Putting it All Together - A Basic Timeline

Whew! We’ve covered so much in this bioactive guide. Now, we’ll put it all together!

Step 1: Get your enclosure prepped

  • Acquire and clean out the enclosure of any debris

  • Create the background (if desired)

  • Waterproof seal anything that will touch moisture that shouldn’t

  • If you used spray foam for the background, be sure to seal it with silicone for waterproofing

Step 2: Add your substrate layers

  • Add the drainage layer (if desired) and guard

  • Add the base substrate

  • Add sphagnum moss

  • Add leaf litter

Step 3: Add your decor, plant your plants

  • This may be things like branches, rocks, and more

  • Tall plants typically go in the back of the enclosure, and short plants go in front

Step 4: Add substantial amounts of water to the enclosure

  • Test the humidity to make sure your humidity is holding as it should for your reptile

Step 5: Add springtails

  • Dump the entire springtail culture onto the substrate

  • They will likely dive underground quickly - do not be alarmed if you do not see any after initially adding them

Step 6: Wait and monitor for 2-3 weeks

A difficult but very important step - this allows two key things:

  • The springtails population must establish to keep up with the inevitable mold levels

  • The plants need to establish roots so they aren’t easily uprooted or trampled

Be certain that humidity levels are appropriate, and make changes as needed such as adding substrate or increasing the amount of water added to the enclosure

Step 7: Add isopods

  • Just like the springtails, the isopods will need to establish their population to keep up with the reptile’s waste production and dead plant matter

It is good to wait for the isopods to get established before adding your reptile. If all parameters like temperature and humidity are holding and there is not excessive amounts of mold in the environment, it’s time to add your reptile!

We hope your reptile enjoys your bioactive enclosure just as much as you do. Appropriately setup bioactive enclosures have proven to be massively beneficial for reptiles. Congratulations on your new enclosure!

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