Show me your Bioactive Vivariums Looking for Inspiration and Guidance

[tarrynh011]

The orchid the person gave to me was in a glass vase that was unable to breath due to having no drainage hole. Im sure itll perk right up after a few weeks in my cage. Looks like itll be an easy transition to a bioactive cage. Youre essentially halfway there.

Kinda but not quite, all my plants are in pots and with the misting system going off every so often the bottom of the enclosure is just flooded hence me looking at the bio active root to try stop the water pooling up.. I can only drain it once a week so it really is alot of water when I do

 

[Rhea’s mum]

No plant in white bucket just play sand for a lay bin. It’s a large potted devils ivy that I need to prop up that I’ve got vines going over there for her for whenever she needs to lay. There are 3 other pothos in there 2 spider plants, an umbrella plant at the back behind the fiscus and a fern and I can’t remember what the other one is called but they were all of the Cham academy plant list

 

[Flick boy]

Hi Everyone,

I'm wanting to change things up over the December holidays and have been doing quite a bit of research on Bioactive Vivarium's for my 2 chameleons.
We will be upgrading their enclosures as well as their current enclosures are a mission as there is no drainage so every weekend I'm cleaning out about 2L of water in each. I am looking at doing a Bio active (With drainage) in the new enclosures as I think this will be "lower maintenance/cleaning" . Not that cleaning is an issue I'm just concerned at how much water is at the bottom of the enclosure and the amount of drowned crickets i find there it can be very good for my chams?!?
I also want to make their enclosures more a feature as they are situated in my lounge area. Am looking at doing a feature wall on the back with expanding foam and logs and plants, Hoping to include a few Orchids as well.
If you guys are willing to share images of your bio active enclosures I would really appreciate it.

Thank you

I was asking Bill strand in an email about this he pointed me to John Courtney Smith arcadia chameleon breeder podcast. Havent had time to listen yet

 

[tarrynh011]

No plant in white bucket just play sand for a lay bin. It’s a large potted devils ivy that I need to prop up that I’ve got vines going over there for her for whenever she needs to lay. There are 3 other pothos in there 2 spider plants, an umbrella plant at the back behind the fiscus and a fern and I can’t remember what the other one is called but they were all of the Cham academy plant list

Aahh ok, it looked like it was in the white bucket ? that devils ivy seams like a nice vine plant

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

Thank you klyde OScope, pinterest is definitely my first go to for ideas

Umm... that wasn't Pinterest. Gosh help me if I ever cite Pinterest for anything!
That was google images, which contained some from here, some that were on Pinterest (but gotten from elsewhere) and many many others.

I didn't realize there were qualifiers on your initial request.

 

[tarrynh011]

I was asking Bill strand in an email about this he pointed me to John Courtney Smith arcadia chameleon breeder podcast. Havent had time to listen yet

Hi there Flickboy are you able to share a link for me please?

 

[tarrynh011]

Umm... that wasn't Pinterest. Gosh help me if I ever cite Pinterest for anything!
That was google images, which contained some from here, some that were on Pinterest (but gotten from elsewhere) and many many others.

I didn't realize there were qualifiers on your initial request.

I'm not sure what you mean by qualifiers on my request??

 

[Flick boy]

Hi there Flickboy are you able to share a link for me please?

Sorry I really don't know how to do that if you goggle whats above or someone else could help

 

[tarrynh011]

Sorry I really don't know how to do that if you goggle whats above or someone else could help

I'll look into it thank you

 

[MissSkittles]

Thank you Gingero I did find this blog I think @MissSkittles was the one who composed it.
When I first got my chams I made a point to cover the soil of my plants with a plastic mesh and stones so the chams can't get to it and eat anything weird. However with these bioactive vivariums it would appear to be the opposite. I do understand that the final layer needs to be leaf litter but surely the chams can still get to the soil? This to me dosent make sense..

Oh no! Not me! ? It was @cyberlocc who hasn’t been around lately. He did a fantastic job of breaking it down and making it easily understood. I just used it as a guide and highly recommend it.
I used root pouches as I’m not a good builder and haven’t had any drainage problems with them. Here’s Hammlet’s enclosure when it was new and here’s my ladies’ enclosures when they were new.

 

[ashdavisa]

This is Wasabi's home!

A piece of advice I'd like to offer if going the background/built-in planter route: think about watering them. Pots at 45 degree angles are a pain to water well because the water just runs right off the surface, so leave a good lip or go vertical with them. Plants tucked away into corners can be tricky to get to behind branches and other plants, but a sprayer has helped me water all the nooks and crannies I've shoved plants into!

Also, it's worth spending more to get full, mature plants rather than letting small plants grow in (unless you've got a few months to let them establish). Constant trampling and/or munching makes it tough for a young plant to take off.

 

[Mawtyplant]

Hi there Mawtyplant thank you for the image, what plants have you used in your vivarium?

My pleasure! i use pothos, schefflera, ficus (croton), pilea, bromeliads, tsilandsia, few plnts i dont remember the names, moss, philodendron (1 swiss cheese and another i barely remember? emerdale? something like ) 2 types of begonia (watermelon and i dont know the other), cissus discolore and im now trying to grow few biophytum) i also put parsil and few roots of curcuma and tumeric they create nice plants

My terrarium are bio active so there lot of snails, springtails, millipedes, earthworm many kind of isopods there a glass bottom and a top screen enclosure its really nice! i only use this kind of setup now!

 

[tarrynh011]

Oh no! Not me! ? It was @cyberlocc who hasn’t been around lately. He did a fantastic job of breaking it down and making it easily understood. I just used it as a guide and highly recommend it.
I used root pouches as I’m not a good builder and haven’t had any drainage problems with them. Here’s Hammlet’s enclosure when it was new and here’s my ladies’ enclosures when they were new.
View attachment 282354View attachment 282355View attachment 282356

Ahh my apologies i thought it was you ? is that corck on the side walls? Dose that not become moldy or cause bacteria ?

 

[tarrynh011]

This is Wasabi's home!

A piece of advice I'd like to offer if going the background/built-in planter route: think about watering them. Pots at 45 degree angles are a pain to water well because the water just runs right off the surface, so leave a good lip or go vertical with them. Plants tucked away into corners can be tricky to get to behind branches and other plants, but a sprayer has helped me water all the nooks and crannies I've shoved plants into!

Also, it's worth spending more to get full, mature plants rather than letting small plants grow in (unless you've got a few months to let them establish). Constant trampling and/or munching makes it tough for a young plant to take off.

View attachment 282366 View attachment 282365

Thank you ashdavisa your enclosure is gorgeous! Exactly the route I'm planning on going. Your advise is duely noted on the potted plants. Even though the plants are at an angle on the walls they still drain out into the foam dose this not cause a buildup on water making the foam manky as im assuming it dose not drain out fully? Is wasabi a veiled or panther cham? (Its hard to see him in the pic) and is he happy in this sort of environment?

 

[tarrynh011]

My pleasure! i use pothos, schefflera, ficus (croton), pilea, bromeliads, tsilandsia, few plnts i dont remember the names, moss, philodendron (1 swiss cheese and another i barely remember? emerdale? something like ) 2 types of begonia (watermelon and i dont know the other), cissus discolore and im now trying to grow few biophytum) i also put parsil and few roots of curcuma and tumeric they create nice plants

My terrarium are bio active so there lot of snails, springtails, millipedes, earthworm many kind of isopods there a glass bottom and a top screen enclosure its really nice! i only use this kind of setup now!

Thanks for the feed back Mawtyplant I see you've mentioned moss, I thought moss was a big no no for chameleons?

 

[ashdavisa]

Thank you ashdavisa your enclosure is gorgeous! Exactly the route I'm planning on going. Your advise is duely noted on the potted plants. Even though the plants are at an angle on the walls they still drain out into the foam dose this not cause a buildup on water making the foam manky as im assuming it dose not drain out fully? Is wasabi a veiled or panther cham? (Its hard to see him in the pic) and is he happy in this sort of environment?

Thanks! She's a veiled- if you look closely, you can find some leaves with bites taken out and a couple of decimated hibiscus ?

I have 4 foamed in planters, all of which have no foam on the underside so water can drain through. Some plants were placed in the tops of the cork flats, which are hollow so they drain right into the substrate (I glued/pinned substrate barrier in the tubes to support the soil, however it's kind of a pain to make that work).

I've never kept her in anything other than a bioactive, but I assume she enjoys it. Being a veiled, she has to have live plants and a place to dig anyway so it made sense to do it this way. She's picked out a few spots she likes to sit for the majority of her day, but she wanders around to sample the plants in the mornings & evenings. It's fun to see the way things change in an enclosure planted this way, and I thoroughly enjoy maintaining it. Wasabi enjoys eating the plants and isopods I paid good money for ?

 

[tarrynh011]

Thanks! She's a veiled- if you look closely, you can find some leaves with bites taken out and a couple of decimated hibiscus ?

I have 4 foamed in planters, all of which have no foam on the underside so water can drain through. Some plants were placed in the tops of the cork flats, which are hollow so they drain right into the substrate (I glued/pinned substrate barrier in the tubes to support the soil, however it's kind of a pain to make that work).

I've never kept her in anything other than a bioactive, but I assume she enjoys it. Being a veiled, she has to have live plants and a place to dig anyway so it made sense to do it this way. She's picked out a few spots she likes to sit for the majority of her day, but she wanders around to sample the plants in the mornings & evenings. It's fun to see the way things change in an enclosure planted this way, and I thoroughly enjoy maintaining it. Wasabi enjoys eating the plants and isopods I paid good money for ?

I also have two Veiled's so its really nice to know that they do enjoy these sorts of environments. Ha ha I see that bite marks now that you have mentioned this Chameleons are so dam cute with all their silly traits my Gosh!!!
The no foam under the plants makes sense for drainage, I have watched a lot of videos and Most put foam around the whole pot so was very curious about the water buildup but what you have done just makes sense.
Do you or have you considered grow lights for the plants? Some blogs or google searches advise this and others do not so wanting to know if I should or should not include these on the upgrade?

 

[ashdavisa]

I also have two Veiled's so its really nice to know that they do enjoy these sorts of environments. Ha ha I see that bite marks now that you have mentioned this Chameleons are so dam cute with all their silly traits my Gosh!!!
The no foam under the plants makes sense for drainage, I have watched a lot of videos and Most put foam around the whole pot so was very curious about the water buildup but what you have done just makes sense.
Do you or have you considered grow lights for the plants? Some blogs or google searches advise this and others do not so wanting to know if I should or should not include these on the upgrade?

I have two of these bulbs in deep domes suspended above the enclosure. They're a bit too much for the pothos in the top left, but ficus pumila seems to enjoy the brightness. These also produce a bit of heat, so I don't use a dedicated heat bulb.

Definitely get some grow lights, though! Sansi lights are a Chameleon Forums favorite (I just went with cheaper off-brand ones). I've seen both these and the big boxy-type Sansi fixtures used, as well as regular fluorescent lights.

 

[tarrynh011]

I have two of these bulbs in deep domes suspended above the enclosure. They're a bit too much for the pothos in the top left, but ficus pumila seems to enjoy the brightness. These also produce a bit of heat, so I don't use a dedicated heat bulb.

Definitely get some grow lights, though! Sansi lights are a Chameleon Forums favorite (I just went with cheaper off-brand ones). I've seen both these and the big boxy-type Sansi fixtures used, as well as regular fluorescent lights.

Interesting that you would say that, I thought that the LED grow lights were bad for the chameleons eyes

 

[MissSkittles]

Ahh my apologies i thought it was you ? is that corck on the side walls? Dose that not become moldy or cause bacteria ?

In my ladies enclosures I didn’t have time or extra enclosure to give them a foamed in background and hated the plain screen. I got a big roll of coco coir and attached it to the sides to hide the screen and get rid of the shower curtains I was using to contain the mistIng. In time I’d like to redo them with foamed background and proper planting boxes.