bio active substrate

[Jessicap]

Just wondering if anyone uses this method and if so the pros and cons that you have found. I have been checking it out and have one concern - BUGS! I see you need the bugs but have you had issues with them getting out and populating your home or getting over populated inside the enclosure. Also the chance of them bringing in other parisites that may be harmful. Thoughts appreciated.

 

[Edna]

My leopards are on a bioactive substrate. I have bugs, slugs, and other ugs in there! The slugs could easily leave the enclosure, but they wouldn't get far because the room humidity is radically lower than the enclosure humidity. The only bugs that bother me are fungus flies, and there aren't usually very many of them. The worms and such are not numerous enough to handle all of the big mushy leopard poos, but they are able to handle whatever I miss in my cleanup. I get a kick out of seeing the nightcrawlers in there, think of them as additional pets

 

[Jessicap]

I was wondering about a small lizard, anole or gecko. I have a totally enclosed enclosure for them so the only whay anything could get out is through the small vents or when I openned the sliding door to feed or remove the tort. I plan to cover vents with fiberglass screening so I don't think anything would be small enough to get out of it.

Have you kept any other animals with the tort. I have hermit crabs and the tort seems to actually enjoy their company so I feel he would be okay with a small lizard to help keep the bug populations down :0)

 

[Madkins007]

One of the aspects of a properly done bioactive substrate is that there should be predatory bugs (worms, sow bugs or wood lice and various almost microscopic critters) that will prey on the eggs of the fungus gnats and snow fleas. When I ran a 9'x4' bioactive substrate in my den, I had NO pests after about a month.

Have you added any sow bigs (also called wood lice, rolly pollys, pill bugs, etc.), worms, or good garden soil (which brings in the necessary microbial life)? You'll know you have a mature, working bioactive substrate when it no longer smells like anything, and the soil feels 'silky' and does not stick to anything. Another bonus will be that poop and small bits of old food vanish.

Lizards are great additions, but sneaky, fast, and agile. They seem to work better in room-sized areas but you can sure try them as long as you have a plan for possible escapes.

 

[Balboa]

I like the bio-active. I'm not sure I ever got it "optimized", but it seems to be working well enough. No smell, no built up wastes. I've never seen any critter escapees anywhere, I'd think it happens, but doesn't seem to be in large quantities.

 

[Jessicap]

Thanks for the input. I just finished my 4x8x2 enclosure so now it is time to decorate. Want it to be as maintanence free as possible and this seemed the way to go. Do you know where I can find some of the benefitial bugs like roly polys? There is still a foot of snow on the ground here so not sure I will be finding any outside for awhile yet.

 

[Madkins007]

Toss in some good garden soil (even if it is frozen right now) and some bait worms for now. You can add rolly pollys when the ground warms up.

 

[Jacqui]

Sorta going a bit off on this topic (staying on the bio active sub, but not so much about the bugs), but I always wonder about the tortoise or turtle eggs. Most of my enclosures are slowly actually heading towards being bio enclosures, however I have often wondered about the crabs especially, but even to a lesser extent the earthworms, what happens if the tortoise lays it's eggs in there and they are left there to hatch?

 

[Madkins007]

Should be safer in a bioactive substrate than they would be outside. Turtle and tortoise nests are full of bugs and stuff in the wild (loose, rich, warm soil? Yozzer!) In an indoor bioactive set-up, you have a lot less of the sorts of pests that can damage eggs.

There is some thought, as per Balboa's earlier comments, that bug-rich nests may offer the hatchlings plenty of food in the first few days or weeks.

As far as the crabs go- they MIGHT be a concern, although nothing I have read suggests they really are. May be worth putting up a small fence or something around a nest.

 

[Edna]

I started my bio-active substrate last November, when it was already too cold for roly-polys and such. At this point I think they might evolve in my tank before it gets warm enough outside to gather some there!

 

[Jacqui]

Should be safer in a bioactive substrate than they would be outside. Turtle and tortoise nests are full of bugs and stuff in the wild (loose, rich, warm soil? Yozzer!) In an indoor bioactive set-up, you have a lot less of the sorts of pests that can damage eggs.

There is some thought, as per Balboa's earlier comments, that bug-rich nests may offer the hatchlings plenty of food in the first few days or weeks.

As far as the crabs go- they MIGHT be a concern, although nothing I have read suggests they really are. May be worth putting up a small fence or something around a nest.

I wasn't worried about if the soil itself would be safe, was only wondering if the crabs mostly would eat the eggs and/or the worms since, as I recall don't folks feed their worm farms egg shells?