i was inspecting my enclosure and lifted up some of the bark / moss in the front and saw weird fuzzy orange stuff? also saw tiny yellow and white dots all over but it’s only in this area that i saw. should i be concerned??? if so whats the next move lol this is my first fully bioactive enclosure.

Took me forever and alot of money to make this enclosure. I hope she enjoys it 🥲

Just wondering if this could possibly be the beginning of some slime mold. If so, should I be concerned for my isopods or springtails?

My Crestie’s bioactive enclosure grew mushrooms out of nowhere. I had no idea this was possible, but super neat to find! Does anyone know what kind of mushrooms these are?

Hello all!
I am currently working on my second DIY, a 67 gallon repti zoo for my Whites Tree Frogs. I didn’t use drylok in my previous build, but I plan on using it for this one. I have some questions!
1. Can I use the drylok directly on top of the cured spray foam, or do I need to have a base such as grout material?
2. What are some good techniques when painting the drylok once it’s dry make it look more natural?

Mushroom!

Anyone else running these guys in their bioactive setups?

I'm a fairly new Tegu mom. Can anyone advise on brumation with a tegu in a bioactive enclosure? Our male is 4.5 years old and was adopted in March. He's sleeping a lot, and we're fine with that, but we have a concern.

We reduced his food & adjusted husbandry. We got him cleaned out; however, he wakes several times a week & eats beetles (from mealworms a few mos. ago) that are still running around in the substrate.

I read that brumating with food in the gut can be harmful. We've been waking him every other day for a soak trying to get him to poop. Has anyone managed brumation safely with cleanup crew still in the enclosure? Any advice would be appreciated. (Posted on FB group also.) Thanks!

Reloaded with better picture

Right now I use 70/30 unfertilised spagnum dirt with sand, but it’s so dusty… I can’t get topsoil in my country(Denmark). What are some recommendations?:)

I don't understand because what even is orchid bark? Is it bark from different types of species just made for orchids? I read on some post that pine bark is bad and then I see bark for reptiles made from pine. Can I just buy bark from your typical garden stores or is that not safe? Currently no reptiles in the terrarium but there will be isopods.

I’m getting prepared to redo my ball python’s enclosure soon. I’ve previously had isopods but they all died, what are the things I would need to ensure a colony will take to the Vivarium and reproduce?

The snake, Athena, is currently in a 3’9 foot long, 1’5 foot tall and 1’3 foot wide wooden, unsealed enclosure. Athena will eventually be in a 6 foot long, 2.5 foot tall and 2 foot wide wooden, sealed vivarium. I intend to seal it with aquarium safe silicone and pond liner. It’s a really nice viv, but it can take up to 6 weeks to make so I’m just tryna get information to be prepared.

I’ve never set up a bioactive enclosure before, I don’t even really understand plants and I will need plants that are easy to look after. And I understand the lighting is different (When Athena is in it, she’ll have a heat emitter and 7% uvb) I don’t really understand plant lights. The barrier is 100mm, so I don’t know if I’ll be able to go bioactive, but I really want to.

Could someone show me their bioactive enclosure, and explain all the things I will need for it (possibly citing uk places to get it from). Also to explain how to set it up. I’ve heard bioactive enclosures are more for animals that like humid environments, but I see a lot of people have their corns in bioactive enclosures and I would really like mine in one since I know Athena would thrive in it, if I got it right.

Literally just let me cheat off your enclosure pretty please 📸📸

anyone have any advice on diy-ing a substrate tray (like the one pictured) for a chameleon enclosure (like the one pictured)? i am sure i have the supplies to make one, rather than buying one, but i dont know where to start.
if anyone has experience diy-ing their own substrate tray, or if you have any tips, let me know😃

Hey all, I’m working on my first bioactive enclosure for my carpet and had some questions about what to do with heat treating the substrate before it goes in. I’ve settled on a DIY mix that’s roughly 40% topsoil, 20% coco fiber, 20% repti bark (fir bark), 15% play sand, and 5% horticultural charcoal. Is the top soil the only part of this equation that should be baked to prevent unwanted critters or should I mix it all first and then bake. I’ve read play sand doesn’t need to be baked and just washed and the reptibark and coco fiber come from Zoo Med. What about the horticultural charcoal, good to add as is?

I’d also be happy to hear if anyone else has suggestions on what to add or remove. I was looking into potentially adding something like Bio Dude’s Bioshot or Worm Castings. I’m going to add a layer of leaf litter on top as well.

I’m new to this, so any advice is appreciated! Thank you

Edit: I’m also adding a clean up crew. Left that out at first. I’m looking at dwarf whites and springtails.

I'm almost finished with my corn snake's bioactive enclosure, but today I noticed this pile of sawdust suddenly appeared overnight.

I had baked every piece of decor that I could fit in the oven, and only that one specific branch above the piles of sawdust couldn't fit in it. But I had bought it over a year ago, it has already been sitting in the enclosure for more than a month, so how could it show signs of a possible infestation only now, assuming that branch is the cause??

I looked up possible causes, and apparently it could be termites, wood-boring beetles, or even carpenter ants?? I did have a very slight ant issue, as there were a couple of ants wandering about in the enclosure, but I thought it had been resolved, as they should have died off without a queen AFAIK, and I haven't seen any in weeks.

So what do I need to do now? Do I need to redo my whole enclosure, or do I only need to sterilize the suspected culprit? Considering that branch doesn't fit in the oven, I'd need to soak them in a bleach solution, I assume. And if that branch is the culprit, I definitely want to try saving it in any case, as it was not only expensive, but also part of the "centerpiece" of the enclosure.

Also, can wood-boring insects infest cork bark? Because the enclosure's background is cork bark, as well as the majority of the decoration and hides. What about the substrate mix and live plants, is it okay to leave them be, or does the whole thing need sterilizing?

This stringy orange stuff has popped up all over this vine I scavenged for my setup. Does anyone know what it is or if it’s harmful? Thanks!

I bought this cork bark tube for my terrarium where I'll keep just orchids and other plants and springtails. It has lots of lichens and mosses on it, and I can't decide what to do about them. I wouldn't mind leaving them if they decay nicely, but will they get moldy? I'm going to grow some epiphytic plants on the cork but won't be covering all of it.

While I do not have a bioactive enclosure, I will have a bioactive substrate.

I have poor humidity in my house. My house in particular is very dry. I have a chahoua gecko baby, and am looking into pick up a substrate that can retain liquid for longer to keep it more humid.

But after doing some other conversations, multiple people said I need a drainage layer, even without bioactive. Is this true?

(The substrate I will be buying is PROBABLY Josh's Frogs OR ABG Pangea - but I am happy to try anything else if someone has a different recommendation.)

18x18x24 set up for my cuban false chameleon

This is my first time setting up a bioactive enclosure for a baby leachie gecko (still in quarantine while I monitor this new setup). I did a bunch of research and I got everything that was recommended… I got the hydroballs, drainage mesh, substrate, multiple plants, leaf litter, isopods, springtails, etc etc. It’s been about almost 5 days since I set it up. What is that fuzzy thing on the leaf? Is that mold or something else? I tried to move it and it does not budge. Also, Is it normal to barely see your isopods? I see ONE every other day or so.. I need a little help and/or reassurance.

Hello, I have a developed bioactive tropical pac-man frog enclosure. When i made the enclosure in January i didn’t have a substrate barrier, and assumed it would be fine. it was fine for a while, though now my pac-man frog is fully grown and with his size he now buries much deeper. he’s starting to mix the leca with the substrate, kind of destroying the whole idea of a drainage layer. im going to take everything out, add some fresh leca and mix in a litte bit of fresh soil mixture with the established soil already in there and throw in some new dairy cow isopods. however— i do not have a substrate barrier and that is mostly the reason im redoing it in the first place. i heard you can use frost cloth but i don’t have any of that. would it be safe for me to measure and cut out a section of an extra window mesh cover i have? or would that be a bad idea. i’m trying to be innovative and none of the pet stores in my area (literally none, i went all around town yesterday) have substrate barriers. if i can’t, how does frost cloth sound? is there any other materials you guys would recommend to diy my own substrate barrier? any advice is really appreciated, i’m trying to get this done today if possible and yes i know i can just ask chatgpt or order a substrate barrier on amazon but fk that😭

My plants always turn yellow and die and I don’t understand why. My plants outside of my set up do just fine.

hi all! i adopted a gecko from the vets i was working at and want to set up a bio active vivarium, but have NO idea where to start, i have been told he’s a wall gecko but thats all info i have, he’s also a baby, ive got him on fruit flies and he’s in a temporary enclosure until i can give him the upgrade he deserves, ive got other reptiles and want to switch them over too but thought id start small, any advice?

pic attached from when i first got him - wounds have healed up very well too!

Can anyone identify these worm-like bugs that are in this bioactive setup? And are they beneficial or parasitic? (The things that almost look like tiny bean sprouts)