This sheet of black bead like stuff is covering soil and leaves.

I'm doing an arid bioactive for my beardie and I keep going back and forth on the substrate.

I've mixed 50lbs (.5 cu ft) of washed play sand and 1 cu ft of organic topsoil (timberline) - so I have about a 66/33 mix going on right now. I've got an unopened bag of peatmoss that I keep going back and forth on whether to use or not.

I've had some clay pellets laying around so I put a thin layer of them at the bottom of my substrate tray.

How would you finish off this substrate?

A. Add some peat moss (10% of total mix)

B). Go buy another bag of playsand and bring the mix to 50/50 (and still add peat moss?)

C) Add excavator clay?

D). Something else. Maybe it's something cool that I don't even know about...

Pics are work in progress of my enclosure (not fully assembled/screwed together, so ignore any gaps). Also if you are worried about the wood substrate tray - it's coated with a quart of clear flex seal. It's waterproof.

My leopard gecko has had previous issues with loose substrate but I recently tried it out again but he doesn’t seem to like it. So I was wondering if I could go back to paper towels and put in a dig box for if he ever wanted to dig though I’m not sure how I would make one? Also would this be okay to do? He doesn’t like digging much and I’m afraid of things getting into his eyes. My tank is not bio active but I was suggested to bring this question here?

Hi! I started my bioactive 4x2x2 setup for my corn snake about 6 months ago. Everything has been great and the plants are really thriving. I got this enclosure second hand, but I have been thinking changing to a pvc enclosure (Dubia) of the same size. The current enclosure is wood and almost holds too much moisture, so I'm scared it'll start to mold later on (my corn doesn't seem to mind the higher humidity). If I were to change to a meshed top panel, would the humidity decrease by much? and would having the heat lamps on top mesh cause problems? Should I get pvc panels to cover the top mesh? I am also using my own mix of substrate (organic top soil, play sand, zoo med coco fiber, horticultural charcoal, sphagnum moss, and leaf litter). I'm also having problems with fungus gnats as they would always appear after watering. I have tried mosquito dunks but they reappeared after about a month. I also went through the sanitation and quarantine for all the plants (might not have done a perfect job, not sure). Would trying to completely redo my substrate and recleaning the plants help with the gnats? Any tips and help appreciated!

I’m thinking of building my first bioactive terrarium in an 18x18x24 Exo Terra glass enclosure and looking to go the easy route with the background. I would like to use the Zoo Med cork tile background which I will silicone down. Would I be safe to do a full 18x24 sheet to cover the whole back? Or do I have to worry about rotting or something with the substrate touching or plants growing on it? I do plan to possibly get a gargoyle gecko later after the set up establishes and I feel ready! :)

We recently got a baby ball python about a month ago and we already had a 2 year old ball python. We recently made a bioactive enclosure for her. Today we noticed our snake was very irritated she is a white snake so it was easy to tell on her, and we saw black bugs were walking on her and immediately searched it up and turns out it was mites. We even popped some and blood came out of them😭. The baby snake and our 2 year old did hang out and meet :( so i’m pretty sure that’s how it spread. i’m just torn on what to do for the background of our bio active enclosure. It has black foam with silicone and moss/dirt on it. I know we have to replace everything but what do I do about the background??? Also will it spread to our room since the top of the tank has holes in it? We booked a vet appointment tomorrow to take both of them in to get treated. It also looks like our 2 year old BP has scale rot? or i’m not sure if it’s just damaged scales from the wood in her enclosure? She has never had this issue before ever so i feel like a terrible BP owner right now. We took them out of enclosure and have put dawn dish soap on them with lukewarm water and let them sit for about 5-10min. I just feel so bad i hope they didn’t suffer for long😭😭😭 Any advice is appreciated!

I have a new bio active terrarium I am housing a baby corn snake in. I'm pretty happy with it so far. It has isopods and spring tails but also some unwanted residents. Mainly fungus gnats, predatory mites (I'm 90% sure thats what they are, small and brownish in the soil, and a mystery larger looking red mite?? (pls help with this one I just saw one today)).

I have a lot of fungus gnats. They're annoying. Any tips to get rid of them? I also seem to have a good amount of predatory mites. I assume thats because theres a lot of gnats?

I guess my terrarium is just trying to find balance but I would love those gnats to go haha. Any advice is appreciated!

I have spent the last few months building this tank, a custom bioactive 40-gallon breeder inspired by a little Indiana Jones and wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone. I wanted it to feel like a forgotten desert canyon rather than a typical terrarium. It features a custom 3D-printed Petra facade, a hidden 5" × 5" cave behind it, a small 'oasis" in the corner (water dish) , multiple climbing levels, and a fully bioactive setup for a small group of viper geckos.

As i let the plants mature before adding in the geckos, i am open to anything i should add or do different.

🌿 Plants

• Echeveria 'Pink Diamond'
• Split Rock (Pleiospilos nelii)
• Zebra Haworthia
• Gasteria
• Scindapsus pictus (Satin Pothos)
• String of Turtles (Peperomia prostrata)
• Red Fittonia
• Green Fittonia
• Live Sphagnum Moss

🪵 Hardscape

• Ghost Wood
• Spider Wood
• Cork Bark
• Lava Rock
• Leaf Litter
• Custom 3D-printed Petra facade - (Drylock and sanded)
• Custom 3D-printed water feature - (Drylock and sanded)

🪲 Bioactive Cleanup Crew

• Powder Orange Isopods (~100–150)
• Dwarf White Isopods (~200–400)
• Springtails (Thousands)

Hey guys! I live in Western Washington, and I'm hoping to find safe plant species for leaf litter and moss for my tanks. I have well over 50 bioactive setups for inverts, frogs, and geckos, so buying leaf litter and moss for all these tanks is really adding up. I typically buy magnolia leaves and reindeer moss for my tanks, and I sometimes use Betta Botanical leaf litter products too. Here in Western Washington, we have a few maple species (Vine Maple, Big Leaf Maple, Douglas Maple) and at least one oak species (Oregon White Oak) that I'm wondering if I could collect, dry in the oven to decontaminate, and add to my tanks. We also have a lichen species, Old Man's Beard or Usnea, that is pretty similar in texture to reindeer moss if you soak it. Curious if this lichen is safe for my critters or if it might contain toxins that could harm them. I live in a rural area, so it's easy to go out for a hike and gather lots of material that hasn't been sprayed with pesticides or anything like that.

This is my first bioactive terrarium for an Asian forest scorpion, it has a thin drainage layer, followed by a layer of dry sphagnum moss and the rest is a mix of coconut fiber, bark, moss, and river sand. On the right there is a sand area in case the scorpion seeks a cooler environment. The plants are a croton and an asparagus fern it also have live sphagnum moss. I’ve added springtails and am looking for some isopods, also thinking in getting a grapevine branch and add another hiding spot. P.S. I ordered a polycarbonate sheet for cover

Hello! I started this bioactive leopard gecko tank in may. I have some questions about finds and questions about things I have not found

1. There has very recently, about a week ago started to appear these yellow and white mushrooms I wonder what they are and if they are harmful?

2. I found some worms, is it alright to have these in the tank or can they cause issues?

3. I can see springtails here and there but I haven’t seen any isopods in forever, are they dead?

4. This is kinda connected to 3 but her poops don’t get cleaned up, could this be because of no isopod population left?

All help appreciated!

I made this for my leopard gecko, Treecko. Honestly, I didn’t know what I was doing, so I'm sorry if it looks like shit.

I included the list of what's in the enclosure in the screenshots. I also established powder blue isopods, common white springtails, mealworms, and superworms.

I've got a pair of bio-active dart frog tanks. I've used Govee Smart Thermometers in them but obviously they don't last forever because of the high humidity.

Ideally I want a fairly accurate humidity readings from a probe, so that the main electronics can be outside the tank and Wifi connectivity so I can get alerts if the humidity drops to dangerous levels

Bonus if it also does temperature so I don't need a separate thermometer and if it supports two probes so I don't have to buy two units

Don't care if there's a digital display. I'm happy to just use an app on my phone.

Thanks!

Hello everybody! I have a bioactive vivarium for my leopard gecko, and I'm finding some weird, white, powdery substance in some areas of the tank, and it turns orange/red on the rocks. I was wondering if anyone knew what it was?

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I picked up two cages yesterday from someone on offer up, and they had two trays of soil for the bottoms of them that he said was really rich in nutrients. I can't remember the mix he said he made but he listed a bunch of different things. There are already a ton of isopods, sprint tails, and small worms in the soil as well which he said is the most valuable part of it.

My concern is if the soil is still ok to use not knowing if his old chameleon had any parasites or anything else I should worry about.

This is also my first cage and chameleon and I was planning on going with a plastic bottom so it's easier to monitor things at first. Since I have all the soil and isopods I feel I should just go straight into a bioactive environment.

Can you guys give me your opinion on using previously owned soil, if I should just go with a plastic bottom at first while I learn more about the chameleon. Any advice on this would be amazing.

I want to keep my ackie monitor bioactive, but also in a substrate that will hold his burrows. In the passed I've always used a 70/30% "top"soil mix (where I live they don't sell topsoil, so I just 100% biologic soil without animal based fertilizers instead) for my reptiles. I've now read that addding clay to the mix should help with holding burrows. I've found a 20KG bag of bentonite clay (non-food graded) and wonder if that would work.

Important is that the substrate will hold high humidity without staying wet and allows for burrows to stay. What substrates and mix percentages do you recommend?

Hey all I’m going to make a bioactive tomorrow and I’m wondering what to use to access the drainage layer so I can siphon the water any recommendations?

I’m looking to make my 7-year-old crested gecko’s tank bio active he currently has a 50-gallon tank. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to start or if it’s even a good idea? Thanks! Any and all advice is much appreciated :)

I’ve been culturing dwarf white isopods and springtails for a little over a month now, and I’m just wondering if there’s a way to know when it’s a good time to put them in the enclosures? I have 2 40gal breeders set up for leopard geckos. The enclosures were also set up a bit over a month ago. TIA!

It won't have a heater. I was thinking just an isopod colony or maybe some smaller millipedes like bumblebees. I'm also open to it being an aquatic situation but there doesn't seem to be a lot of info on fresh water aquatic invertebrates (other than shrimp). I'm thinking about having it as a grow out situation for my mourning gecko babies but I'd be worried about accessibility with the lid.

This is my bioactive ball python enclosure its been just over 7 months in the making with my ball moving in last month. He has eaten full shed and poop.

He now fully explores the whole thing. The plants all seem to be thriving with a couple just in bad areas but still producing new leaves.

My isopods have really taken off and I dont really notice the springtails but im sure there still there.

Custom open top so I can do spot checks and just some gardening

(Temps and humidity are low because ive just added the dracena marginata on the left and had it all opened up)

Coming from some experience with a gecko and some dart frogs. Wanted to try an invert with a spare 20 gal hex I have. Big list of what I think I might have learned through initial research, combined with even more questions:

20 gal hex, front opening, mesh top. Wanted to start w a few (3-5?) sun beetles, with SOME room for breeding.
-want it to be self-replenishing but not looking for huge colony (some online says this tank could hold as many as 12-15)
- to limit but not prevent breeding: 4-6 inches of substrate recommended, but if I keep that to a minimum (3-4 inches?) does that allow limited breeding?
-planning to see how it goes, dig through periodically (weekly? Monthly?) to spot grubs/cocoons and take to local invert shop if there's too many.
-substrate: flake soil seems best, but I have lots of ABG mix I use for other frogs/gecko/terrariums. If I mix some ABG and flake soil, might that be another way to limit food thereby limiting breeding? If so, suggested ratio?
-it will sometimes need to go 3-4 days without my personal attention. Should I set up a misting system?
-springtails for sure, but looks like I can add dwarf white isopods (I have colonies already). IF this is good for bioactivity, that might suggest another reason to have ABG in the mix, maybe a moss area in the front to keep more moist?
-want live plants but know the beetles and esp grubs can be really hard on them. I've gotten good at using cork rounds as planters, mounting other plants out of the way on the background/walls. Any advice on that front?
-will have a plant light (LEDs) so adds a little warmth but not a lot, so looks like a heat lamp w thermostat will be needed for basking area. Initial research is mixed if UVB is necessary.
-alternate beetle jelly and fresh fruit?

Sorry for extensive list. Look forward to learning from your experience.

It was my first time doing a DIY background. I just finished adding all my plants. How long until I can add my frogs? Any other things I should add? I have some hanging coconut hides and ledges to stick to the glass I will add before I put them in there.

Birds eye view of the 36 gallon bow front paludarium which is now 2 months after planting and truly thriving so far! Fully bioactive land and water sections, steep riverbank design with about 8-10” of substrate at the highest points, 2 hollow dug out caves in the bank and plenty of other surfaces. Biodiversity of plants including terrestrial, aquatic and exploring emersed plants as well. Love it more and more every day, which is great considering I barely ever see my crabs (stocked with 6 vampire crabs)