Bioactive Substrate

RosieTortoise

Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2017
Messages
47
I'm just starting to look into this. Do any of you have any resources or personal experience with bioactive substrate? I have a red foot. I feel like it would be most similar to her natural environment.

Thougts? Suggestions?
 

tortdad

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 3, 2014
Messages
5,567
Location (City and/or State)
NW Houston TX
Many of us use pill bugs, worms and spring tails in the soil to be a clean up crew. Just keep in mind that red foot eat bugs so you may need to be replacing them everyone and then.
 

wellington

Well-Known Member
Moderator
10 Year Member!
Tortoise Club
Joined
Sep 6, 2011
Messages
49,660
Location (City and/or State)
Chicago, Illinois, USA
There are a few members that use it. Most use worms and/or pill bugs. I don't think it's recommended to take them from outside, but to purchase them. I'm not sure why.
I can think of who actually does this, otherwise I would send them an alert to this thread. I'm sure some will be on if not yet tonight, tomorrow.
 

theguy67

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Sep 13, 2009
Messages
583
I added pill bugs, and small beetles, to my enclosure. Not sure why we shouldn't take from outside. Maybe due to pesticides/chemicals used in the lawn? Anyway, I collected mine from my adult redfoots' outdoor enclosure. I have a large log which sits next to my bamboo patch. Perfect place for pill bugs and other critters.
 

Pearly

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2015
Messages
5,287
Location (City and/or State)
Central Texas, Austin area
I had kept my baby RFs on bio-substrate for 2 yrs, it was AWESOME!!!! Never had to clean or change it bcs between the babies' daily baths and the bugs/worms things were working like well oiled machine. All I ever did was occ. replanting plants and replacing patches of moss. My bio-substrate adventure started with very early on in my tort keeping by pure accident. I was in a quest looking for variety in protein sources for my 2 RF babies. Ofcourse being a complete newb I was sticking around all kinds of pet supply stores. Tried mealworms, wasn't crazy about those, waxworms were a hit! They lived them but the stores never seem to have a fresh supply when I was looking. Then got a box of nightcrawlers. Neither baby tort cared to even pay any attention to them. My substrate then was coir with patches of soil around the roots of the plants planted in the terrarium. All covered by sheets of moss which I loved bcs it had kept things pretty and water dish clean... well I got frustrated with the darn worms and one day just dumped the whole box of them into the substrate, "the heck with it!" They had very quickly disappeared under the moss since then I'd see them burrow deep in substrate through the glass, or at night coming to drink out of the water dish. That was kinda creepy, all those red "spaghetti noodles" surrounding water dish, half in, and half outside of it, like sun rays on little kids' drawings. I could never get that on the picture bcs they would very quickly dissapear into the substrate at any sign of light around the tank. Couple months later after initially introducing the worms I was planting some new plants and very surprised found that not only did the original 12 worms seem to still be there, but there were also some young baby worms... At that point I had read about biosubstrate and pillbugs and started looking for some in my garden. That year we had almost none (very unusual for this area!) but my children and I managed to find 3 nice size adults and 2 or 3 little babies. In few months the population of rollypollies exploded! Then I had started noticing little round tiny snails in there probably one hitched a ride on a plant or on one of the babies after daily outing in the garden, and started laying eggs... their population soon exploded too. It was great except I had to put in a new cuttle bone all the time bcs the tiny mollusk and baby isopods were sworming them feasting on that delicious calcium to build them good shells... i was ok with it, saw it as "gut loading" of my baby tort future snacks. They LOVE snails, pillbugs... sometimes, but pillbugs were my "housekeeping crew". Then out of clear blue tiny soil centipedes came and hapily resided there too... it was working PERFECTLY!!!! Never a smell from this tank!!!! Absolutely loved it!!!! Would do it all over again!
 

Pearly

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2015
Messages
5,287
Location (City and/or State)
Central Texas, Austin area
There are a few members that use it. Most use worms and/or pill bugs. I don't think it's recommended to take them from outside, but to purchase them. I'm not sure why.
I can think of who actually does this, otherwise I would send them an alert to this thread. I'm sure some will be on if not yet tonight, tomorrow.
The only living substrate critters that I had purchased were nightcrawlers in my tank. Pillbugs (HUGE!!!) colony was started with few from my garden where NO CHEMICALS have been used for the past 21 yrs. the others (snails, centipedes) just sorta... happened there:)
 

RosieTortoise

Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2017
Messages
47
That's super cool! This seems really exciting!
I had kept my baby RFs on bio-substrate for 2 yrs, it was AWESOME!!!! Never had to clean or change it bcs between the babies' daily baths and the bugs/worms things were working like well oiled machine. All I ever did was occ. replanting plants and replacing patches of moss. My bio-substrate adventure started with very early on in my tort keeping by pure accident. I was in a quest looking for variety in protein sources for my 2 RF babies. Ofcourse being a complete newb I was sticking around all kinds of pet supply stores. Tried mealworms, wasn't crazy about those, waxworms were a hit! They lived them but the stores never seem to have a fresh supply when I was looking. Then got a box of nightcrawlers. Neither baby tort cared to even pay any attention to them. My substrate then was coir with patches of soil around the roots of the plants planted in the terrarium. All covered by sheets of moss which I loved bcs it had kept things pretty and water dish clean... well I got frustrated with the darn worms and one day just dumped the whole box of them into the substrate, "the heck with it!" They had very quickly disappeared under the moss since then I'd see them burrow deep in substrate through the glass, or at night coming to drink out of the water dish. That was kinda creepy, all those red "spaghetti noodles" surrounding water dish, half in, and half outside of it, like sun rays on little kids' drawings. I could never get that on the picture bcs they would very quickly dissapear into the substrate at any sign of light around the tank. Couple months later after initially introducing the worms I was planting some new plants and very surprised found that not only did the original 12 worms seem to still be there, but there were also some young baby worms... At that point I had read about biosubstrate and pillbugs and started looking for some in my garden. That year we had almost none (very unusual for this area!) but my children and I managed to find 3 nice size adults and 2 or 3 little babies. In few months the population of rollypollies exploded! Then I had started noticing little round tiny snails in there probably one hitched a ride on a plant or on one of the babies after daily outing in the garden, and started laying eggs... their population soon exploded too. It was great except I had to put in a new cuttle bone all the time bcs the tiny mollusk and baby isopods were sworming them feasting on that delicious calcium to build them good shells... i was ok with it, saw it as "gut loading" of my baby tort future snacks. They LOVE snails, pillbugs... sometimes, but pillbugs were my "housekeeping crew". Then out of clear blue tiny soil centipedes came and hapily resided there too... it was working PERFECTLY!!!! Never a smell from this tank!!!! Absolutely loved it!!!! Would do it all over again!
That sounds really great
I had kept my baby RFs on bio-substrate for 2 yrs, it was AWESOME!!!! Never had to clean or change it bcs between the babies' daily baths and the bugs/worms things were working like well oiled machine. All I ever did was occ. replanting plants and replacing patches of moss. My bio-substrate adventure started with very early on in my tort keeping by pure accident. I was in a quest looking for variety in protein sources for my 2 RF babies. Ofcourse being a complete newb I was sticking around all kinds of pet supply stores. Tried mealworms, wasn't crazy about those, waxworms were a hit! They lived them but the stores never seem to have a fresh supply when I was looking. Then got a box of nightcrawlers. Neither baby tort cared to even pay any attention to them. My substrate then was coir with patches of soil around the roots of the plants planted in the terrarium. All covered by sheets of moss which I loved bcs it had kept things pretty and water dish clean... well I got frustrated with the darn worms and one day just dumped the whole box of them into the substrate, "the heck with it!" They had very quickly disappeared under the moss since then I'd see them burrow deep in substrate through the glass, or at night coming to drink out of the water dish. That was kinda creepy, all those red "spaghetti noodles" surrounding water dish, half in, and half outside of it, like sun rays on little kids' drawings. I could never get that on the picture bcs they would very quickly dissapear into the substrate at any sign of light around the tank. Couple months later after initially introducing the worms I was planting some new plants and very surprised found that not only did the original 12 worms seem to still be there, but there were also some young baby worms... At that point I had read about biosubstrate and pillbugs and started looking for some in my garden. That year we had almost none (very unusual for this area!) but my children and I managed to find 3 nice size adults and 2 or 3 little babies. In few months the population of rollypollies exploded! Then I had started noticing little round tiny snails in there probably one hitched a ride on a plant or on one of the babies after daily outing in the garden, and started laying eggs... their population soon exploded too. It was great except I had to put in a new cuttle bone all the time bcs the tiny mollusk and baby isopods were sworming them feasting on that delicious calcium to build them good shells... i was ok with it, saw it as "gut loading" of my baby tort future snacks. They LOVE snails, pillbugs... sometimes, but pillbugs were my "housekeeping crew". Then out of clear blue tiny soil centipedes came and hapily resided there too... it was working PERFECTLY!!!! Never a smell from this tank!!!! Absolutely loved it!!!! Would do it all over again!
 

RosieTortoise

Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2017
Messages
47
Many of us use pill bugs, worms and spring tails in the soil to be a clean up crew. Just keep in mind that red foot eat bugs so you may need to be replacing them everyone and then.
That would be fine. It would be a more natural environment and good enrichment for her to search for bugs.
 

RosieTortoise

Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2017
Messages
47
I added pill bugs, and small beetles, to my enclosure. Not sure why we shouldn't take from outside. Maybe due to pesticides/chemicals used in the lawn? Anyway, I collected mine from my adult redfoots' outdoor enclosure. I have a large log which sits next to my bamboo patch. Perfect place for pill bugs and other critters.
Do you know what kind of beetles?
 

Lawrence Lebron

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2017
Messages
2
I am actually starting my indoor enclosure today for my baby leopard. I will be throwing in some springtails and isopods. I am using a 50/50 mix of coir and peat moss. I am seeding with grassland tortoise mix and am planting some small petunias. I will be having some small microclimates using wet sphagnum moss especially in is hiding box
 

Lawrence Lebron

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2017
Messages
2
I am actually starting my indoor enclosure today for my baby leopard. I will be throwing in some springtails and isopods. I am using a 50/50 mix of coir and peat moss. I am seeding with grassland tortoise mix and am planting some small petunias. I will be having some small microclimates using wet sphagnum moss especially in is hiding box
I would also like to comment on that I am currently reading a very informative book called Bio-Activity and The Theory of Wild Re-Creation. Highly recommend. I will upload pics of my enclosure.
 

New Posts

Top