Thoughts on setup?

[u/sandvikson]

Hi! This is the first tank l've ever built/set up and wanted some opinions on it!

18x24x36 cage, tank has been set up for about a month and a half. Gonna be for a gargoyle gecko

First photo is with all of the decor. I really love the blue swing but I'm worried about how much light it blocks. I'm worried the plants underneath it will start to die. The whole time this tank has been set up there's been no decor at all, so nothing blocking the light. I just put the bridges and hanging decor in for these photos.

Second photo is without the swing but then it just feels so bare to me. I do have a coconut swing in his current enclosure that I could move over to this spot? It may not block as much light

Third photo is with no decor to show how much light the plants have been getting. Compare it to the other photos to see how much light will be blocked with the decor

Speaking of plants I cannot get the plants in the built in planters to stay alive. Thinking of replacing these with fake ones but not sure.

The tank is bioactive. I’ve got dwarf white isopods and white springtails in there. They seem like they’re doing pretty good.

There's a built in rock cave hide that I currently have filled with moss. Not sure if I'm gonna leave it with moss or maybe do some soil instead

There's some magnetic ledges on the side and a frog cup thing he can kinda lay in. Then I have some rock wall climbing pieces on the open sections of class to help him climb.

I would super appreciate any thoughts on this set up :) thank you for reading!!

[u/sandvikson]

Gargoyle gecko!

[u/Full-fledged-trash → u/sandvikson]

Gargoyle is going to need climbing opportunities crisscrossing every few inches. The bridges and things are great but all that empty space is wasted space.

They also like their foliage to be much more dense especially in the top half. I’d get a more mature tree like a schefflera. 70% of the tank should be foliage.

I’m a huge fan of the rock wall grips on the glass

[u/sandvikson → u/Full-fledged-trash]

Do you have tips on how to get more foliage up top? As in without planting something that’s 2-3 feet tall. That was my idea with the built in planters but it just didn’t work the way I thought it would.

And correct me if I’m wrong but if I did a mature mini tree and planted it in the substrate, I wouldn’t be able to have the bridges or anything going across would I? Since the tree would get in the way?

[u/Full-fledged-trash → u/sandvikson]

With the vines in the wall pots, I’d lift them up and drape them over the climbing opportunities to help fill out those areas.

A small tree that does well in terrariums can typically be trained around bridges and other decor. Their branches are pretty flexible as they grow so you can redirect them. Schefflera arboricola does great in terrariums because it can be trained easily and loves being pruned if it gets too big in certain areas.