#bioactive enclosure

[i-m-snek]

Even though the grass doesn't stay alive that long in bioactive enclosures for some reason, it's really good for the isopods. I've witnessed some species climbing up to the top of the grass and munching on it. Crunchwrap Supreme is now settling in this enclosure, which is her adult 4X2X2. :) She still has lots of growing to do but there's no harm in upgrading now

[pteryx-pets]

Daredevil Teen Traverses Hand

[lexotics]

New bioactive setup step 1

Fitting the background and attaching hardscape with expanding foam

[programmer-waifu]

First go at trying to setup a bioactive enclosure for our young ball python Shivers

I included a false botton with leca pebbles, a substrate barrier mesh, a layer of activated carbon, cocofiber substrate, leaf litter, live golden (devil's ivy) pothos plants, springtails, and isopods.

Any suggestions on how to improve this setup would be greatly appreciated.

[sleepychipmunk]

Ghost, Sythe, and Zim are all officially moved into their new enclosures! Sad to say the moss didn’t quite make it, but I’m going to keep it in for decor/humidity reasons. For their part, the boys seem happy with their new accommodations, and that makes me happy!

[hawkherps]

when you're so frustrated with the ongoing pest situation in your relatively new bioactive enclosure that you're considering buying another new enclosure and throwing out the other even though it's only been up for about three months

i bought my Leap Habitats enclosure because i was desperate for a lightweight alternative to the glass enclosure Sigma was in. we've moved a lot and will move at least one more time in the next couple years. moving a 40lb enclosure with an additional 10-15lbs of plants, scape, and soil was difficult on a good day.

but even after just a couple months of having it, i wouldn't recommend Leap Habitats enclosures to anyone else. especially anyone who has had issues with ants in their gecko enclosures before or has anxiety issues about ants in their animal enclosures

i listed some pros and cons in my post about getting the enclosure set up a couple months ago. the pros are, almost exclusively, the light weight and the fact that you can directly screw hardscape elements into the walls of the enclosure with ease.

the cons include the leaky base and substrate tray, the pain in the ass that assembly was due to poor QA, the inability to use silicone to seal the base because it doesn't bond well to PP plastic, the fact that gaps in the frame allow easy access for small pests such as ants (sealing the inside would solve that, but see the last point), the way the front screen + the ventilation holes in the top of their substrate tray basically guarantee that substrate will be pushed through and get all over your stand/floor/whatever, and how flimsy the acrylic door is.

i'm sure i'll find more to complain about if i keep this enclosure. right now, i'm really tempted to cut my losses and replace it with a 24"x18"x36 pvc equivalent. you know, something I can seal. i'll deal with it being heavier. at least it would still be lighter than a glass equivalent would be.

we'll see how the war with the ants goes over the next couple months. i'd really rather save the money since Marconi is in dire need of an upgrade, but i might not have a choice if i can't keep ant swarms from finding their way into Sig's enclosure

[cxged-bird]

Pulled all her plants and moved things around. Ignore her empty water bowl, it wasn’t filled when I took the photo. It was filled right after.

[shrivveledradish]

I got a fern to put in the millipede tank, I'm hoping it does well

[pteryx-pets]

(oops, asked from my mainblog, reblogging to my side)

That’s good to hear, thanks! I always wanna do my due diligence with my pets to make sure they’ve got a good home but it’s tricky when there just isn’t much info on the species in general. They’ve molted as of this morning tho so they seem to be growing and healthy!

They do seem to prefer flat crevices so they’re living up to their genus name lol, they’ve set up camp in the absolute top corner wedged between a stick and the roof. I might get them some cork bark flats, my local pet store has it in bulk so little chunks should be pretty easy to pick up.

Hey! Can I ask for care advice?

I caught this little jumper (Platycryptus sp…? in the PNW) on my windowsill about a week ago, set them up in this 8x8x8 terrarium with springtails and pruinosis isopods (idk if spider will hunt them but it’s fine if they do) and have been misting the terrarium and giving them a couple flightless fruit flies (glider or hydei) when I feed my dart frogs (~3 times/week). They seem pretty active, they explore a lot and I’ve seen them catching flies so I know they’re eating.

I haven’t kept a jumping spider before and all the guides I’ve seen are for different genuses, got any tips?

I have not kept a Platycryptus before but I think your setup looks perfect! perhaps they might enjoy some flat bark to camouflage in, although I doubt it’s necessary.

[scoriarose]

Is that clumps of asbestos in your snake enclosure?

Absolutely. Nothing but the best for my children.

[hogteeth]

All new enclosures for the hogs and sand boa!! Froggo up next, I ran out of steam to build it yesterday

[pteryx-pets]

5-month update on Snekhaus! Featuring Pierogies, soaking up some rays.

and a closeup of the jungle and cave portions! These are all connected through the jungle: she’s got (low-powered) uvb and a basking lamp in the desert, a warm hide up by the led plant light in the jungle, and a lightless heat emitter down in the cave that stays on overnight.

[lexotics]

Vampire crab paladarium

[geosgaymer]

Typhon's enclosure is officially finished! It's a 4'x2'x2' bioactive.N9w time to let him settle in and explore!

[hawkherps]

my war with the ants rages on

right before moving Sigma into his new enclosure, i found ants living in the soil of his old one. no queen, thankfully, but a significant number of them were making a home in his substrate regardless

i delayed moving him into the new enclosure until i solved the ant problem. copious amounts of vaseline around the edges of the enclosure and waiting for the ants to die off worked well enough

well, it's been a couple months now and despite prepping the new enclosure already with the same vaseline trick, i've found another of the Leap Habitats' glaring flaws:

the front ventilation lets substrate and leaf litter fall through. it's not a lot, but it is noticeable, and it broke the vaseline barrier and allowed the ants to bypass it. i woke up to a huge swarm helping themselves to Sig's Pangea.

there are still at least 50 ants inside the enclosure, but the flow of new ants has been cut off now. i'm watching the remaining ones try to find their way out with no success so far, which is reassuring.

i need to find a way to prevent substrate from coming out of the front ventilation holes and screen without also blocking the airflow completely. i'm thinking some kind of thin fabric. my partner and i have a billion old shirts between us so i could certainly repurpose one this way.

[cxged-bird]

The way she is sitting makes her look like she needs a bra. 😂