#bioactive set up

[justjulespictures]

dinner time 

[rainbowsnakes]

Seeing as all the dirt arrived... I started working on Dracula the Kenyan Sand Boa’s Bioactive exo terra today.  

The furnishings were just added for the photo- It’s going to look very different by the time It’s done. 

First I put down a drainage layer of hydroleca and drainage matting on top to stop the substrates mixing with the drainage layer. 

Next I put down a piece of slate on the bottom, (though you can’t see it at all it’s completely buried) - This will serve as somthing for Dracula to make burrows around, but as its on the very bottom he won’t be able to dig under it and get squashed. 

Then I put in the substrate mix in 3 layers. The substrate Is a lot deeper at the back and thinner at the front where the doors are. 

bottom layer- Mostly eco earth, organic top soil and some lucky reptile “dessert bedding” which is like a clay/sandy dirt mix... 

Middle layer- as above but less eco earth and more top soil. some play sand also added

Top layer. Mostly play sand and desert bedding with some top soil. 

The furnishings I just threw in for the photo- I’ll be using that bit of wood later but not the other things. 

So, for now I’m just letting the top layers dry off abit, then I’ll see how it looks and if I’m happy with it I’ll add the furnishings, plants and clean up crew.   

 So far pretty happy- the substrate seems to hold its shape exceptionally well, It looks like it will be great for making tunnels in. 

[rainbowsnakes]

I've been hoping to get into bioactive substrates someday at least for my blue tongue skink who I know would benefit the most out of it. But I can never find anything definite on it. Do you recommend anyplace I can go for information for beginners? I don't plan to do this soon, but I'd like to know as much as I can about it for the day I decide to try.

Hello anon, 

I highly recommend joining this facebook group- 

Reptile and amphibian bioactive setups (or RABS)  It’s a closed group but they usually accept new members very quickly. On the page there is also a list of files you can read through which are basically different keepers bioactive “recipes” for various species or general guides… 

Having a read through those should help give you a good foundation knowledge to start with… you can also put “ blue tongue skink” in the search bar for the group and it will bring up other peoples enclosures or questions related to them for you to have a look at. They are a pretty friendly and helpful lot so don’t be scared to ask questions. 

There’s also the american/Canadian “little sister group”  of RABS which is a bit newer and has fewer files to read at the moment but still worth a join.

Bio Active Reptiles for US/Canada - again they accept new members quite quickly. 

Both are full of very experienced bioactive users so a great place to get info. 

I believe there is actually sombody on RABS who is trying to design a “beginners bioactive” set up.. almost like a transition step before going full bio..so keep an eye out for that too.   

There’s also some books that may help. 

- The art of keeping snakes by  Philippe De Vosjoli - This has sections on bioactive but it dosn’t really cover the inclusion of things like isopods and other macrofauna. Still a good resource for maintaining planted tanks and creating display vivs.. though it is focused on snakes and you’re after bts info- but some of it may be relevant. 

Maybe a better investment.. (though it doesn’t explicitly cover bioactive)

Is Natural terrariums by Philip Purser

If you are wanting to attempt keeping plants alive this book is fantastic. Also it has good sections on the properties of different substrates and choosing what rocks and branches to use ect. It covers setting up dry, tropical and montane set ups. Really enjoying this book so far..  

Sorry for rambling on! I know it can be quite an overwhelming topic to get started with but I hope some of that helps- Good luck! 

[ample-nacells]

AWESOME

My coworkers with more experience said that my rat snake will be fine on bioactive as long as I don't keep the topsoil damp 100% of the time. They also gave me some advice on lighting and plants and I already knew about half of what they were telling me, which tells me I've done enough research to move forward in the process. I'll be bringing him in soon to see if they can ID him: if he's part Trans Pecos rat snake then bioactive is not a good idea because it's too wet. I do have to figure out a way to protect my melamine cage from water damage. I thought it was water resistant, but it's basically the opposite. I think I'm going to make a rubbermaid bin to fit into the bottom of the cage. I'll pretend like it's the real bottom, put all my drainage in there, ect, and see about sealing the walls and top as well. That'll give me a removable basin when I need to refresh the drainage layer and move pots and the melamine case around it to hold in heat. The rubbermaid will also allow me to screw or solder ledges directly to the bottom instead of having to rely on hooks or adhesives. THIS IS GONNA BE SO GODDAMN COOL.

[ample-nacells]

Bioactive Blues

Asked an extremely experienced coworker about keeping snakes on bioactive and he advised against it for temperate snakes like my rat snake. Apparently belly fungus is a common issue from keeping everything too wet. Humph. Damnit. I was hoping to do a really lush fern/moss/creeper vine setup. I was going to do a wet cool side with a fern and moss and a hot drier side with chaparral honeysuckle, but I think I'm going to dramatically cut the amount of moss I'll use and look into drier grass/drought shrubs for the dry side to reduce the amount of water I use. This is all complicated by the fact that A) other people will be looking after the animal for at least two years, so thus has to be a pretty bomb-proof set up and B) my snake is a mystery hybrid so I don't *actually* know what climate is best. He's some sort of Trans Pecos/Texas/Yellow rat snake cross and I'm concerned that if he is mostly Trans Pecos he'll be more sensitive to the increased humidity. Merrrrgh. I'll talk to my other experienced coworkers, the nursery, the bioactive forums, and a fantastic land/aquascaper I know. Between all of us we'll make this work.

[rainbowsnakes]

Planted Bioactive Vivarium plans: To Do List

Mostly uninteresting viv ramblings aimed at future me under the cut, 

Wooden viv's need to be sealed very well to cope with humidity, particularly for planted tanks.

Step 1- Install cable vents, This means plugs and light fixtures can be easily passed through these vents without taking the top or back off the viv. 

Step 2- Sand internal viv surfaces gently to allow the varnish to "Key" to the wood. Remove the back panel from the viv. Varnish all internal surfaces (including the back panel separately) with 3 coats of G4 pond paint. 

Step 3- Glue on the background to the back panel with gorilla glue or no nails adhesive. Glue together all the backgrounds ledges and leave to cure.

Do stages 2 and 3 in a well ventilated area with no animals around. 

Step 4- Paint several coats of tile grout over the background and where it joins to the viv if necessary..

Start with a watery layer to ensure it gets into all the gaps and does not crack while drying, then use progressively thicker coats. - colour the grout layers with different colors of cheap poster paint to ensure complete coverage. You will need 3-6 layers... You are done when you can no longer depress the foam with your fingers. ( Be careful doing this don't crack it like last time u muppet).

Stage 5- Paint your background with acrylic paint...gonna take a while. patience required.

Stage 6-  More bloody varnishing;  Varnish the background... use G4 if you have any left and sprinkle a little sand on it.. if not this polyvine stuff is matt finish so lets try it.

Stage 7- Seal all edges and around vents with fish safe sealant

Stage 8- Install T5 lights and reflectors / guards. 

Stage 9- Add drainage layer of hydroleca  Look at your viv though....Do you trust it? Or you wanna use a massive seed tray...? 

Stage 10-  Add the weed mat ontop of the drainage layer then add a mix of organic compost/ eco earth/ sand/ bark/ leaf litter  ect. Can you landscape it away from the sliding doors or  do you need to silicone a strip of plastic at the front of the viv?

Stage 11- Introduce the clean up crews,  plant the plants and put in the rocks and branches. check RABS sales group or here for plants and cultures.  

Stage 12- Run for at least a week. Check temps ect before introducing serps. 

[rainbowsnakes]

i-m-snek said: Would this work for a dart frog setup or no?

Yep It's used for dart frogs  :) . 

[rainbowsnakes]

jaramass said: Which are these milipede and beetle species? Thanks for any information!

there's a good list of inverts here 

I know people use the UK native  Polydesmus sp. of milipede but I am sure there are others.