Setting up my Naturalistic Vivarium

[Danman88]

Keeping reptiles has been a hobby of mine for about 5 years in total. Much like other hobbies that I am involved in or have been involved in I dont like to settle for the bare basics. I like to go above and beyond what I see as "status quo" and create something that truly exudes creativity. I tried using packaged substrates from the pet store however it became troublesome and a little costly to change them out every month. Following that I tried switching to Repti-Carpet and had success, however it didnt do much to fulfill my creative side. I had always been curious about using live pants in my snake enclosures however I wasnt sure how it would work with changing out substrate every month. It wasnt until I stumbled across a book called "Natural Terrariums" by Philip Purser at my local library. Inside the book I saw the basis for a Bioactive Substrate System (more on that later) suggested. The idea behind a Bioactive Substrate System (or BSS) is basically that by formulating a substrate with specific properties and mixing in the urinary waste (remove any solid waste) of pets beneficial bacteria will grow within the lower portion of the substrate to a point in which simply mixing the top layer of substrate into the lower layer will allow the beneficial bacteria to break down the nitrates found in the urine and turn it into food your plants. It in essence eliminates the need for changing out substrate every month. From everything I have read the substrate should last at least 6 months and as long as 3 years. After reading this I began to heavily research this subject on various online forums until I got here. After posting a question on BP.net forums I got a suggestion from KiteDemon to read a book called "The Art of Keeping Snakes" by Philippe De Vosjoli. This is a GREAT read for any snake owner and especially for anyone wanting to create a naturalistic setup, I highly recommend it. In the book he goes into great detail what components should be included in the substrate in order to stimulate bacterial growth. Following reading that book I was able to formulate a game plan of what I needed to setup a 75 gallon tank for my ball python. 1 year, 1 test tank and a lot of other supplies later I was now ready to finally setup my naturalistic vivarium. So without further adieu here it is.


What you'll need

-Lava Rock
-Play or fine grade sand
-Organic Pete Moss
-Bentonite Clay or Fullers Earth (found in cheap organic cat litter)
-Coconut Coir
-Cypress mulch or Orchid Bark
-Organic Fertilizer
-Plant grow light

Step 1. The Drainage Layer
-The first step is to put down a drainage layer, about 1-2 inches, composed of the Lava Rock which is then cover by a screen or mesh material to keep the substrate from mixing with it. The purpose is to allow for an area for water to reside in which the plants roots cannot reach. If water is allowed to sit around the plant roots it can cause the roots to rot and the plants to die. It also gives a place to water the substrate. I placed a 6 inch tube through the substrate to the drainage layer and water directly into the drainage layer. This allows for helps to maintain a moist lower level (beneficial for bacterial growth) and a dryer top level and helps prevent mold.

Drainage Layer with nylon mesh to separate layers



Step 2. The Substrate
-The actual substrate itself has multiple components each with a purpose. For the base of the substrate I used 2 parts Coconut Coir (it provides a nice aerated base substrate for the plants) and about 1 part Pete Moss (which holds moisture well and is naturally biologically active). The additions to the substrate include about 1.5 parts cypress mulch (helps aerate soil and provides surface area for bacterial growth), 1/2 part play sand (also aerate soil and provides surface area for bacterial growth), 1/3 part fullers earth (helps absorb urine, odor and again provides surface area for bacterial growth), and an appropriate amount of general purpose Organic Fertilizer (naturally these will help stimulate root growth and provide food for plants). Make sure to make enough for at least 3-4 inches of substrate. Any less can cause the substrate to dry out and result in no bacterial growth. Also, if you look in the corner of the tank in the picture you can see my water tube used for watering directly to the drainage layer.

Mixed substrate in the tank


Step 3. Landscaping
-This is the fun part. Actually designing your landscape and putting your plants, hides, etc in place is an almost never ending quest to find something better (for me at least). A good example of this is that I have had my tank setup for almost a month and I already am considering replacing some of the plants and one of my hides. When choosing the plants you are going to use it is important to do some research as to what plants do well with herps, in certain climates and under certain lighting. The plants I chose are Sansevieria, Ficus Benjamina, Ponytail Palm and Hoya Carnosa. The two books I mentioned above have good sections on the type of plants that are good to use in vivaria and here is a link to a reptile channel article which lists a few as well as some of the advantages of using live plants in your herp enclosures:

http://www.reptilechannel.com/kid-co...mphibians.aspx

My setup


*One last thing I forgot to mention is that if you are using real plants you will need to purchase a plant grown light. I bought mine online for less than $20 after shipping so they arent that pricey.

So there you have it. Everything I went through to create my naturalistic terrarium. It is a bit of challenge getting it setup but afterwards it is very rewarding and suprisingly simple to maintain. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions please leave them in the comments below.

Here are the books I used

[Mike41793]

How do you keep a hot spot with such a thick layer of substrate?

[Danman88]

How do you keep a hot spot with such a thick layer of substrate?

Im still perfecting that. However, I have set up a basking sight with a heat lamp. I also have dug out the substrate under the hide on the hot side making it shallower and warmer towards the bottom. Typically throughout the day I have observed my substrate to maintain a temperature of about 80 degrees with an ambient temp in the mid 80's. I havent checked how hot the basking sight is but if it is 85 degrees 12" from the basking spot I imagine the basking spot is at least 90 degrees.

[alittleFREE]

I too was wondering how you heated it. Are you using heat lamps or something?

The tank looks very nice though. Good job with it.

[Danman88]

I too was wondering how you heated it. Are you using heat lamps or something?

The tank looks very nice though. Good job with it.

Yes, and a UTH for now. Im considering switching to heat tape around the outside in the future but the problem with that is risking getting the substrate to hot and drying it out.

[Danman88]

Oh wow! I just realized that clicking on the thumbnails sends you to photobucket. Disregard the background and username, I dont have a PB profile so I used my sisters. Im embarrassed

[Mike41793]

Oh wow! I just realized that clicking on the thumbnails sends you to photobucket. Disregard the background and username, I dont have a PB profile so I used my sisters. Im embarrassed

Nothing wrong with being an emo pirate lol

[TheSnakeEye]

Pretty sweet man... So with this setup, all you'll pretty ever have to do is spot clean, or will the natural system break down the poop?

[Danman88]

Pretty sweet man... So with this setup, all you'll pretty ever have to do is spot clean, or will the natural system break down the poop?

Yes, spot clean and once a week stir in the urine. In "The Art of Keeping Snakes" the author suggests that stirring in soft poop from smaller snakes could work and that he has had some success doing so with his water snakes. I have also read from others on Gecko forums that it is possible to stir in poop when keeping Geckos as long as you have a "cleaning crew". A cleaning crew consists of springtails, isopods and sometimes earthworms. The cleaning crew will break down the poop to a state more manageable for the natural bacteria to break at a rate that can keep up with the animals.

[Valentine Pirate]

Very interesting. I wonder if you could disguise a RHP somewhere in there for a heating unit, maybe not buried directly in the substrate but in a hidden housing or mounted to a side with a t-stat.