Bio active/ naturalistic vivs for my lizards?

[Hannibalcanibal]

So, long story short i keep my lizards on paper towel, to clean it easier and to minimise risk of impaction. However, i have been hearing a lot about the benefits of giving real soil, complete with all the bugs, seeds, and others.

In a nutshell, i was interested in hearing about bio active/ naturalistic vivs. My lizards are all very healthy as it is, but i was wondering... is there a better environment i could give them?

If it matters, i have one mali uromastyx ( had him since i was 11, love the little guy..), two leopard geckos (separately housed, one i had since 11 and one since 12), and a bearded dragon (had him six months, bought from a breeder- lively little guy).

[smy_749]

throw em on dirt, wood louse and springtails. Good to go. Dunno if uro's on dirt works though, never kept any.

[Mikoh4792]

throw em on dirt, wood louse and springtails. Good to go. Dunno if uro's on dirt works though, never kept any.

So do they eat any feces and urine thats left in the cage? Do you ever have to spot clean with snakes in that case?

[smy_749]

Dunno what the deal with animals that produce massive amounts if urine is...but I never had to clean any cage from an animal that had bioactive substrate and they always smelled very nice and fresh inside. They do a remarkable job, and without them its difficult to make a live viv without eventual mold problems...

[poison123]

Give this a read Bio-active Substrate | Gecko Time (http://www.geckotime.com/bio-active-reptile-substrate/)

[Mikoh4792]

Dunno what the deal with animals that produce massive amounts if urine is...but I never had to clean any cage from an animal that had bioactive substrate and they always smelled very nice and fresh inside. They do a remarkable job, and without them its difficult to make a live viv without eventual mold problems...

Wow. Sounds nice. I may change to bio-active. Do you need a deep layer and live plants for it to work or just the soil and the bugs?

[Mikoh4792]

Give this a read Bio-active Substrate | Gecko Time (http://www.geckotime.com/bio-active-reptile-substrate/)

Good read, thanks

[StudentoReptile]

BSS set-ups are great. Here's a few I've set-up in the past...

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/MDC_Leviathan/Terrariums/geckotank2.jpg (http://s23.photobucket.com/user/MDC_Leviathan/media/Terrariums/geckotank2.jpg.html)

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/MDC_Leviathan/Terrariums/connors_minitank.jpg (http://s23.photobucket.com/user/MDC_Leviathan/media/Terrariums/connors_minitank.jpg.html)

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/MDC_Leviathan/Terrariums/gecko.jpg (http://s23.photobucket.com/user/MDC_Leviathan/media/Terrariums/gecko.jpg.html)

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/MDC_Leviathan/Terrariums/Q_cage_mini.jpg (http://s23.photobucket.com/user/MDC_Leviathan/media/Terrariums/Q_cage_mini.jpg.html)

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/MDC_Leviathan/Terrariums/181824_trop_front.jpg (http://s23.photobucket.com/user/MDC_Leviathan/media/Terrariums/181824_trop_front.jpg.html)

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/MDC_Leviathan/Terrariums/IMG_1085.jpg (http://s23.photobucket.com/user/MDC_Leviathan/media/Terrariums/IMG_1085.jpg.html)

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/MDC_Leviathan/Terrariums/IMG_1034.jpg (http://s23.photobucket.com/user/MDC_Leviathan/media/Terrariums/IMG_1034.jpg.html)

[Hannibalcanibal]

BSS set-ups are great. Here's a few I've set-up in the past...

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/MDC_Leviathan/Terrariums/geckotank2.jpg (http://s23.photobucket.com/user/MDC_Leviathan/media/Terrariums/geckotank2.jpg.html)

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/MDC_Leviathan/Terrariums/connors_minitank.jpg (http://s23.photobucket.com/user/MDC_Leviathan/media/Terrariums/connors_minitank.jpg.html)

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/MDC_Leviathan/Terrariums/gecko.jpg (http://s23.photobucket.com/user/MDC_Leviathan/media/Terrariums/gecko.jpg.html)

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/MDC_Leviathan/Terrariums/Q_cage_mini.jpg (http://s23.photobucket.com/user/MDC_Leviathan/media/Terrariums/Q_cage_mini.jpg.html)

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/MDC_Leviathan/Terrariums/181824_trop_front.jpg (http://s23.photobucket.com/user/MDC_Leviathan/media/Terrariums/181824_trop_front.jpg.html)

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/MDC_Leviathan/Terrariums/IMG_1085.jpg (http://s23.photobucket.com/user/MDC_Leviathan/media/Terrariums/IMG_1085.jpg.html)

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/MDC_Leviathan/Terrariums/IMG_1034.jpg (http://s23.photobucket.com/user/MDC_Leviathan/media/Terrariums/IMG_1034.jpg.html)

Nice! guess i should do it then.. the only reptile i am having trouble seeing it working with is my mali uromastyx, because they need dry, hot, dry... and i doubt that the canadian soil can live up to that. Still, even if he could burrow, that would be awesome for watching natural behavior and giving him something to do.

[poison123]

I know somebody who uses it on uros. Let me see if I can find the thread. Use several inches and keep the top dry and moist at depth.

[poison123]

Uro Enclosure (http://www.reptileforums.net/forums/showthread.php?87566-Uro-Enclosure/page5&highlight=Uromastyx)

[Hannibalcanibal]

Uro Enclosure (http://www.reptileforums.net/forums/showthread.php?87566-Uro-Enclosure/page5&highlight=Uromastyx)

Thanks :D i got some dirt in the beardie's and the uro's tanks now, i'll post some pics when i get back.

[Hannibalcanibal]

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So, the bigger of the two enclosures is my mali uromastyx, the smaller is my bearded dragon, and the pic of the beardie is him flaring up when i tried to touch him.. something about the new environment ( i changed EVERYTHING in his cage) made him territorial.

[Hannibalcanibal]

Looking at this now makes his cage look small... ( the beardie's)... Meh, i was planning on building a new one anyways. Just seeing how the bioactive handles odor for now..

[poison123]

I would add a LOT more. With the ammount of heat that beardies need that dirt will dry up very fast, killing the bugs in it.

[Hannibalcanibal]

Got it. Adding now.