Bioactive Garter Snake Substrate

[scaphiopus]

Hello, I'm hoping to set up a bioactive vivarium for my new Checkered Garter Snake.

What is a good substrate mixture that can support populations of isopods, look good, and be essential to the snake's health?

Help would be greatly appreciated, thanks! 😄🐍

[ShaneSilva]

Didn't you just post something similar?

Here's some information from a quick Google search.

http://bioactiveherps.co.uk/setting-...ive-enclosure/

http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=53051

[scaphiopus]

Different part of the forum to get more people to notice

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

[John1982]

I keep a pair of infernalis in a bioactive setup. I use those round clay pebbles for my drainage layer, some fine wire screen on top of those, then a few inches of dirt. The dirt/substrate for mine was nothing special, just a bucket load that I dug up under a big magnolia tree - mostly sandy but that's Florida for you. Cleanup crew consists of isopods, springtails, earwigs and american cockroaches. I spray the whole thing down about once a week and give the pothos a good watering then too. Shed skins are devoured within a day, feces don't even get a chance to dry off before they're consumed. Once or twice a year - as they're depleted in the setup - I'll gather some leaves from the yard. I'm happy with the current balance in my bio, and don't want to introduce anything new, so these new leaves get microwaved and baked in the oven before being added. Every month or two I'll turn the soil before the weekly watering.

[Regius_049]

Hello, I'm hoping to set up a bioactive vivarium for my new Checkered Garter Snake.

What is a good substrate mixture that can support populations of isopods, look good, and be essential to the snake's health?

Help would be greatly appreciated, thanks! 😄🐍

I personally use mixtures from NEherp. They have two versions, one with that is designed for high humidity and one that is slightly lower. They also stock ABG mix which is an extremely popular and well tested version. Most bioactive substrates are some variation of this mixture. Use 2-3" of hydroballs or another drainage layer, a screen separator, then 3-4" of substrate. As long as you keep the humidity reasonably high isopods and springtails will do well.

[Neal]

I personally use mixtures from NEherp. They have two versions, one with that is designed for high humidity and one that is slightly lower. They also stock ABG mix which is an extremely popular and well tested version. Most bioactive substrates are some variation of this mixture. Use 2-3" of hydroballs or another drainage layer, a screen separator, then 3-4" of substrate. As long as you keep the humidity reasonably high isopods and springtails will do well.

You're really just paying for something you could make yourself much cheaper. For my bioactive setups, atm I haven't started using them again as I need to place an order for springtails and stuff, but I'll tell you what I use. Go to Lowes, near the concrete section, get a 50 lb bag of play sand. Then go out to the garden section, get 100% organic garden soil(orange bag) and then get a big 3cu foot bag of sphagum peat moss, I use about 70% soil, 30% sand, and then I'll just mix the other stuff into it. I don't use clay balls, but I have in the past. I don't remember if I ordered tropical or temperate springtails, then I went outside and collected rotting wood and stuff and put in, along with the pill bugs/roly poly things. Unfortunately I couldn't seem to find as many as I wanted so I ordered the dwarf white isopods, which are the fastest reproducing. As John said, snake poop is gone. The last time I ran it, I didn't have to clean the snake tank for two years, aside from maybe adding some soil, and adding oak leaves as needed.

I love it and will be running it mostly for everything once I get my new enclosures in, at the moment I'm just sorting out cultures so they're good to go.