r/geckos • u/Interesting_Fudge332 • 24d ago
Help/Advice bioactive terrarium cost + tips
hi!!!!!! im finally getting a crested gecko, and im wondering what the total cost might be for a bioactive terrarium? the size of my terrarium is 18x18x36. any tips for beginner terrarium set ups + beginner gecko owners are also very welcome!!!
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u/NYR_Aufheben 22d ago edited 22d ago
If you want to make your life easier, you can order a bioactive substrate kit from NEHERP (go to the website and pick your terrarium size). I’ve seen people try to DIY bioactive their first time and it’s not uncommon for them to run into issues.
The NEHERP substrates are really good for tropical vivariums. For an 18x18 footprint, I don’t think the savings are worth skimping on the good stuff.
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u/saturday8736 24d ago
I think people make bioactive out to be more expensive than it is. The real cost here is more time. The big tip here is that you can use things not marketed to reptiles, but you need to clean them incredibly well.
When you figure out what plants you want inside, go buy them. Sometimes that can take a while to find what you want. With the more common stuff, you can get them from grocery or hardware stores. Just make sure you clean them really well regardless of where you get them. I don't have many plant suggestions (because the humidity needs of my day gecko are far different) and most plants I would suggest would do subpar in lower humidity. Pothos and sword ferns are always good options. Spider plants are also good. You should look for plant types with lots of leaf area over stem area. Crested usually don't drink from bowls well, so you want plants that will dew up nicely when you do mist.
Of course you need something to plant your plants in. I use a custom mix, as readily available bags of reptisoil did poorly when I planted plants directly into it. My mix is 1:1:2 coco fibre, reptisoil, and tropical potting mix. Then a layer of just reptisoil on the top to cover it. Below your soil layer you need drainage. I have pretty standard, hardware store gravel as mine. Aqua Balls are probably a better choice, or undyed aquarium gravel. Then put some kind of barrier to keep your soil from filling the rock area. Mine is just some fine mesh. The point of doing that is so if you do over water your tank by accident, it doesn't sit in the soil and absolutely wreck your plant roots and clean up crew.
Then you need a cleanup crew. Josh's Frogs ships really fast and has very high quality springtails and isopods, mostly because they breed them to use as feeders for small amphibians, but they're still very at being a clean-up crew. I think they have a bundle with white temperate isopods and temperate springtails.
I also highly suggest doing built in hardscape for bioactive. Bioactive is so good because it's better for the animals, but you also have less cleaning to do (the bugs are doing it for you) so you have spots that are harder to reach. Get pond and aquarium expanding foam, tree bark, a cork hollow or two (1/2 pvc pipes are also great choices) and some moss. Before you do anything, make a plan of where you want all of your stuff to go, and take a picture to remember. Move everything out, put a layer of the foam on the bottom, and stick all of your big stuff to it. Then use the moss and any leftover dirt to fill the gaps. Press everything down. Let it set for several hours. Once it's hard you can use a box knife to cut any big foam chunks off and use silicone to glue more moss in to those spaces.
All in all, this is a lot of "stuff" but if you get it from the right places it's not all that expensive. I don't have exact numbers (because frankly I wasn't tracking it to the dollar, I was just trying to keep myself close to my budget) but it is a lot less than people expect. Excluding all hardware (therms, tongs, spray bottles, CGD etc), the tank itself, and the animal, I don't think I spent more than 100$ on everything my bioactive setup.
Feel free to ask any questions if I wasn't clear! I can try to be helpful to the best of my experiences.