Desert Bio-Active

As mentioned in my thread about converting a 75-gallon aquarium, I’m starting my bio-active adventure with something a little more restrained - a 16” x 16” x 12” Exo-Terra style enclosure for one of my male sand boas.

The BioDude sells a desert kit, including succulents, but other sources say that succulents do badly in terraria, and other than Sansiveria, I don’t see much in the way of succulents at NE Herp or Glass Box Tropicals. I was going to poach from my succulent garden at work, but ended up getting some new ones last week that I have no attachment to and so I’m willing to sacrifice. :)

After looking at The BioDude and NE Herp, I decided to go with NE Herp’s supplies, augmented by Glass Box Tropicals, who are closer for shipping. I also decided to lighten up the enclosure by using a Matala pond filter as a drainage layer (BioDude used it in a video, has a very similar filter material for sale).

Tapatalk has been flaky and not allowing me to add additional images to a post without saving then editing to add another, so this might get broken up into a bunch of posts.

Anyhoo...

My springtails, dwarf isopods, and leaf litter arrived from Glass Box on Tuesday, the drainage layer arrived yesterday, and yesterday at lunch I went to Home Depot for clear acrylic to supplement the height of the litter dam on the enclosure, as it isn’t as deep as I’d like.

This picture shows the rigidity of the filter material (found on Amazon):
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Drainage layer marked and ready for cutting. Notice the big yellow safety ruler, which is steel, with a cutting edge that’s about an 18” off the surface thanks to the non-skid material on the bottom of the ruler. I also have a couple short aluminum ones. I like the steel one best because it’s heavy, so it stays where you put it better than the aluminum ones. That hand guard is sooooo nice. If you cut a lot of stuff, you want one!

The filter material cut easily with the utility knife, a couple passes against the ruler, then I opened up the cut and finished it off. Looking at the edge I’d say the stuff is usually cut with a hot cutter. I cut it a little too long at first and had to take off about a quarter-inch, which was a pain, as the stuff isn’t completely rigid.

To get a single piece of the material big enough for the enclosure would have been stupidly expensive and left me with a lot of leftover, so I cut about a 1” strip to fill in the gap in width. That left about a 1” x 1” empty area at the corner.

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Per NE Herp’s suggestion, I put a tube down through/past the drainage layer, so I can siphon excess water out with small tubing if necessary. I didn’t have 3/8” tubing handy, but I did have 1/2” PVC. I cut a piece to length, and took a 45-ish-degree bevel off the end, so it wouldn’t sit completely tight to the floor and make it hard for water to get into the drainage riser. My saw of choice is a Japanese-style saw, which cuts on the pull stroke. I usually use a pipe cutter for PVC, but they’re buried in the workshop side of the basement, due to making a path for a new washing machine. The saw, OTOH, was out and available. :)

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Sedum and ice plants do well in arid terrariums, but most others do not. Either way, you will need pretty intense lighting to keep them alive.

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Originally Posted by Alter-Echo

Sedum and ice plants do well in arid terrariums, but most others do not. Either way, you will need pretty intense lighting to keep them alive.

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The light is a very bright aquarium LED, that shouldn’t be a problem. My initial plants are aloes, which for me are nigh-on unkillable, but if those poop out I can get some sedums and ice plants and re-plant.


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My initial plan was to run the supplemental litter dam all the way to the floor of the enclosure, but I cut the drainage layer a little too tightly, and didn’t want to trim it again. But it turned out for the best anyway, as the door jamb meant I needed to shim the litter dam. I got lucky again, in that the acrylic was a good thickness, and I cut them out of scrap from the litter dam.

I bought this cutter for rigid plastics. It worked, but not any better than a utility knife. Score score score score score some more and more and more and eventually snap.

The litter dam, shims, and drainage riser are held in place with Lexel left over from a batch of AP cages. I am not good with silicone, my hands were coated. I didn’t know where the Goo Gone was, but olive oil followed by soap and water did the trick - the Lexel tube said citrus-based cleaners or mineral spirits. I know Goo Gone is oily, so I figured I’d try olive oil before turning to mineral spirits.

Everything in place, after this picture was taken I filled the space around the drainage riser with drainage layer trimmings:

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Front view. The drainage riser is in as the viv. will be sitting on a shelving unit, so front access is easier. I’ll probably plug the top of the riser so there are no exploring accidents - sand boas *will* climb! The round area on the left with the bright green fabric has a plastic plug for a cord race, but when we had a baby snake in the enclosure we added the fabric to prevent escapes. The “Wonambi, 80-95” label refers to a previous inhabitant, the low-end ambient temperature, and the max hot-spot temperature targets for her.
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Drainage riser clamped lightly in place for the night. Bonus Disapproving Pippin disapproving from a damp towel where I spilled a glass of water. I’m not sure if the damp towel was cooler than the dry floor, or if he was doing the cat-like “it’s taller than the floor” thing. :)

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I’ll probably cover the third side of the enclosure with more aquarium background. In the previous use that side was next to another enclosure, so I left the adjacent sides uncovered. My sand boa is currently in another identical enclosure, so once the plants and bugs settle in, I can just move him and the top from that enclosure, which already has his RHP mounted to it, over to this one.

That’s the infrastructure done, tonight or tomorrow I get to finish putting it all together and add the buggies! Whee!


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Oops, forgot the picture of the cutting tool:
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looks good so far, can't wait to see the finished product. I've always wondered what a sand boas bioactive viv would look like.

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Originally Posted by Apiratenamedjohn

looks good so far, can't wait to see the finished product. I've always wondered what a sand boas bioactive viv would look like.

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Thank you. The last bits and pieces were waiting on the porch for me when I got home last night, so I got to finish it up.

First, another picture I forgot - the drainage riser and litter dam extension siliconed in place, from the inside:
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I went with the NE Herp V2 substrate, as their description says its a little softer, and so better for burrowing critters. I got three bags/gallons. I got the first one in, and realized the screened ventilation area on the side was going to be partially buried. Fortunately, the scrap material from the litter dam and shims was almost a perfect fit. A little Lexel, and we’re good to continue:
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I misted the first layer, put the second layer in, and started placing the plants. The succulents are along one side and the back, so I can keep those a little dryer. In the back right corner I put the wandering jew cuttings, in one of NE Herp’s cork bark round planters. If you’re looking at them, the diameter is the outer diameter, not the inner. I left most of the area open for Shai-Hulud to burrow.

The succulents along the back are elephant bush, which I’m either going to have to keep pruned back or move when they get too tall. The other two are the probable-aloes. I put the speckly one in front since it’s a little shorter, and prettier. I could have put the big one a little farther from the wall, but I think it’s pretty well grown and shouldn’t get much bigger.

Image isn’t in focus, but it shows the arrangement of plants:
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And a front view, with glare from the open (house) door:
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Third layer of substrate, add the isopods and springtails, then top it off with live oak leaf litter, maybe 2/3 of the gallon:

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Put the top on, and set the aquarium light on top:
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The leftover elephant bush and cuttings of wandering jew were put on top just to get the picture, I didn’t want the table getting bumped and things falling!
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The drainage layer and substrate take up enough depth in the enclosure that the light doesn’t have vertical space to spread very far, so this morning I dug out another one. With one along the left and one along the back I think the lighting will be better for the plants.

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So, now it sits for a few weeks for the buggies and plants to settle in before I turn Shai-Hulud loose to burrow and carouse. Patience is hard! :) It doesn’t look particularly desert-like with the leaf litter, but the isopods will feed on the leaf litter, and the gravel I use for my potted succulents might be a little hard to burrow through. I may crunch it up a little more, or see if I can find something I like better that will still feed the isopods. I’m leaving it on a table for a few days, to see if I need to make any changes or am going to immediately root-rot the succulents.

If you look back up-thread, you might notice a gap on the left side of the litter dam extension. That had to be there for the door to open. I’d ordered my screen separator over-sized, so I trimmed it to leave a tab that covers the gap to keep the substrate contained.

I know a lot of people like The BioDude, but I’m a bit dubious about the succulents. I’m also double-dubious about the idea of a viv with succulents and no drainage layer (which he says you can do with his TerraSahara/desert kits). I’ve also seen comments that his stuff can be over-priced. And finally, he’s several shipping days away, all of which are why I went with the NE Herp for substrate and other supplies.

NE Herp was great, they let me add on isopod and springtail food (Repashy BugBurger and brewer’s yeast), plus some more screen separator to use instead of gravel for my potted succulents. I only ordered one cutting of the wandering jew, but they threw in several extra.

NE Herp is low on leaf litter, only available if you buy a kit, and also low on isopods. Glass Box Tropicals is also a shipping day closer, so I got my leaf litter and bugs from them. Next time I’ll get my springtails from NE Herp, as they send springtail cultures in substrate and you can just spread it on top of your substrate layer (both ship isopods that way). Glass Box sends their springs in charcoal, so you have to add water and pour the water+isopods out, and I’d rather be lazy/get all the springs out in one go. :)

After I got all the materials and supplies, I think it took me about an hour, *maybe* two, each night to set things up. I mess about re-potting succulents several times a year, and I’ve read the NE Herp Vivarium Building 101 and 102 articles several times, so I was pretty confident about the process. I didn’t process the plants (per NE Herp’s article about that), since soaking succulents would be certain death. I did try to get all the soil out of their roots that I could. I also didn’t boil the leaf litter, since I like to live dangerously.

Now we get to see how I did, and if everything survives...


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that looks and sounds awesome. good job.

I mixed in the charcoal when I add springtail cultures. it is just more carbon for the soil. speaking of, I would be a little worried about there being an over abundance of carbon. I think moisture will be held well and humidity will be high, especially inside the substrate(where tunnels are made). especially with the leaf litter capping it off. it sounds and looks like it was a good idea to add some inert matter to the substrate. if it is still holding too much moisture for too long you can add some sand or silt to the mixture. both are good for tunneling structures and silt is just a little bit better than sand. the silt structure and size are better suited for this. I used both. reading through their site info I see that you will probably want to add something since it is mostly a carbon mixture.

also their information on how viv substrate works is a little skewed . all substrates will compact over time, including theirs. but, stuff with tiny particle sizes will compact faster. as things break down they get smaller. this is the nature of the beast. theres will too, but it will take a little longer because the particle sizes are not particularly small and some of the things are resistant to breaking down( which doesn't mean much to your insects and stuff). it will take the molds, fungus, bacterias, and insects, just a little longer to break it down. also I think It is hilarious that they say coconut fiber are not great and then scroll down to their ingredients and what is listed? lmao
peat breaks down fast, especially when it is a smaller particulate, leading to faster compaction. coco fiber takes a little bit longer to break down. but the key word is "primarily".
I insist that you take my word on none of this, and if you feel motivated to, look it all up. knowledge is power.
rant over:

you did good, it looks good.
I'm interested to see how Shai-Hulud reacts to this environment.
what substrate was he kept in before?

I had an idea this morning, to get the last of the springtails out without ending up with a lot of charcoal in the substrate: I moved the leaf litter aside in one area, put down a piece of screen separator, and poured the charcoal and springs out on it. NE Herp says their screen separator will allow springs to pass through, so it seems like it should work. This evening I’ll pull out the screen and charcoal and re-spread the leaf litter.

I started out with the sand boas on sand - not calcium sand, not slag sandblasting “sand”, I found a wholesale/industrial supplier with nice screened inert mineral sand. They did pretty well, but sand is so heavy, I switched them over to ground walnut. Sif and Danger Noodle shed pretty well, but Shai-Hulud had a series of poor sheds. A humid hide helps, and he definitely likes it, but he also manages to pull the moss out. [emoji57] Thus trying him with bio-active.

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sounds like a good idea. as the charcoal dries the springtails will want to move through the screen to the moist substrate.

I poked through the charcoal last night, and there were still a fair number of springs in it (and it was still damp). I spread the charcoal out some more, and this morning it was dry and no live springtails sighted. Looks like it worked.

Now I have to find some round tuits and instructions for the timer for the lights and get it programmed. [emoji846]

The leftover chunk of drainage layer media went to work with me this morning, I realized that it would be just the thing to fill up some space in the bottom of deeper containers for my potted succulents. [emoji266][emoji266][emoji266]


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Last weekend we got the bio-active enclosure shifted over to the shelf next to the sand boa’s current enclosure, so it isn’t taking up a folding table in the living room (and then I promptly put my sewing machine on the table!), and I found a manual on-line for the timer.

Two weeks in the plants seem to be surviving, so the initial planting didn’t kill them. I’m not seeing isopod or springtail activity yet, but I’m not too worried, I figure I won’t until their population gets well-established and they’re reproducing. My plan is to let things cycle and settle in for the month of June, and move Shai-Hulud in July.


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A day or two after last posting I looked under the top layer of leaves - LOTS of springtails! No sign of isopods, but I did get a “dwarf” type, and they were hard to see even in the little deli cup, so I suspect they’re there and lurking.


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Last week Shai-Hulud actually ate, and the last few nights when I’ve been misting the bio-active he’s been using his humid hide for a chin rest and watching me. Hopefully he’s trying to tell me “C’mon, Mom, move me in!”

Soon little guy, soon. I’m vending at the local 4th of July festival on Saturday and Sunday; I think I’ll move him on Monday so I can sit on the couch and watch him explore while I recover from the weekend. [emoji846]


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I didn’t vend at the 4th of July festival for boring reasons, but it was so stinkin’ hot that I still didn’t get Shai-Hulud moved until last Monday. He disappeared behind the cork stump the wandering jew is in, and spent a while out of sight, but wiggling the elephant bushes and leaf litter. Eventually he came back out and slowly circumnavigated the perimeter of the enclosure, checking everything out, and then wandered across the middle to visit the aloes some more. Let’s see if Tapatalk is going to cooperate with posting pictures today...

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Nope, still only wants to let me post one per post. So we’ll give you . . . HOVER SNAKE! Giggle. He was using the litter dam for this trick. :)


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Inspecting the drainage riser from the water bowl:
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Hello plant, I am in you.
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I noticed this morning that the speckly aloe in the front has babies! Yay, it’s happy!

The wandering jew seems to have perked up lately, too, and today I noticed one of the cacti at my office has a sprout and the wandering jew cutting there is looking pretty good.


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Of course, Shai-Hulud’s derpy little face is out of focus...
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Happy speckly aloe with baby:
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And the wandering jew, with the elephant bushes in the background:
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Bonus budding cactus and happily-wandering jew at work. These two pictures are about two weeks old, the cactus has a second bud and possibly a baby/runner, and the wandering jew is definitely bigger now:
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