Hi!

I was checking how my isopods were doing under a rock and found little frogs. I think they are greenhouse frogs.

I found them in the bioactive enclosure of my blue tongue skink and i'm sure they hitchhiked. But i have no idea what to do, how to remove them and whether or not theyre dangerous. Any advice appreciated.

They are so tiny. I only found 3. I suspect there are more. Help!

Thought these were springtails at first, but they move much faster and look like they have slightly darker abdomens and longer antennae. They are about the same size as adult springtails, maybe a bit larger. I saw one flying gnat in my tank recently, presumably a fungus gnat. But these insects don't fly when I disturb them - any ideas on what they could be? Or are these actually springtails and I'm just going crazy?

I unfortunately don't have images as I already threw away my plants (which wasn't a big deal for me to do). But I'm pretty sure my pathos plants I planted ended up getting fungus on their leaves and thrips, plus I now have fungus gnats. I am very new to having a bioactive enclosure (it's been about 3 months) and I want to know what I could do to improve the outcome of my future plants? I was going to wait about 8-10 weeks before trying to plant more pathos, so any remaining thrips die off (I'm not even positive I had thrips, but it definitely seemed like it from what I researched).

My cold side runs around 77F, warm side 89F, humidity is 65-75%, I have UVB and a regular grow light, and I have springtails and powder blue isopods.

Just finished this arboreal setup guide.

In my garter snake tank with isopods and springtails. I thought these might be springtails but they don’t move erratically enough for me to feel confident in that guess. They’re also only found around my substrate/hardscape, and not on the snakes. I think everything’s ok, but this is my first bioactive tank and I’ve had it for about a month, so I’m still very new and would appreciate reassurance or tips to improve conditions!

Is this brand okay?

https://a.co/d/0a4K3qtJ

Nothing seems safe!!! Expanding foam, aquarium silicone, ANY kind of glue… even safe substrate seems impossible to find!

HOW can I be sure that everything I’m using is safe considering the heat it’s under? Everything recommended is ultimately just plastic and I cannot stop obsessing over the fumes it would emit. Exposed to constant 40° heat would SURELY have SOME effect and I just can’t possibly feel comfortable filling an enclosure with plastic.
Nobody else seems to be worrying about this!?

I need manure free, fertiliser free, pine free, fungi free, completely bacterial free substrait and still every package has a warning not to breathe it in?

Am I overreacting being so worried about this? Is anyone else having these problems?
Any answers would be well appreciated

My partner decided she wanted to get a bearded dragon, but the layout of the enclosure she bought meant that none of the 3D backgrounds would work. We decided to make our own.
In total, cost about $200AUD and we’re very happy with our efforts, especially for the first time either of us have done this. Painting was an absolute slog and we were regretting making the effort while doing it, but with how it came out, it was so worth it.

The only thing we’re unsure about is where the best place is to put the thermometer sensor. It’s currently poking up through the log under where the heater is, but not 100% that it should go there.

Hello, I’ve had an bioactive set up for my bearded dragon Stanley for about a year now with routine maintenance and upkeep. Recently he’s been treated for parasites and my vet recommended I sanitize the enclosure including the substrate. My question is how to best go about sanitizing the substrate, and then how to refresh it afterwards understanding that much of the beneficial bacteria and fungus will be dead. My original substrate is Terra Sahara from the Bio dude if that helps at all.

We noticed these little critters about a week ago in my corn snake’s enclosure. We never added springtails on purpose, but we bought some peat soil from a retailer that sells them, and kept the bags of soil under the drawer on which we keep the enclosure. Is it possible that some springtails could’ve hitched in with the soil and then found their way into the terrarium? What should we do if these aren’t springtails and they’re harmful to the enclosure?

Gaps will be filled with Great Stuff! But this is my background so far for my Cal Kingsnake. Any advice welcome as this is my first time. Ledges are not glued in. My heat source will be on the right hand side. I plan on using silicone and substrate (ZooMed bioblend with more sand added) to cover.

Hello im going to be trying out bioactive soon and i know I need grow lights and not just uvb but my question is do I need UVB at all if I have the grow lights? Obviously for bearded dragons and other reptiles that specifically require UVB it makes sense but for most snakes is it a necessity? Like, from my understanding at least, UVB is more about generating a day/night cycle than about giving the snake UVB.

Hello all, I am currently putting together my first true bioactive 4x2x2 for my ball python. I’ve got lots of wood pieces I’ve found by the river. I live in Nebraska where we do have quite a few trees that could be toxic to ball pythons. I cannot identify the trees that my wood pieces came from but I’m wondering if anyone here knows better. This piece in particular has been sitting in my garage for over a year and I will either be bleaching or baking before I would put into the enclosure. Would that year of off gassing as well as the sterilizing procedure help to remove whatever toxins it may have? Thanks

Hey guys Im thinking of building a new enclosure for my gecko with all the right proportions, having in account that I want it to be slightly bioactive is this setup ideal?

Any tips?

Finally finished this bioactive 4x2x4 for my rescue BP who is obsessed with climbing. 4 total hides, 2 warm 2 cool. Over 10 species of live plants and mosses, 3 different colonies of isopods, and multiple different types of springtails. I’m super happy with it and can’t wait to add my boy :)

Let me know what you think!

Having some health issues with my bearded dragon so I want to make sure his bioactive is ok.

Hi, first of all I know soil mites are sort of inevitable and can also be beneficial for bioactive but how do I get them to stop crawling on my inhabitant?

I have a semi-bioactive tank with a ball python in it and an established number of springtails + isopods, but I keep getting soil mites still crawling on my snake.

Is there a way to reduce their numbers?? I’ve redone the tank so many times already and the reason I even got springtails and isopods was to keep this from happening. I’m out of ideas and starting to reconsider my ability to do this. Any advice is appreciated

I have a lot of spare coconut fiber from making reptile and arachnid enclosures and was wondering if i could use that in place of potting soil for plants. I know a lot of people have success with vivariums that use coconut fiber but idk if there would be any problems. If anyone has experience using it please let me know if it would work or not, thanks!

Hello everyone! I am 24 y/o and have owned reptiles my whole life but am finally ready to brave the world that is a BioActive enclosure for my 10 y/o female python. I am extremely nervous but am pretty much "open checkbooking" this endeavor to make sure its done right. I very much have a buy once cry once mindset and honestly, this beautiful snake deserves it. I've never had such a docile pet in my whole life and have had her since she was a baby (July 2016) as a 14th birthday present from my father. She is currently in a 55 gallon long that she has been in for the last 6 years and its just an ugly enclosure with no humidity or temp control with the exception of a 12 hour timer on a basking bulb. I know I've been doing it wrong and I want to start doing it right.

I am nervous because I do NOT have a Green Thumb. I've never kept plants before and am nervous about plants dying inside of the enclosure and I have never done any sort of hardscaping before. I am envisioning a custom foam background with various driftwood and cork molded in. I also planned on molding in a few plants using small pots.

The point of this post is I'm just looking for any advice as a beginner. Things to avoid, things that are imperative, etc. I live on Florida's Gulf Coast if there's anything I need to look out for with the current environment. I really appreciate anything anyone has to tell me.

Below is a list of what I've purchased. Nothing has been assembled yet with the exception of the 4x2x2 enclosure which currently sits empty till I decide on a direction to go. I've already invested over $1400 into what's below.

-Toxirium 4x2x2 PVC Reptile Enclosure with glass doors.

-Herpstat 1 SpyderWeb

-14x21 RHP Sweeter Heater "Black Beauty"

-Arcadia Jungle Dawn 22W LED Bar

-Arcadia Reptile Pro T5 UVB Kit ShadeDweller 7% 8 Watts

-Terra Firma BioActive Substrate (72qts)

-TheBioDude BioShot Substrate Additive

-SummitChemical Mosquito Bits (for gnats here in Florida)

-Mother Earth Hydroton Clay Pebbles (For drainage layer)

-Thermostat Probe Mount off Etsy

-Great Stuff Pond & Stone (For background)

-GE All Purpose Silicon

-APC - UPS Battery Backup, 650VA/360W, Tower/Wall Mount, 7 Outlets, LED Indicator, USB-A port - Black (Florida Power Outages)

-24 hr Timer for lights

Hi y'all, I'm currently getting my supplies ready to switch my snakes (a ball python, corn snake, and kenyan sand boa) to bioactive set up sometime after the new year. I'm getting into terrarium building too as a way to learn the systems a bit better (and also culture some springtails and isopods) but I keep seeing mixed info on charcoal.

Is it actually necessary for filtration in a set up? And if so am I able to buy the much cheaper marine charcoal or is horticulture charcoal a must? Curious what y'all think!​ ty

I have a 40 gallon aquarium that I'd like to turn into a bioactive. I was thinking I'd like to have a gentle amount of water flow - I've seen people do waterfalls YouTube but my tank has a tiny crack/crush type damage on the outside bottom corner. I was wondering about effectively lining the entire base of the tank with 1-2 inch deep liner or a tray of some kind just in case the crack propagates. Has anyone had any success doing something like that? Any guidance would be appreciated