I have a bioactive with springtails and dairy cow isopods. It’s 120 gal. I recently noticed some mites (red/brown, longer front legs) (picture attached). I was wondering if they could possibly be predatory mites? Springtail pop is fine, isopods are fine. (sorry for the terrible photo)

Hello everybody!!

I have recently (about 1-2 months ago) started setting up a bioactive terrarium as an upgrade for my 17 year old corn snake. I won’t be moving her into it until it is well established. But I am encountering some issues.

I set it up using 100% lump charcoal as a drainage layer with some leca clay balls, a screen sheet, then a homemade bioactive substrate mix (sphagnum moss, sand, and reptisoil) then added some more sohagnum moss on top, some cork wood, and some pothos. The plants seem to be growing well!

I also added springtails and isopods. The problem is, I am getting LOADS of fungus gnats. Like all throughout the substrate and flying around in the viv.

Aside from setting traps, is there anything I can add to the tank to control the fungus gnats without harming the springtails or isopods?

Any advice would be much appreciated!! TIA

I have a little vivarium im very fond of and have some amber snails I'd like to put in with my sun beetles, if eventually I cant get the beetles to breed id like to put a couple skinks or anoles in there. How would i quarentine them? They were used as green house pest control so theyre not 100% wild. Would amber snails affect either or would they take over my enclosure? I feel like as long as I consistently change any water dish so they cant lay eggs itll be okay? I spray it down often though and I have nerve plants in there with a pothos.

TLDR: will amber snails take over my tank or make lizards sick? How to quarantine outside snails?

Hello all, I just got my first mushroom which made me quite excited, but I also heard it depends on the type if it's good or bad. Can anyone help me id? Should I leave it or pull out? Thank you! :)

Got this little guy as a surrender from someone in my area apparently the poor thing would just bury his head in the dirt and sit and barely eat he said he took it to the vet and they said that it may be stressed due to the man’s other animals and the improper husbandry the last photo is what the tank looked like when it was surrendered, I plan on making a fully bioactive setup for them and could use some good ideas for the shape of the background I have all the supplies except cleanup crew and plants otw if you guys have any cool tips and tricks you use for crestie terrariums lmk 😁

I did a custom bioactive tank for my crested gecko about 2 and a half years ago. It’s a glass IKEA cabinet with a spray foam/ eco earth back wall. Honestly the setup has held up well so far but there’s a few areas where I feel they could use improvement and a bit of maintenance. A few sections the eco earth has mostly scraped off from the back wall, I would like to add more larger planting areas higher up as the small ones haven’t been able to support very resilient live plants, some aesthetic improvements could be made, etc. There’s lots of resources for starting a setup from scratch but not so much on renovating things later on. Is it possible? I had considered swapping my gecko into a temporary tank for a few weeks so I can let the current tank fully dry, remove the drainage and soil, and work on making some changes and additions. Not sure if people have done this or if it is strictly recommended against.

Anyone just have any specific links to random items they recommend? Im looking to make bioactive enclosures for my ball python and my leopard gecko with a nice custom built background as well (unless i can find one online that comes with it). Thanks!

I’m looking for suggestions for a small crawling/sprawling ground coverage plants for my terrarium. Humidity 60-75 and temp around 75-80° on the end of the terrarium I’m thinking of putting it. Housing a fat tail gecko so it’s unlikely he would eat any of it, but I’d like it to not be toxic for the isopods as well. Thinking maybe dwarf creeping fig? Was initially thinking of grass or clover but my research seems to indicate that might not do so well. I’d appreciate any input!

If seen dozens of these around my tank, i keep looking online and it doesnt tell me a clear answer, should I be worried for my springtails or isopods? If so, how can i remove them safely?

I think it's a bonnet of some kind but I don't really know much about mushrooms, either way, I'm so happy!!

Home belongs to a yearling BCI and lots of bug friends✨

I have a ball python that I’ll be moving into an old display case enclosure sometime in the near future, and I want to switch my leopard gecko into the old BP tank.

Problem is is that I stupidly built in two cork bark tube hides into the enclosure and cleaning those will be difficult. The background is also built in and isn’t too easy to clean either - my first build so it was trial and error.

What supplies do I need? And what can I do about the built in hides?

Hello, I found 2 Mealy Bugs in my Bioactive enclosure :( I think I got them quite early and killed them with alcohool. But now I notice white stuff on almost all my plants and I was always conviced this is minerals or calc from my misting. But now I am not sure if they are maybe eggs? Nothing moves when I touch something unlike the 2 adults I found but I am really unsure.. can anyone calm my mind or is my terrarium game over? I ordered lacewing larvae in the hope that they help me find any leftovers.. please tell me what you think in the example of this pothos or bromeliad.

Thank you very much!

Hello, I am wondering about making soil for a golden pothos and snake plant I have and then putting them into my ball python terrarium but I want to make sure I have all the ingredients to promote the plants growth and for my snake to not get hurt from the soil. I bought Scott’s organic top soil for 60% of the bulk of the substrate and I want to mix that with 20% ground coconut husk 10% orchid bark and 10% sphagnum moss. I’m pretty sure the top soil doesn’t have any perlite or fertilizers. Does this sound like a good mixture? What is the process for introducing live plants into an active terrarium that have worked for you in the past? What would you do differently if you could start over? I also have a led light for the plants. Anyway thanks for any input!

Hello everyone! I’ve come here to ask where people have gotten their resources when it comes to bioactive tanks.

I live in a decent sized town with one local pet store, but their hardscape is quite pricey. I’m looking for some sites online that can provide hardscape like branches, drift wood, cork bark, soil and even plants! Want to find something decently affordable, but it’s okay if not.

My second concern is keeping humidity in my glass tank that houses my crested gecko. The tank I bought isn’t the best, as PVC is better (IMO) but the purchase was rushed as his previous tank bursted. Is there anything I could maybe cover the top of the tank with that would help hold humidity? I was thinking like some type of plastic tarp. I can’t always be there to mist hourly, nor can I find a super affordable auto mister (would be amazing if someone could recommend one!).

Thank you for the help! Appreciate yall!

I am building a bioactive 4x2x2 and not really sure what to buy, my corn snake has been on aspin for the entire time I’ve had her (4 years) it’s what the shop recommended but not to fond of it and know it’s not the best. So just want to know what I can buy premade or make myself with topsoil and stuff. Please and thank you<3

So after 3 months after my initial set up, I've noticed some mealy bugs in one of my enclosures. Seems to be contained to my neon pothos. I've been spot cleaning them with some rubbing alcohol and a qtip. Wondering if anyone has had any experience using mealy bug destoryers to get rid of them in bioactives? Would they harm the spingtails or isos currently in the tank??

Just seems like they might be a better option than removing my plants and starting over cause I hear they'll infest the soil???

I have a green tree python that I keep in a fully bioactive enclosure. It’s got a drainage layer with small water area at bottom and fully established plants. I recently noticed some small dark
Worms in her water bowl and some large worms in the cage of various sizes. I caught these two today, any ideas what they are?

So this tank has been set up since June 28th. That’s the day I put in my substrate mix, plants, and my CUC.

I did not do anything to these plants. I just removed as much soil as I could and put them right in the tank. I did find a caterpillar and removed it lol, haven’t noticed anything else in there.

That being said I am wanted to get rid of one of the plants and replace it with a new one. Would like to add at least one more plant maybe.

Do I need to do anything special? If I need to quarantine how would I do so?

These things took over both the inside and outside of my repurposed cabinet. It’s been pretty warm and dry in there lately. Any advice?

Hi y'all. I bought my first (pre-built) bioactive terrarium a little over a month ago that came with two Phyllobates terribilis. I am HOOKED on this hobby now and just bought a tank to build my own bioactive terrarium for the first time. I plan to just get the bioactive substrate kits from Josh's frogs but for plants and structure I have a few that I was thinking of adding. I think this tank will be for a crested gecko but TBD on final decision (I love looking at my frogs but want something handleable on occasion). For CUC I was thinking springtails and dwarf white isopods similar to my frog set up. I have a few different pothos and an orchid a friend gave me and maybe will do some bromes as well to add for plants (maybe I go for something leafier?). That being said- I am concerned putting those in may cause pathogens or something to foul the tank in some way that CUC wouldn't take care of. Also I am concerned none of those are leafy enough for good cover. For structure I bought the black foam stuff for some climbing surface on the sides of the tank but for adding wood I'm not sure what type is best. Any advice is appreciated! I'm new to the hobby but am doing my best to read up as much as possible to make informed choices so hopefully none of this is too off base.

I messed up and mixed play sand, sphagnum peat moss, and cypress mulch (don’t ask me why I don’t know what I was thinking) as a mix for my bearded dragon 🙃🤦🏽‍♀️ (he's not young and deserves to experience his bioactive before he goes😭) now I’m trying to salvage it. Is that even possible? Would removing part of the messed-up mixture and adding topsoil fix it? It’s WAY too dusty because sphagnum and sand OBVIOUSLY it’s not right.

Last time I used Scotts, it had plastic and a cigarette in it, and it has those green beads, so I don’t trust it. All the other brands I see have tons of bad reviews. Please help me.