I first learned about it.

https://m.facebook.com/home.php#~!/g...?ref=bookmarks

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Originally Posted by Captain23

Also, if you have a Facebook account, here's a group that has a TON of information on it as well. It's actually where I first learned about it.

https://m.facebook.com/home.php#~!/g...?ref=bookmarks

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Thanks I requested to join!

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

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Originally Posted by distaff

The rosy boa will be transferring into a naturalistic desert viv in a few weeks. Hard to really be bio-active with so little substrate moisture, but she will live with some succulents.

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Cool! Should post some pictures here after it's done. I've never seen a setup like that

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Originally Posted by Ashley96

Thanks I requested to join!

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You're welcome! :gj:

I have some pink tongued skinks and garter snakes setup bioactive in the reptile room. The outdoor enclosures are bioactive too but that's not a conscious choice so much as a natural effect.

I've been doing a bastardized version since I moved. I'm going to get the finishing touches after I get a bigger cage for Cassidy. He kills the plants. His last shed was beautiful and the soil just smells like earth.
This makes keeping humidity up much easier. I do have a drainage layer. Very rarely do I have water in it, and what I see is just condensation. I've read that it's typically optional for a bp setup, but I'm waiting to see how winter goes before I form any personal opinions about that.
Even had him to the vet recently and my vet has gotten a recommendation for topsoil as a substrate from another herp vet.

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Originally Posted by MandMac

I've been doing a bastardized version since I moved. I'm going to get the finishing touches after I get a bigger cage for Cassidy. He kills the plants. His last shed was beautiful and the soil just smells like earth.
This makes keeping humidity up much easier. I do have a drainage layer. Very rarely do I have water in it, and what I see is just condensation. I've read that it's typically optional for a bp setup, but I'm waiting to see how winter goes before I form any personal opinions about that.
Even had him to the vet recently and my vet has gotten a recommendation for topsoil as a substrate from another herp vet.

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Potos is pretty tough, so is Hedera Helix (English ivy). IIRC, SnakeJudy esp. likes dracanea (looks sort of like a miniature corn plant - what Europeans are more like to know as maise).

I agree about the sheds. I live in high NM desert. Before I switched the cornsnake, he was having a very hard time with shedding. Cornsnakes are indigenous to the humid South Eastern US. His last shed was perfect. I got a magnet, and hung it as a trophy on the fridge.

In case anyone is supposing that these animals are languishing in filth...that is just not how it is. I clean anything I find (and then some). The enclosures always look and smell fresh. If that is ever not the case, the whole thing can be overhauled and re-planted in new substrate. Not that hard to do.

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Originally Posted by distaff

Potos is pretty tough, so is Hedera Helix (English ivy). IIRC, SnakeJudy esp. likes dracanea (looks sort of like a miniature corn plant - what Europeans are more like to know as maise).

I agree about the sheds. I live in high NM desert. Before I switched the cornsnake, he was having a very hard time with shedding. Cornsnakes are indigenous to the humid South Eastern US. His last shed was perfect. I got a magnet, and hung it as a trophy on the fridge.

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He's managed to kill a pothos and three hedera. I'm getting him a new enclosure within the next couple months though, and this time around the plants will have a chance to get established before Cassidy starts trampling them.

I also clear out the waste pretty much as soon as it's made. If necessary, a tear down and rebuild would be time consuming but not expensive. And, as I understand it, this works similar to fish tanks in that waste is converted to nitrates within the soil. The plants are supposed to be what processes the nitrates, but since I don't have any in this tank, I think I'll likely need to do some soil changes.

Arcadia is putting out a book on this authored by a veterinarian which I'm interested in reading. There's not much written about this and it will be interesting to see what this one has to say.