A couple question

[TayKiren]

I'm getting some new 4x2 cages. They have screen tops, so I will need to use heat lamps. I am currently using a heat panel for my ball python, so I have some questions about logistics. I got a heat panel for the surface area it heats, but how do heat lamps heat a large cage?? How do I know what wattage I need? Do I buy one to heat the ground to a certain temp, and it will naturally raise the air temperature? Do I buy multiple?

Also, I'm thinking of going bioactive for my leopard gecko, and was wondering about doing so for my ball python as well. I've read that people generally aren't very successful with this due to their heavy bodies. Is this just because they tend to crush or uproot the plants, or does the packing of the soil cause issues for the clean up crew?

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[nikkubus]

There are a lot of variables to worry about. Is the entire top screen? 4x2x what? What materials is it made from? Either way, I would opt for RHP > CHE for a BP because of drying, and having a screen top will only increase the issues from CHE. It may be worth covering part of the screen with plexiglass to keep heat and moisture from escaping so rapidly.

I haven't done bioactive for a BP, but having done bioactive, I think it can work just fine if it's planned properly. You need to pick appropriate plants, have deep enough substrate, and allow the plants to really get a good root structure going for 6-8 weeks before introducing the BP. Putting the animal in freshly after planting plants, they are going to get ripped out in a hurry.

[Erie_herps]

True bioactives for a ball python would be extremely difficult. I would recommend you just try to make a naturalistic enclosure instead. Getting live plants to live and thrive will be extremely difficult, let alone enough to be significant in using waste products. You can get the clean up crew to live and if you choose the right ones, thrive. I'm assuming you would want springtails and isopods, they are the best. I would NOT use dairy cow isopods, they are very protein-hungry and I would worry about them chewing on your snake. I think the best species is Porcellio pruinosus, they are good in high-humidity, they will eat a lot, and they will reproduce quickly. If you want to use a color of them (blue powder, orange powder, oreo crumble, white out, etc.) you can only use one color pattern or else they will cross-breed and most will be wild-type.

Also, a little bit of advice for your leopard gecko. Leopard geckos don't do well on loose substrate, they can eat the substrate and become impacted. I know someone that had this happen and their leo died from it. Paper towels, slate, tile, or no substrate is the best. But, if you want to try bioactive it could work. Be sure to do it for an adult leopard gecko. Babies and subadults are the most likely to get impacted and die from it. Also, make sure the substrate is very fine. If the gecko eats some you don't want it eating large chunks (like a clump of dirt/sand/clay or large piece of moss). Feed out of a dish. If you want to feed crickets or other loose items feed in a different enclosure so the gecko doesn't eat substrate. Make sure your gecko is getting enough calcium, they will eat substrate when they need more calcium (the purpose of keeping loose calcium in a dish), which you want to avoid. Make sure you are dusting feeders every other feeding and gut-loading them. A low-power UV bulb will also help so they don't want more calcium. Avoid putting an adult female in there (at least not year-round). They will need much more calcium during breeding season (even if not bred) which highly increases the chance of them eating substrate. They will also be much weaker after laying eggs (even if not bred) and impaction would be much more dangerous.

Sorry that this got a bit too long, I hope this helps. If you have any more questions feel free to ask.

[Malum Argenteum]

Make sure you are dusting feeders every other feeding and gut-loading them.

This is a common hobby understanding of best practices, but it doesn't align with research based recommendations.

Dusting every prey item every time, besides being consistent with manufacturer's recommendations (example) is supported by animal nutritionist recommendations, which focus not on the overall calcium intake but on the ratio of calcium to phosphorus in prey items, which is incredibly poor in commercial (i.e. non-wild collected) insects (the best publicly accessible explanation of this is here; though while the main physiology mechanisms hold for all vertebrate animals, this article is directed at herbivores. Chapter 27 of Mader's Reptile and Amphibian Medicine and Surgery 3rd ed is a great resource here if a person can get hold of it). Though keepers worry about overdosing calcium, excess dietary phosphorus is just as likely to be problematic as excess calcium. Further, the level of Vitamin A, D and E in supplements is calibrated to dietary intake on the assumption that all prey is being dusted. A lack of dietary Vitamin A is a common suspected cause of reproductive problems in insectivores.

As to "gutloading", most commercial gutload products don't actually work as advertised (source), and providing fresh fruits and vegetables works against raising calcium content through gutloading (source). The Vitamin A that is in such short supply in commercial insects is found in fresh veggies in a form (carotenoids) isn't converted to Vitamin A by many insectivores, so that supposed benefit of "gutloading" (which as practiced nowadays is not actually gutloading but simply feeding one's feeders so they don't die -- recommended in any case) simply doesn't occur.

Feeding prey insects a healthy diet for their needs, and using a quality complete supplement -- Repashy Calcium Plus or Supervite are the only supplements that hit all the bases of calcium/phosphorus content and preformed (retinol) Vitamin A -- on every prey item, is the regimen most supported by evidence.

[TayKiren]

Sorry for the delayed reply, it's finals week.
This is the enclosure I have ordered for my ball python: https://customreptilehabitats.com/co...inum-enclosure. It does have a screen top that can be mostly covered, but my problem is that I don't think a rhp would work with it? They need flat, solid surfaces, right? So that's why I'm asking about heat lamps/emitters. I'm also getting the matching cage hood to hopefully hold in more humidity (and because it looks nice lol).

As for adding a clean up crew but not making it bioactive, would I still need to do deep cage cleanings where I take all the substrate out? Because then I would have to buy new insects every time, right?

As for my leopard gecko, I do know all about the caution with loose substrate. I have had him on tile for a few years as when I got him, that was one of the common things I read. However, since then I have seen a lot of people converting their geckos to a bioactive enclosure and having a lot of success with it. I'm thinking of getting these (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...d1d2e27d3ac4cd) or something similar to still cover most of the loose substrate with. Also he's always tong fed, that's what seems to suit him best. It does make me nervous, but I feel like it could be good for him. When I had eco earth in his humid hide, he loved digging in it.

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[nikkubus]

my problem is that I don't think a rhp would work with it? They need flat, solid surfaces, right?

As for adding a clean up crew but not making it bioactive, would I still need to do deep cage cleanings where I take all the substrate out? Because then I would have to buy new insects every time, right?

RHP could be installed in that on the inside. It should be moderately level, but it doesn't need to have a perfectly solid surface.

You wouldn't need to do deep cleans with properly set up bioactive, but spot cleaning would help deal with the bioload since BPs have so much waste. Some small amount of insects will likely get lost over time regardless of what you do, so it's always a good idea to start cultures of your own so you don't have to continuously keep buying more.

[Hugsplox]

I won't comment too much on the bioactive topic for the BP as I've never done it, but what I will say is anything I've ever put in my BP enclosure has been knocked over/moved/peed on/destroyed pretty quickly and I suspect that plants would be treated the same. My male spends a couple of nights a week rearranging his enclosure and I'd just be concerned that any live plants I put in there regardless of how long I let them root would be set up for failure. As far as your new enclosure, I agree with some other comments that if you can install a RHP into it that's the route I would go. I used CHEs for the first year that I had my BP and while I never had any shed issues, or really what I would call "problems" with humidity, switching to a RHP just made my life a little easier. Less misting my enclosures and a little more peace of mind when I had to leave the house for a few days and just wouldn't be able to check the humidity levels.