Bioactive vivarium advice

[fieldfare]

Hello everyone. I'm planning on setting up a bioactive enclosure for what will probably be an Arizona Mountain Kingsnake. I have been reading as much as I can online but I still have some questions, and I thought that this forum would probably have a lot of useful info.

My main question is what kinds of enclosures would work for bioactive setups, and where would I purchase them? I know that aquariums would work and would probably be the easiest to set up, but I really prefer side opening enclosures. However, I was worried that they wouldn't be deep enough to hold the layers of substrate needed for bioactive.

Heating and lighting are also issues that I have been considering. I was thinking of using a radiant heat panel on the side of the enclosure to get around the problem of heating through thick substrate, but I would welcome second opinions. I am also looking for advice on the best way to light an enclosure like this. If you have any suggestions or experience with bioactive setups I would love to hear from you.Thanks in advance!

[KWAddict]

I am about to do this with an Animal Plastics enclosure. I can't give you exact details as of yet because I'm basically just going to have to customize as I get started.

I had order AP T10s before I had this idea. I got with Ali at Animal Plastics and am now going to go with T12s. The enclosures will be 4x2x2. I asked All about making the substrate dam 6" tall instead of 2" so that I can have like 2" drainage later and 4" of soil.

I'll probably be going with a pro-products misting system and I'm still researching lights.

I'm just going to have a RHP mounted on top on one side to keep a good heat gradient.

Edit: PM me and we can talk further! Sorry, I'm at work so I was trying to get my comment posted quickly.

Also, if you're on Facebook, Bioactive Vivaria Worldwide group is an excellent resource.

[KWAddict]

Accidental double post. Edited prior post. Please delete!

[fieldfare]

Thanks, I'll shoot you a pm. I'm definitely interested in seeing how you are setting yours up.

[Pezz]

I've recently switched my glass terrarium to bio with spider plants. Eco earth plantation soil is perfect for supporting vegetation. you don't need deep substrate in the entire tank, just where you plant your veg.

Sent from my LG-M151 using Tapatalk

[Regius_049]

Hello everyone. I'm planning on setting up a bioactive enclosure for what will probably be an Arizona Mountain Kingsnake. I have been reading as much as I can online but I still have some questions, and I thought that this forum would probably have a lot of useful info.

My main question is what kinds of enclosures would work for bioactive setups, and where would I purchase them? I know that aquariums would work and would probably be the easiest to set up, but I really prefer side opening enclosures. However, I was worried that they wouldn't be deep enough to hold the layers of substrate needed for bioactive.

Heating and lighting are also issues that I have been considering. I was thinking of using a radiant heat panel on the side of the enclosure to get around the problem of heating through thick substrate, but I would welcome second opinions. I am also looking for advice on the best way to light an enclosure like this. If you have any suggestions or experience with bioactive setups I would love to hear from you.Thanks in advance!

I've done this with exo-terras and animal plastics-style enclosures. For the purposes of this post, I will stick to advice relevant to plastic, front-opening enclosures.

Like KWaddict, I have had to specifically request larger litter dams. Depending on what kind of habitat you are setting up, I recommend a litter dam somewhere in the range of 4-6". If you don't need a drainage layer or not much of one, you can go shorter. I would say 6" is more optimal. For an Arizona Mountain Kingsnake, you'll likely be setting up a more arid enclosure, so a drainage layer is helpful, but not strictly necessary due to the reduced amount of watering. Succulents, spider plants, and arid species like christmas cactus work well in setups like this. Colubrids destroy plants less than boids in my experience, but you can bury the plants in pots if need be.

For heating, I almost exclusively use radiant heat panels (RHPs) from Pro Products. I like them because they are more controllable than a CHE or heat lamp (I am lazy and like the system to tailor itself at temperatures fluctuate) and preserve humidity when you need it. Under-tank heaters tend to work poorly in these type of setups. Occasionally, I have had success using UTHs with low temperature species against the side of an enclosure with a carefully placed hide/burrow, but they aren't my "go to". Also, RHPs will often save you on wattage over heat lamps. That said, for the Arizona Mountain Kingsnake, you can probably use any of the methods as they are pretty forgiving. Like most kingsnakes, they will thrive as long as they have access to an 85-90 F spot anywhere in the cage provided ambient temperatures are not unusually low. I shoul note that RHPs will dry out your substrate somewhat, so your cool side will usually end up being more damp and hold humidity better than the heated side. I find microfauna tend to prefer to sit on the cool side, I assume for the higher substrate humidity.

For lighting, it depends on if you have a standalone cage or a stack setup. If you have a standalone cage, I highly recommend these LED lights. They are something of an LED string and herpstat controller in one and allow for good lighting for plans as well as a timer with a sunrise/sunset light cycle. There is programmable remote and you can also tailor the strength of your LEDs. Basically you just ask for a cutout on the top of the cage with screen where the light will go and then place the RHP in front of, or behind it. For example, if you have a 4' x 2' x 2' cage, you have 8 sq. feet to work with. Such an enclosure would do well with a 4" x 47" cutout for the light then you have ~20" or so to place your RHP (a 4' cage usually takes an 80 watt PH3 panel). The light cutout then also serves as you ventilation.

If you need to keep in heat or want less ventilation, then you an reduce the size of the light / cutout. You can use a 36" light or 24" as the light will travel a fair distance and you can simply reduce the size of the screen cutout and position your plants accordingly. High light plants under the light and "shade" plants further away.

If you have a "stack setup", i.e. cages stacked on top of each other, these "on top of cage" lights obviously won't work. In this case you can do a couple things: You can use a fluorescent T8/T5 light screwed to the top of the cage or you can purchase an LED strip light and mounts to the ceiling. For example, Reptile basics sells these or if you want fluorescent lighting, lightyourreptiles.com has many. As a note, you usually have to pay attention to light strength and cage height and make sure your lights are powerful enough for your cage and plant selection.

I doubt you'll have a problem with drainage in an arid setup since water is limited, but as an "fyi" you can do a few things to deal with excess water. If you are concerned about water rising above your drainage layer or pooling in your cage, you can do two things: Since PVC is usually black or opaque you can - (1) put an acrylic window in your litter dam to monitor water and deal with any issues accordingly, or (2) you can drill a bulkhead like people do with dart frog tanks that automatically drains if water pools.

If it were me, I would do the following:

PVC or plastics enclosure - 4' x 2' x 1.5-2' with a 4-6" litter dam
4-5" x 36" cutoutt for ventillation on top with 36" satellite plus pro light
2-4 succulent or arid plants
Substrate - peat/coir/sand mixture with a bag or two of ABG mix for humid pockets.
leaf litter of some kind
PH3 from products for heat with thermostat

Good luck!

[fieldfare]

I've done this with exo-terras and animal plastics-style enclosures. For the purposes of this post, I will stick to advice relevant to plastic, front-opening enclosures.

Like KWaddict, I have had to specifically request larger litter dams. Depending on what kind of habitat you are setting up, I recommend a litter dam somewhere in the range of 4-6". If you don't need a drainage layer or not much of one, you can go shorter. I would say 6" is more optimal. For an Arizona Mountain Kingsnake, you'll likely be setting up a more arid enclosure, so a drainage layer is helpful, but not strictly necessary due to the reduced amount of watering. Succulents, spider plants, and arid species like christmas cactus work well in setups like this. Colubrids destroy plants less than boids in my experience, but you can bury the plants in pots if need be.

For heating, I almost exclusively use radiant heat panels (RHPs) from Pro Products. I like them because they are more controllable than a CHE or heat lamp (I am lazy and like the system to tailor itself at temperatures fluctuate) and preserve humidity when you need it. Under-tank heaters tend to work poorly in these type of setups. Occasionally, I have had success using UTHs with low temperature species against the side of an enclosure with a carefully placed hide/burrow, but they aren't my "go to". Also, RHPs will often save you on wattage over heat lamps. That said, for the Arizona Mountain Kingsnake, you can probably use any of the methods as they are pretty forgiving. Like most kingsnakes, they will thrive as long as they have access to an 85-90 F spot anywhere in the cage provided ambient temperatures are not unusually low. I shoul note that RHPs will dry out your substrate somewhat, so your cool side will usually end up being more damp and hold humidity better than the heated side. I find microfauna tend to prefer to sit on the cool side, I assume for the higher substrate humidity.

For lighting, it depends on if you have a standalone cage or a stack setup. If you have a standalone cage, I highly recommend these LED lights. They are something of an LED string and herpstat controller in one and allow for good lighting for plans as well as a timer with a sunrise/sunset light cycle. There is programmable remote and you can also tailor the strength of your LEDs. Basically you just ask for a cutout on the top of the cage with screen where the light will go and then place the RHP in front of, or behind it. For example, if you have a 4' x 2' x 2' cage, you have 8 sq. feet to work with. Such an enclosure would do well with a 4" x 47" cutout for the light then you have ~20" or so to place your RHP (a 4' cage usually takes an 80 watt PH3 panel). The light cutout then also serves as you ventilation.

If you need to keep in heat or want less ventilation, then you an reduce the size of the light / cutout. You can use a 36" light or 24" as the light will travel a fair distance and you can simply reduce the size of the screen cutout and position your plants accordingly. High light plants under the light and "shade" plants further away.

If you have a "stack setup", i.e. cages stacked on top of each other, these "on top of cage" lights obviously won't work. In this case you can do a couple things: You can use a fluorescent T8/T5 light screwed to the top of the cage or you can purchase an LED strip light and mounts to the ceiling. For example, Reptile basics sells these or if you want fluorescent lighting, lightyourreptiles.com has many. As a note, you usually have to pay attention to light strength and cage height and make sure your lights are powerful enough for your cage and plant selection.

I doubt you'll have a problem with drainage in an arid setup since water is limited, but as an "fyi" you can do a few things to deal with excess water. If you are concerned about water rising above your drainage layer or pooling in your cage, you can do two things: Since PVC is usually black or opaque you can - (1) put an acrylic window in your litter dam to monitor water and deal with any issues accordingly, or (2) you can drill a bulkhead like people do with dart frog tanks that automatically drains if water pools.

If it were me, I would do the following:

PVC or plastics enclosure - 4' x 2' x 1.5-2' with a 4-6" litter dam
4-5" x 36" cutoutt for ventillation on top with 36" satellite plus pro light
2-4 succulent or arid plants
Substrate - peat/coir/sand mixture with a bag or two of ABG mix for humid pockets.
leaf litter of some kind
PH3 from products for heat with thermostat

Good luck!

Thank you very much! I really appreciate all of the details that you gave. The tips about lighting are especially helpful, and I hadn't thought about having an opening at the top for them before. I was wondering how I was going to put lights inside the cage, but putting them up top makes a lot more sense.

Do you have any pictures of any of your setups? If so I would love to see them!

[Regius_049]

Do you have any pictures of any of your setups? If so I would love to see them!

I seldom post personal pictures here as you can't upload them directly from your computer, you have to use imgur or another hosting site. That said, come to think of it, I don't think I really have many (if any) pictures of my setups. I had debated at one point doing a tutorial thread on a bioactive enclosure in a PVC-style cage, but I wasn't sure if it would garner much interest here as ball pythons (or really most snakes in general) aren't typical candidates for bioactive setups. The gecko and dart frog communities use them far more often (and I can see why, the inhabitants crush their plants far less often).

Perhaps I should reconsider.

[distaff]

I like Exo-Terra front opening vivs. The forty long with the slide out top can work well too. I use an radiant heat panel bolted to foil covered insulated foam suspended from the screen top. I also use a UTH siliconed to insulating foam inside the cage, and upside down as the ceiling for the warm hide (OFF label use, use at your own risk!!). Bio-active is trickier, and needs more monitoring initially to be sure nothing unforseen is going wrong.

...would write more, but can't find my eye glasses! please excuse all the typos that I can't see to fix.