Bioactive enclosure?

[jobro]

hey everyone!
I am a SUPER NOOB to the herping world, and I have been trying to research all that I can. I want to get a ball python (eventually), and while researching I came across bioactive enclosures. They sound absolutely amazing; however, I can't seem to find any unbiased info on them (people who want to tell you how to make one rather than why you should, advertisements, etc). My boyfriend has a ball python named Barbara and has just a standard husbandry for her, and she is thriving, but I really would love to use a bioactive setup if it is beneficial. What are the pro's and con's to a bioactive layout, and why are so many people strongly for it, and so many people strongly against it? Thanks!
(ps- I have only been looking into getting a ball python for about a month, so I deeply apologize if I misuse terminology or anything like that)

[Aztec4mia]

"Keep researching" is the best advice I can give you, there are reasons why people are for and against any kind of bedding. Not all of it has to do with the bedding, but often times the environment around them. Example -Someone in south Florida might love aspen and their snakes thrive, shed, and eat. The same setup in a house in the northeast might hate aspen because they have problems with humidity in the winter. try everything and see what works best for the area you live in and your situation.

I believe a main issues people have with bio-active is heating, you need soil depth with a bio-active soil and a heat pad will likely not work well with this setup. That leaves a overhead heat source, a temp controlled room, or you can try and use the heat pad on the side of the tank and each of those has its own challenges. Also it's not really practical when keeping multiple snakes, as you'll come to find out it is very hard to only buy one, lol.

Play around with it without your snake and see how it works out. In the mean time try and master a basic setup and get to know your animals personality, so that when it comes time to change setups you can read your animal and see how he reacts to the new setup.

*This book has some good info on bio-active setups.

Philippe de Vosjoli - The art of keeping snakes

[silverbill]

In my experience, the bio-active setups work best for arboreal, tropical species like the crested gecko. They have lower heat requirements as compared to the ball python.

[jclaiborne]

I started off going down the bioactive route with my Tegu, after it worked so well for me I went ahead and made the switch with all my reptiles. That being said I mostly have lizards, so they already have an overhead heat source.



https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...oil-Guide-Tips

[distaff]

I have three snakes. Two are in planted vivs. The third is a Rosy Boa. Rosies need things extra dry, so her viv is just a sani chip substrate, with natural bark and driftwood for climbing. It is pretty, but nothing grows in there.

Even with a planted substrate, I question the accuracy of the term bio-active for most vivs. I'm not keeping these snakes on a compost pile. The substrate is actually a loose and airy mostly non soil mix (Alabama Botanical Gardens type: barks, dried mosses, charcoal, etc.) with a SMALL amount of leaf mold, compost. Fish water also adds to plant fertility. This is only two to three inches deep, over a two inch layer of expanded Leica on the bottom.

I don't have a BP, so can't speak from my own experience, but am familiar with the basics from research.

Your location is Oregon, so I'm assuming that the ambient humidity is enough that bad sheds in a typical tub/rack set up shouldn't be an issue. I'm in NM, dry sheds were a problem here, so planted tank upgrades proved to be a big improvement for both the kingsnake and cornsnake. (It has been less than a year, but since the upgrades, I've had perfect sheds, and neither has turned down a meal.)

You can probably do *bio-active* in a healthy way if you keep within the parameters of desired humidity for the BP. In your case it may require a choice of drier plants than my potos, creepers, and ferns. As you probably know, the BP is NOT a lush rainforest saturated humidity type of snake, so his enclosure should mimic drier conditions, even though it is very unlikely you will choose native flora for the viv.

[distaff]

I have two heaters in my planted viv's. The first is an RHP from RB. That took some tweaking to suspend it safely from the vented top of the Exo-Terra, but it is stable and works. It is regulated by a VE t-stat with plug-ins for two devices. The other heater it regulates is a UTH pad, but, because of the three plus inches of substrate, I did not tape it to the bottom of the glass as it is designed for.

Off Lable Use, DYODD, and YMMV!!: I silliconed the heat pad to a cut to size piece of thick styrofoam. I carved out a shallow channel for the regulator cord, so everything could sit flush and flat. You can set the warm hide on top of that.

[distaff]

I'm not familiar with the BP metabolism, but I take the snakes outside three days after feeding. They can relieve themselves outside, and the viv stays clean. It can be a little of a hunt to even find poops in a planted viv, and I'd rather keep all that excrement out of there to begin with.

[jobro]

Aztec4mia, thank you for the link! Thank you everyone for replying- I do plan on using an overhead heat source rather than a heating pad. Also, I hear that you don't really need to clean a bioactive setup due to it regulating itself with isopods and springtails. Humidity is great in Oregon, so I am not too worried with bad sheds or anything like that. I just REALLY want to make my future baby's home perfect for them, so I will keep researching.

[AlbinoBull]

I've never done it myself, I'm still very new to BPs, but I saw someone do a super in-depth post about it awhile back right here. She has a building journal and more on her blog about it, and it was the first time I'd ever seen anyone do a bioacive for a BP. o: She has a build journal and such that goes into more detail, plus a few side comments (she had a water damage issue once due to not using pond liner) and the like. It's very interesting to read, and it mentions the beginner steps like initial spot cleans etc while the springtails and isopods are still settling in.

[Coluber42]

I've never done a bioactive setup myself, but they are beautiful and intriguing. But here is another Tumblr blog you can have a look at that has a lot of information and references about enrichment and its benefits for snakes and other reptiles.

One thing that may factor into your plans, for what it is worth: Even people who strongly recommend enriched or bioactive enclosures often still recommend simpler enclosures for the first few weeks or months (or for the duration of quarantine, if you have other reptiles) for animals new to your household, so that it's easy to tell in case they have mites or other illnesses. It doesn't have to be a completely bare tub with nothing but a hide, a bowl, and a paper towel; but simpler than a fully planted viv. So you could start out with a simple setup in a tub while you work on the fancy bioactive setup, and then move the snake in once the plants are established.