CREATING LIVING HABITATS

Keeping reptiles provides so much joy to our lives. When we combine this with naturalistic and/or bioactive terrascapes, we turn our PVC boxes into slices of nature. Bioactive keeping has its nuances, but it isn’t difficult. Let’s dive in.

Naturalistic VS Bioactive: Bioactive terrascapes are self-sustaining ecosystems. In addition to your reptile, there are several other, intentionally chosen, living organisms occupying the enclosure habitat. These organisms, your reptile included, work together to maintain a healthy and balanced ecosystem. There are 3 elements that your bioactive habitat MUST have. They are:

1. A living substrate that can support plant life, insects, and microbial.

2. Plants to consume nutrients from the soil

3. Insects to break down reptile waste, fungi, bacteria, and other microbes, AKA the clean-up crew

Naturalistic terrascapes are simpler than Bioactive. They often include some of the elements important to bioactive keeping, but are missing one or more of the key elements. They are not a self-sustaining ecosystem.

Each option has its upside and downsides, more on this later, but the goal is to bring a slice of nature into your home. When done well, it can be amazing.

BIOACTIVE HABITATS

Let’s dive in deeper. The 3 main elements of bioactive habitats create a cycle of cooperation. Your reptile poops, and the clean-up crew processes the poop (and fungi), breaking it down into smaller poop (their own). Microorganisms and bacteria convert the poop into nutrients usable by the plants. The plants consume the nutrients, preventing them from building up and becoming anaerobic. Each element in the cycle is critical to the whole. A well-balanced system will nurture a thriving world inside your enclosure.

Let’s talk maintenance! At first glance, this system may sound intimidating, but overall, I find bioactive ecosystems to be easier to maintain on a day-to-day basis.

• I rarely remove reptile poop (unless it’s on the walls), and I only remove urates once every two weeks.

• My tropical enclosures get misted daily, my arid enclosures get misted 3-4 times a week

• Over time, the substrate will break down and will need to be replenished. Once every six months to a year, I mix in fresh substrate. I never do a complete substrate change unless there is a major problem.

• I trim the plants, as needed, to prevent overgrowth

• It’s important to pay attention to your clean-up crew. If the population is booming, you may need to remove some to keep the balance. If your crew is dying off, something is likely wrong with your system, and troubleshooting is needed.

NATURALISTIC HABITATS

Now that we’ve covered the basics of bioactive habitats, we can talk about naturalistic ones. Like bioactive setups, the goal is to create a reptile habitat that mimics nature. In their overall function, naturalistic habitats are simple, but they require more maintenance. An enclosure with substrate and plants, but no clean-up crew, will require reptile-safe fertilizer/plant nutrients to be added occasionally. You will also need to remove reptile poop to prevent bacterial growth. Let’s talk about the other maintenance needs:

• I remove poop at least 3 times a week. This is important, reptiles poop A LOT. Don’t let it build up. Using substrate makes poop clean up like scoping a litter box. Easy and fast.

• Depending on the reptile, you should do at least a 50% substrate change every 6 months to prevent bacterial buildup.

• My tropical enclosures get misted daily, my arid enclosures get misted 3-4 times a week

• I trim the plants, as needed, to prevent overgrowth

WHICH ONE SHOULD YOU PICK?

I say, why choose? Personally, I keep using both methods. If this doesn’t work for you, choosing between bioactive vs naturalistic habitats will likely come down to personal preference. Habitat types may also play a role in your choice. Tropical bioactive habitats are much easier to keep balanced than arid. The higher levels of humidity help the clean-up crew thrive. The drier conditions of arid habitats can be tougher to work with. Using a well-designed substrate can help. Also, there are clean-up crew species that can survive in drier settings, but it’s important to pay attention to their population levels.