Hey! I’ve done a few bioactives now, and maybe some of what I’ve learned would be helpful. I find that using herbs and things the animals eat isn’t great for bioactive. I try to use plants the are similar-ish to those they’d have in the wild. This way they also last longer (similar requirements to the animal, so the environment suits both!) and one of the benefits to them lasting longer is also that plants tend to hold moisture at their base more, which gives springtails a refuge so they also last longer. Good luck with it! 😄
Looks good! I have a bioactive setup for my beardie, and my recommendations would be: - Make sure the substrate is deep enough, like 3 inches. Enough to dig, for plants to root down, and for pockets of moisture to form under the dry surface layer. - Get a bit of thin pvc pipe and a 3-way connector, and bury it in the soil with the pipe sticking out. Use this to pour in a glass of water every week. Ideally, you'd bury this next to wherever the isopods hide and where there are some succulants (mine is next to the water bowl) - Don't add too many mealworms, but a few are good as they aerate the soil and dig little tunnels. - The tank feels a bit cluttered, I would consider taking out some of the smaller items and logs and metal plant wagons, and just give a bit more room to run around and dig.
Watching Zsasz bask on the bark in the heat was adorable, reminds me of my Leopard gecko and how lazily he basks. Great video once again! Have a blessed day!!!!
Good morning Elle, hope you have an amazing week!! Definitely seems difficult trying to take care of a bio tank but also seems more than worth it for the animal!!
Good morning! Oh yea, she's loving all the space, and all the fresh herbs...she's having a much better time than me haha. But that's all that matters 🥰 Have an amazing Sunday and an amazing week! 😁
I just read a comment where they spelled her name, “Zsasz”. If that’s the right spelling, and I have a feeling it is, what a great way to do it!! Love the bloopers, as always. 🦎❤️🦎
Hi Elle! I have had my bioactive for a year and half now I sympathize with clesnup crew woes lol. My doodle ate all her isopods 🙄 and my arid springtails didnt do well for me. I think I let it all dry to much. I am teying weekly full watering of the soil seeing how that goes and I am keeping small cups of water under cork bark. Like those platic dishes for gecko feeders. Its helping. The other thing I think you can try is giving them more hotspots with food and crushed calcium for food. Some big lewves to much un helps to. If I may your enclosure is very crowded to I have noticed my bearide seems more content to have room to walk freely and dig under the branches in it and the cork bark hides. Having more space so she can airate the soil from digging may help a bit cause they will be moving around the various nutrients in the soil making it more spread evenly. As for the plants not much you can do there beardies are so destructive lol mine even killed her cactus 🧐 but I do really enjoy elephant feed plants and omg the spaghetti agave plant is a favorite hands down. They are both hardy arid plants and perfectly edible. Worth a try! Good luck arid bioactive is a challenge 😂
Thanks so much for your advice! Little water cups - love it! Never thought about doing that. Do you bury the water cups to be level with the soil, or just put them in there on top of the soil? It is very crowded with driftwood on purpose 😊 Zsasz loves to climb, and she uses every piece of driftwood in the tank. She's so much more active now than she was in her last tank, which was mostly just walking space and 1 large driftwood (in that one, she would spend 90% of her time in one spot... On the 1 driftwood). But she still comes down and goes under the driftwood too. Lots of activities 😊 And as for the plants, I'll definitely have to look into those! I was very worried about getting plants that were hardy and also safe for her! I'll be checking today to see if I can find those. Thank you so much again! 🥰
Hello Elle, almost said good morning but it’s 9 o’clock Sunday night , been that kind of day lol. Enjoyed the video as always and hope you have a great week.
Getting ready ro build a background/ platform, and was wondering what (if anything) I should seal it with? Is yours easy to wipe down if your beardie poops on your background?
Hi there! I've tried going bioactive as well for my guy - Kevin. The same thing has happened to mine as yours. Almost everything has died or been pulled up. What Isopods and Springtails are the best?
Would this be safe for a 4-5 month old bearded dragon? I’m not a huge fan of the carpet, tile, etc… Do you have a safe recommendation for a natural environment for a younger beardie? Thank you!!
Yep! New reptiles should be quarantined on paper towel (ideally for three months) to monitor their health. After, as long as they’re healthy and their husbandry is all good (temps, hydration, etc.) a suitable loose substrate mix is best :)
hi my beardie puff just kida sit and stares at me and im worried shes not happy i dont know what to do for her i have to go and get the correct bulbs for her as of right now i have reptile bulbs but not stong enough for her but she wont eat salad she doesn’t like baths and she wont really drink water and when shes out of her enclosure her walks around but not alot im just worried about her i wanna know if it normal
I know it's a 40b and small but we no more room in this apartment, so right by her tank is her playpen, 28"x56". peaches was in it and puff ran over and laid down to mess with her.ua-cam.com/video/2bg2vZZQL6Y/v-deo.html
I wish I could keep house plants alive. Am going to get plants for my beardy to eat on plus my box turtles and tortoise. Won't worry if they eat them up will just get them more. My box turtles love to destroy plants but what ever makes them HAPPY.🐢 GOD BLESS 🦎💖🐢💖🐍💖🐸💖
I have a very humid planted side. I keep a lot of things going with kratky hydroponics, what she eats or destroys gets replaced. I also sow lentil, and small mixed salad microgreen seeds. larger seeds like sunflower seeds are grown out of the tank until the hulls fall off. I have powdered oranges, dwarf whites, mealworm/beetles, temperate springtails and I seed bsfl into the same area. Peaches has been in this bioactive since 6/21. I will post a few links of it on youtube. I just filmed the tank after watering the plants and isopods. I also feed the isopods homemade dry bug chow and lots of veggies she didn't eat. ua-cam.com/video/cFKS8CPTFuI/v-deo.html
In a bioactive setup, the cleanup crew deal with the poop. Overeating is a possibility, although some of the cleanup crew (springtails, smaller isopod species, etc.) will be too small for the beardie to eat. The cleanup crew also often stays hidden.
Hey! I’ve done a few bioactives now, and maybe some of what I’ve learned would be helpful.
I find that using herbs and things the animals eat isn’t great for bioactive. I try to use plants the are similar-ish to those they’d have in the wild. This way they also last longer (similar requirements to the animal, so the environment suits both!) and one of the benefits to them lasting longer is also that plants tend to hold moisture at their base more, which gives springtails a refuge so they also last longer.
Good luck with it! 😄
Looks good! I have a bioactive setup for my beardie, and my recommendations would be:
- Make sure the substrate is deep enough, like 3 inches. Enough to dig, for plants to root down, and for pockets of moisture to form under the dry surface layer.
- Get a bit of thin pvc pipe and a 3-way connector, and bury it in the soil with the pipe sticking out. Use this to pour in a glass of water every week. Ideally, you'd bury this next to wherever the isopods hide and where there are some succulants (mine is next to the water bowl)
- Don't add too many mealworms, but a few are good as they aerate the soil and dig little tunnels.
- The tank feels a bit cluttered, I would consider taking out some of the smaller items and logs and metal plant wagons, and just give a bit more room to run around and dig.
Mine went down in fashion as well. I just refresh every once in awhile.... Great job
Cilantro is super easy, and way cheaper, to grow from seed! If you planted a new pot up once a week you could have a continuous supply 🥰
Watching Zsasz bask on the bark in the heat was adorable, reminds me of my Leopard gecko and how lazily he basks. Great video once again! Have a blessed day!!!!
Thanks so much. Have an amazing week! 🥰
Good morning Elle, hope you have an amazing week!! Definitely seems difficult trying to take care of a bio tank but also seems more than worth it for the animal!!
Good morning! Oh yea, she's loving all the space, and all the fresh herbs...she's having a much better time than me haha. But that's all that matters 🥰
Have an amazing Sunday and an amazing week! 😁
@@ellesreptiles thank God all your tanks aren't bio lol, that would be crazy lol!! Thank you Ma'am!! 😊
Good to know what worked and what didn't! Gonna replicate it for my beardie
1:17 "Mom, come fix it."
I just read a comment where they spelled her name, “Zsasz”. If that’s the right spelling, and I have a feeling it is, what a great way to do it!! Love the bloopers, as always. 🦎❤️🦎
Ruben Was Here😊
The dentist blooper almost made me spit my coffee out. "cleeeeeeeeeeeeannnn"
😂
Hi Elle! I have had my bioactive for a year and half now I sympathize with clesnup crew woes lol. My doodle ate all her isopods 🙄 and my arid springtails didnt do well for me. I think I let it all dry to much. I am teying weekly full watering of the soil seeing how that goes and I am keeping small cups of water under cork bark. Like those platic dishes for gecko feeders. Its helping.
The other thing I think you can try is giving them more hotspots with food and crushed calcium for food. Some big lewves to much un helps to.
If I may your enclosure is very crowded to I have noticed my bearide seems more content to have room to walk freely and dig under the branches in it and the cork bark hides. Having more space so she can airate the soil from digging may help a bit cause they will be moving around the various nutrients in the soil making it more spread evenly.
As for the plants not much you can do there beardies are so destructive lol mine even killed her cactus 🧐 but I do really enjoy elephant feed plants and omg the spaghetti agave plant is a favorite hands down. They are both hardy arid plants and perfectly edible. Worth a try! Good luck arid bioactive is a challenge 😂
Thanks so much for your advice! Little water cups - love it! Never thought about doing that. Do you bury the water cups to be level with the soil, or just put them in there on top of the soil?
It is very crowded with driftwood on purpose 😊 Zsasz loves to climb, and she uses every piece of driftwood in the tank. She's so much more active now than she was in her last tank, which was mostly just walking space and 1 large driftwood (in that one, she would spend 90% of her time in one spot... On the 1 driftwood). But she still comes down and goes under the driftwood too. Lots of activities 😊
And as for the plants, I'll definitely have to look into those! I was very worried about getting plants that were hardy and also safe for her! I'll be checking today to see if I can find those.
Thank you so much again! 🥰
Hello Elle, almost said good morning but it’s 9 o’clock Sunday night , been that kind of day lol. Enjoyed the video as always and hope you have a great week.
I wanted to make bioactive for our bearded. I was wondering if you can do half of the tank bioactive and the other on a raised platform?
You should try buffalo beatles, they're smaller and personally from experience they breed a lot quicker and adapt a lot better than mealworms
I'll look into that! Thank you 😊
Getting ready ro build a background/ platform, and was wondering what (if anything) I should seal it with? Is yours easy to wipe down if your beardie poops on your background?
Hi there! I've tried going bioactive as well for my guy - Kevin. The same thing has happened to mine as yours. Almost everything has died or been pulled up. What Isopods and Springtails are the best?
💜💜💜💜
Would this be safe for a 4-5 month old bearded dragon? I’m not a huge fan of the carpet, tile, etc…
Do you have a safe recommendation for a natural environment for a younger beardie?
Thank you!!
Yep! New reptiles should be quarantined on paper towel (ideally for three months) to monitor their health. After, as long as they’re healthy and their husbandry is all good (temps, hydration, etc.) a suitable loose substrate mix is best :)
hi my beardie puff just kida sit and stares at me and im worried shes not happy i dont know what to do for her i have to go and get the correct bulbs for her as of right now i have reptile bulbs but not stong enough for her but she wont eat salad she doesn’t like baths and she wont really drink water and when shes out of her enclosure her walks around but not alot im just worried about her i wanna know if it normal
I know it's a 40b and small but we no more room in this apartment, so right by her tank is her playpen, 28"x56". peaches was in it and puff ran over and laid down to mess with her.ua-cam.com/video/2bg2vZZQL6Y/v-deo.html
Hi elle! Yay a video on my birthday! 🎉 I’m actually going to an expo today to get stuff for my beardie s bioactive tank!
Happy Birthday!!! 🎉🎂
@@ellesreptiles thank you so much!
Please help I’m getting a baby but I got a 75 gallon tank is it too big for a baby ???
It should be fine! 😊 If you notice he's shy/doesn't want to come out, just add more plants and enrichment to make him feel more safe.
💜💚💜💚💜
I wish I could keep house plants alive. Am going to get plants for my beardy to eat on plus my box turtles and tortoise. Won't worry if they eat them up will just get them more. My box turtles love to destroy plants but what ever makes them HAPPY.🐢
GOD BLESS 🦎💖🐢💖🐍💖🐸💖
I have a very humid planted side. I keep a lot of things going with kratky hydroponics, what she eats or destroys gets replaced. I also sow lentil, and small mixed salad microgreen seeds. larger seeds like sunflower seeds are grown out of the tank until the hulls fall off. I have powdered oranges, dwarf whites, mealworm/beetles, temperate springtails and I seed bsfl into the same area. Peaches has been in this bioactive since 6/21. I will post a few links of it on youtube. I just filmed the tank after watering the plants and isopods. I also feed the isopods homemade dry bug chow and lots of veggies she didn't eat. ua-cam.com/video/cFKS8CPTFuI/v-deo.html
New plants and they are still great as of today! She loves her jungle! ua-cam.com/video/iY9lVWElGv4/v-deo.html
Are you afraid of her over eating?
How do you deal with her pooping
In a bioactive setup, the cleanup crew deal with the poop. Overeating is a possibility, although some of the cleanup crew (springtails, smaller isopod species, etc.) will be too small for the beardie to eat. The cleanup crew also often stays hidden.