Camo’s new enclosure

[Blmelton]

I had no idea how much more active she would be in a bigger cage. I hoped she would be a little more active, but she has really been all over checking it out! I feel so much better now that it is done! I do have a drainage issue to figure out since I was too scared to do bioactive and possibly have to hunt for her eggs. I thought I created enough of a slope (adding extra layers of flex seal) but water is not headed for the drain as expected. I’ve been using a sponge to wipe it into the drain, but that’s just a pain!

 

[Beman]

It looks great and she looks very happy in her jungle! Maybe a small wet vac would come in handy with drainage?

 

[James&Monet]

It's is just gorgeous! You did a wonderful job! I love watching my little guy explore his new cage for the first time. It didn't explore much the first couple days but now he goes all over after he warms up!

 

[Blmelton]

Yea, I could do a wet vac. That would help a lot for temp fix. Thanks! I was hoping to fix the issue, but I’m coming up with nothing other than some kind of spackle or something that I could put in there and use a putty knife to shape a slope. The whole back corner with the 2 small potted plants fills with water.

 

[Beman]

Yea, I could do a wet vac. That would help a lot for temp fix. Thanks! I was hoping to fix the issue, but I’m coming up with nothing other than some kind of spackle or something that I could put in there and use a putty knife to shape a slope. The whole back corner with the 2 small potted plants fills with water.

I got this one on Amazon. It works freaking great and was not expensive at all. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004UQVQ0I/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03__o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Blmelton]

Even with a CPU fan, I can't keep humidity down so I will be replacing the front glass with screen this weekend.
Also, I decided to go ahead and bite the bullet...I'm going bioactive!
It seems like the way to go to fix my drainage issues. I have been doing a sort of trial run. I wanted to see how it would work.
I lined the bottom of the enclosure with a trash bag.
I left the 5 gal bucket for the lay bin alone.
I put a hole in the bag where the sink drain is.
I cut a circular piece of screen for inside the sink drain. On top of the screen, I filled the sink drain with gravel then topped with another piece of screen.
I placed my plants where I wanted them.
Then I just dumped in the rest of my sphagnum Peat Moss(bottom) & organic topsoil (top) into the enclosure and made a slope.
2 days with misting and dripper and it hasn't become a soggy mess yet. Both drains (from the lay bin & sink drain) are successfully draining water into a bucket I will empty when necessary. The plants seem to like it so far too. I do plan to order some hydroballs and a cleaner crew today so I can redo it right.
Any suggestions so far?
I have questions about a cleaner crew for a female? Springtails? I don't want anything munching on my girl while she is digging!

 

[CC's Baby]

I am glad to hear you are changing to screen. I think you will have so many less issues.

 

[Beman]

Even with a CPU fan, I can't keep humidity down so I will be replacing the front glass with screen this weekend.
Also, I decided to go ahead and bite the bullet...I'm going bioactive!
It seems like the way to go to fix my drainage issues. I have been doing a sort of trial run. I wanted to see how it would work.
I lined the bottom of the enclosure with a trash bag.
I left the 5 gal bucket for the lay bin alone.
I put a hole in the bag where the sink drain is.
I cut a circular piece of screen for inside the sink drain. On top of the screen, I filled the sink drain with gravel then topped with another piece of screen.
I placed my plants where I wanted them.
Then I just dumped in the rest of my sphagnum Peat Moss(bottom) & organic topsoil (top) into the enclosure and made a slope.
2 days with misting and dripper and it hasn't become a soggy mess yet. Both drains (from the lay bin & sink drain) are successfully draining water into a bucket I will empty when necessary. The plants seem to like it so far too. I do plan to order some hydroballs and a cleaner crew today so I can redo it right.
Any suggestions so far?
I have questions about a cleaner crew for a female? Springtails? I don't want anything munching on my girl while she is digging!

Search up bio active and you should get quite a bit. There have been several posts in the last 6 weeks on this.

 

[Blmelton]

I am glad to hear you are changing to screen. I think you will have so many less issues.

Yes, I thought taking out the entire top and sides would be enough ventilation with a CPU fan, but I was WRONG!

 

[Beman]

You have all that natural humidity there in the south. So interesting thing that happened to me... I had bought the exo terra dual hydrometer and thermometer and kept thinking that I was barely getting 35-55% humidity no matter what I did. I ended up getting two additional hydrometers that were different kinds and it turned out the hydrometer in the exo terra was reading 15-20% less then what the other two were even being placed right next to each other. I should have realized something was off because of where I am at on the coast in northern CA we have a ton of natural humidity here too.