Biodude's Leopard Gecko kit?

RedTailRutiodon · 08-02-17, 09:18 PM

Hi, I keep my leopard gecko in a pretty basic enclosure (newspaper, heating pad with a thermostat, etc) but am considering upgrading her to a bioactive setup. I cam across the bio dude's website and it included a kit for establishing a bioactive setup for a leo, but I was wondering if anyone could comment on the quality of this kind of kit set up.

https://www.thebiodude.com/collectio...-bioactive-kit

It would be the first bioactive setup I've ever done, and the kit approach is appealing for my first time.

dannybgoode · 08-03-17, 12:23 AM

That looks pretty good to me. I see no reason not to keep Leo's bio. Read up on UV provision for them as well - they do benefit from it. The reason you need to supplement D3 is because in nature they would get this from metabolising UV so when it's not provided you need to supplement. It allows much more natural behaviours to be displayed also.

jjhill001 · 08-03-17, 06:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedTailRutiodon

Hi, I keep my leopard gecko in a pretty basic enclosure (newspaper, heating pad with a thermostat, etc) but am considering upgrading her to a bioactive setup. I cam across the bio dude's website and it included a kit for establishing a bioactive setup for a leo, but I was wondering if anyone could comment on the quality of this kind of kit set up.

https://www.thebiodude.com/collectio...-bioactive-kit

It would be the first bioactive setup I've ever done, and the kit approach is appealing for my first time.

I just set up my female Baird's rat snake using his products. I didn't use a kit because I already had the leaves and sphagnum moss and a grow light as well.

Its the first planted bioactive setup that I've done with an actual animal in it. So I was also pretty nervous.

Overall his statements about the burrows holding shape is absolutely true. I was kind of curious if it really was then I changed the water bowl for the first time and lo and behold there was a burrow that ended right under the bowl. I imagine that my substrate would look like an ant farm if I had xray glasses from all the tunnels in it.

Not sure how my bugs are actually doing since I haven't seen them since setting it up but I'm sure their fine.

Overall so far I'm really happy. He was very knowledgeable and helpful when I emailed him questions and concerns. The only tip I have is to watch the video he does and try and match the amount of substrate you're supposed to use. I was filling a 36x18x18 and the 36 qt was like $20+ just for shipping so don't be shocked too bad by that. The overall idea is that one setup will last years and years so you'd still save money on substrate in the longrun.

RedTailRutiodon · 08-03-17, 04:14 PM

Would it be a good idea to supplement the isopods and springtails with mealworms and dubias? I've stumbled across the idea online once or twice and the idea of also having a small dubia population in particular is really intriguing. I wouldn't *rely* on her feeding off that population, but I think it would be cool if there were custodians she could also safely eat.

jjhill001 · 08-03-17, 10:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedTailRutiodon

Would it be a good idea to supplement the isopods and springtails with mealworms and dubias? I've stumbled across the idea online once or twice and the idea of also having a small dubia population in particular is really intriguing. I wouldn't *rely* on her feeding off that population, but I think it would be cool if there were custodians she could also safely eat.

I've never seen my gecko eat one of the mealworm beatles so those could get out of hand pretty easily I'd imagine. The dubia might not be the worst idea on the planet though.