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Registered User
Bio-active terrariums
So Iv been reading and watching videos on bio-active terrariums that include soil, isopods, bio-degradable items ect. Does anyone have a setup or experience like this for a BP?
My terrarium is HUGE and lacking.. I'm thinking about spending some money to upgrade my setup for make my little friend as happy as he can be. Any tips for thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers
Picture is my current set-up
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Re: Bio-active terrariums
Honestly, If you want to upgrade your snakes setup I'd look into PVC tanks. They hold humidity and are easier to heat with a RHP than a glass tank. Also is that light regulated?
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Registered User
Re: Bio-active terrariums
Originally Posted by MD_Pythons
Honestly, If you want to upgrade your snakes setup I'd look into PVC tanks. They hold humidity and are easier to heat with a RHP than a glass tank. Also is that light regulated?
The light keeps it around 85-90, I change it every 12 hours from that to a night light. They both hold temp well. I'll look into a PVC tank.. Temp and humidity aren't an issue for me anymore, I'm looking to improve the quality of life for my snake and make a more natural environment for him.
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Originally Posted by Regius_049
You will need the following:
1. Egg crate for bottom: Option #1, Option #2
You can also use hydroballs, or another form of drainage layer.
2. Screen to attach to egg crate: Several places carry this, Home Depot is perhaps easiest
3. Microfauna: Springtails and Isopods (those links are NEherp), other sources: biodude, glass box tropicals, Roach crossing
4. Leaf litter: Can be collected yourslf, though sterilization is reccmended. Sources: NEherp, Glass box tropicals, Black Panther Zoological
5. Soil: You can go a few ways with this one. You can mix your own (usually a trip to home depot) or you can buy something commercially. The eastern hognose is a pretty temperate species, so I might go with a light soil / sand mixture. Maybe 25% sand to 75% "soil".
For the soil: There is, of course, biodude's terra firma, which may just be easier to deal with as it is a single package. Personally, I like to kind of layer mine so I have the more moist soil on the bottom and the drier soil on the top. I use NEherps soils, so if I were going to do hognose, I would buy their ABG mix (1-2 bags for the bottom area) and then do a mix of NEherp V2 soil, peat / fir bark blend, and sand. The V2 soil adds some coconut coir and spagnum into the mix to give you moisture pockets and a more neutral pH value and offset the slight acidicity of the peat.
I like to use either reptisand or jurassic sand as it is more natural and has lower dust, but you can probably use whatever. Most people seem to just pick stuff up from home depot and call it a day. It is also far less expensive and you get a lot more of it, but I figure there is enough here to give you the gist.
For setup:
Basically just attach the screen to the egg crate using either silicone or zip ties (there are many youtube videos about it) and place it in the bottom. Then spread your soil and add in your isopodsa and springtails. Water everything down then put the leaf litter on top. Some people like to give it 3-4 weeks to "settle" as generally what will happen is in a week or so, mold will start to grow (usually fuzzy white mold) and then the microfauna will populate and eat it up as everything stabilizes.
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Registered User
Re: Bio-active terrariums
What are the dimensions of you vivarium in inches? I have the vivexotic repti home medium maxi. Lights can be the biggest cost I got off Amazon for £13.99 and there led plant lights. I'd use ceramic heat bulb on a thermostat for the heat. My Viv is really thriving and my ball python loves it
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Registered User
If your temp and humidity is good i wouldnt see a reason to switch to another tank since it looks big enough! But i’ve hear bioactive terrariums are good and they can provide more things to do for your bp, though i’ve never had a bioactive terrarium myself with a bp i don’t see any problem with doing it! I was actually thinking to switch mine over to a bioactive terrarium too, let me know how it goes hope this helps
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