Bio-Active Soil Guide/Tips

[Snake Judy]

I've had a bio-active enclosure going for my ball python for a couple of months now, and I'm really happy with it. I love that it's a dynamic, living system. It smells great and provides a lot of cover and sensory stimulation for my snake. I'd definitely use it for any future reptile or amphibian enclosures. I do think it's sort of "advanced" keeping, in the sense that it requires a fair bit of research to set up properly and fine-tune to your animal, but once it's up and running maintenance is pretty minimal.

For my particular set-up, I started with a 1 1/2" drainage layer of Growstones. You can use leca/hydroton, lava rock, plain ol' gravel... I chose growstones because they're lightweight and soak up water and wick it back up into the soil. This I covered with a sheet of window screen mesh to keep the substrate from mixing in. I also stuck a PVC pipe in one corner, so that I have access to the drainage layer if I ever need to siphon out excess water or something. So far I haven't needed it, though.

For the substrate itself, I made a mix of organic top soil, peat, coco coir (shredded and chunks), moss and leaf litter. I also mixed in a little activated charcoal, which helps keep the mix sweet for a while. For a humid enclosure, you want a mix that will hold moisture but also drain well and provide a good amount of surface area for beneficial bacteria to multiply. My substrate is about 5-8 inches deep in different parts of the enclosure. I did actually wash and bake some of my wood and leaf litter that I collected outside because I wanted some control over what sort of invertebrates I was introducing into an enclosed system. The woods I collect from have a lot of unwelcome pests like fire ants, ticks, slugs etc. Some people advocate for never baking or treating your material, but I'm in favour of deciding on a case-by-case basis, depending on where the material is from and what animal it's for. If you treat your material, you won't get the initial boost of beneficial bacteria from it, but this isn't really a long term problem. It just means it will take a little longer for the system to start working efficiently and reach an equilibrium.

To the substrate I added springtails, which I bought, and isopods, which I caught in the garden. And plants! Its been sort of trial and error in figuring out what can tolerate the heat of a snake enclosure. So far I've had the best luck with dracaenas, which have the added bonus of being tough enough to withstand a bit of trampling. They'll get very large eventually, but are slow growers. I've also got a prayer plant (Maranta leuconeura) and a couple species of Pilea that are pretty happy so far. I'm trying to get some vining plants established as well, and have high hopes for Muehlenbeckia axillaris. For light I've got a 6500K LED light bar on a 12 hour timer. Heat is provided by a radiant heat panel.

Here's a couple pictures. The second one is newer with some more recently added plants.