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  1. #1
    BPnet Veteran Slicercrush's Avatar
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    Leopard Gecko Bioactive

    Ever since I picked up my first leopard gecko, Kirby, his cage to me has been...mediocre. Overall it functions very well and gives him everything he needs, but for an open display, it has been quite boring. Recently, I have been making a lot of bioactive terrariums for some of my friends animals, and would really like to upgrade Kirbys cage to a nice bioactive enclosure, but have a few questions.

    1) What substrate would be best for this arid environment? Or would it be as simple as using items such as repti-soil and keeping them more dry than usual?

    2) What plants/cleanup crews would be suitible for this environment? Are there springtails that can live in a more arid environment, or are they all need higher moisture? Im currently also breeding out a colony of chocolate zebra isopods, would a colony of those survive well, or would they all be gobbled up by the leo faster than they can reproduce?

    3) Im aware that this shouldnt be 100% humid, what would be a good humidity range to aim for in a bioactive setup such as this one?

    If anyone has any other advice or experience on this topic, I would love to hear it!

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  2. #2
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    1. Whatever you decide, don't risk impaction by using loose substrate, like soil and sand. If it can be licked, it will be swallowed by the gecko. You can opt for the use natural stone instead, as it would be more what they would experience in the wild, hiding between slabs of stone and small borrows. The stones will also help keep their nails trimmed.

    2. Not sure. Leos poop in 1 corner so having isopods help with cleaning is not going to be very effective.

    3. Keep humidity low overall no matter what you do, as long as 20% or so. Humid hides should be provided at all times. These provide mental stimulation, helps with egg laying for females and help with shedding. There is a humid hide with a natural rock look sold pet store and online every where. I think it is Zoo Med?
    Last edited by Cheesenugget; 02-10-2020 at 09:19 PM.

  3. The Following User Says Thank You to Cheesenugget For This Useful Post:

    dakski (02-10-2020)

  4. #3
    BPnet Lifer dakski's Avatar
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    Re: Leopard Gecko Bioactive

    I tend to agree that there's no real need to spice up an LG's tank too much. They waste in the same spot all the time and are a more arid species. Humidity should be 30-40% or less with a moist hide.

    They also hide much the time during the day, so they are not great display animals.

    Having said that, look into their habitat and maybe get some more natural hides, decor, etc.

    It's a cool idea to have a nice display tank, I just wonder if you are barking up the wrong tree with an LG for that.

    Having said all that, if you've done bioactive tanks before, you already know way more than I do about that aspect so I cannot add anything in terms of species of clean up critters, etc.

    Finally, the more tanks you get the easier it is to meet the animals requirements more than going for broke with decor. I have 13 tanks. My tanks are functional but not pretty. I am cool with that. More time with the animals and less time cleaning etc.

    Think about what you want long-term.

    Good luck.
    Last edited by dakski; 02-10-2020 at 11:02 PM.

  5. #4
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    You have to be careful with lep gex. They can easily die of impaction with the wrong sub. You could end up with sandbag lep gex if you aren't careful.

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