Bioactive and Enriched Desert Vivarium Part III: Plants and Clean-up Crew Updates 

Thanks, I appreciate it

@@ConnorLongDVM yeah Connor we want more truth!!!! Bring us more truth and light brother!

@@ConnorLongDVM Could you use excavator clay for this setup ?

Thank you!

Well I’m less a RU-vidr and more a random guy trying to showcase some viv options haha. I also spoke about it on the Animals At Home Podcast too (I think that was the most recent update) - I actually recently took the whole thing apart. The gecko is doing very well but the beetles killed my plants. I’m planning a v2 in the future but it’s so hard to carve out the time. The TLDR is that I think this basic idea works well, I’d probably skip the beetles.

@ConnorLongDVM Thanks for the reply! I always wondered how well superworms actually do in a bioactive. Those lil guys eat everything lol. Hope you find time to make more videos in the future!

You're welcome!

Thank you!

Thank you!

thank you!

Thank you!

Thanks! Hopefully I'll get it put together this summer

Thank you! I have more in the works. Both planned and that I am actively working on.

Thank you!

THank you!

Feel free, that's the point of the videos haha

Thanks!

Thank you!

Thank you!

Thank you! Integrity doesn't seem to bring in the views, I'm afraid

@@ConnorLongDVM I shared this in a local group and I plan on telling my friends about you. Also congratulations on your degree 👏

@@brandonmckenzie8445 thanks!

Thank you! Yeah the BioDude has some good videos. And I wouldn't underestimate his knowledge of vivarium plants. He is running a vivarium store, so his videos are tailored towards selling products. Nothing wrong with that, but it's something to keep in mind. He seems to use a lot of proprietary mixes and plants that are shippable and work well for inexperienced vivarium builders. My goal is different - I am trying new plants, weird lights, different clean-up-crew species, and showing how to make the planting mix from scratch. I don't need to use things that are easy to get, keep, or ship. I've learned a lot from this setup - I am currently in the process of building vivariums from scratch, so there will be an updated v. 2 of the leopard gecko setup in the near future.

@@ConnorLongDVM that is awesome! I can't see your second version

@@ConnorLongDVM Will this video of version two be out soon? Your videos are very helpful

I think I overstocked with beetles initially, I had a bunch of them incidentally and I threw them all in not realizing they'd reproduce so quickly

@@ConnorLongDVM I put a bunch of mealworm and superworm larvae into my enclosure.

Because of you I learned about Joshua trees and just bought 4

@@batonrouge1018 As seeds? They're challenging to grow - there's another RU-vidr who documented his process for growing them. If you do too good of a job they will outgrow your vivarium haha

@@batonrouge1018 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-qTO5O6NvkWw.html

@@ConnorLongDVM Thank you and I got seedlings.

@@ConnorLongDVM www.etsy.com/listing/849964702/lot-of-4-mojave-blue-yucca-brevifolia?gpla=1&gao=1&&CjwKCAiArbv_BRA8EiwAYGs23Ncfsm-3q9qLU0MVOqPbVaKvfKEDOSLnPA22rtkBuKhfy2d412NwtRoCvrAQAvD_BwE_k_&gclid=CjwKCAiArbv_BRA8EiwAYGs23Ncfsm-3q9qLU0MVOqPbVaKvfKEDOSLnPA22rtkBuKhfy2d412NwtRoCvrAQAvD_BwE

Thank you! My setup is not very impressive I’m afraid, I bought a $14 dollar lav mic I got on Amazon that plugs into my iPhone. Other than that I’m only using equipment I already owned. Everything is shot on my old iPhone or my DSLR and I clean up the audio in audacity which is freeware, and I’m editing everything in iMovie, which is far from the best but came free on my computer. I have lighting and a “set” that was created from stuff I already owned or could borrow - my housemate actually set it up in our garage as a studio to livestream the biology class he teaches from home because COVID19 shut down the school district where he works. So I’ve been using that since it works as a backdrop and is generally devoid of background noise. I’ve just been doing my best to have decent lighting and consistent audio, and it doesn’t take anything too crazy to do that. TLDR - I’m trying to exercise craftsmanship as a hobbyist level video maker, but my equipment is nothing special.

@@ConnorLongDVM Thats actually great to know. You achieve high quality with “basic” equipment. Some people who aspire to produce content for YT may think they need fancy equipment, but with some creativity, attention to detail, and a willingness to devote some time to it, one can create great content with very little financial investment. Thanks!

@@HudsonDoodle Yep, happy to help. My philosophy is that this is just for fun/ a public service about animal husbandry, so I'm not going to spend any money on production equipment, especially when my hobby budget could be going towards my animals. Then I figured I'd just start filming videos and see how they turn out, and each time I make one I watch it and go "eh, this part looks/sounds kind of crappy" so I look up how to fix it, usually on RU-vid. Which is why my first couple videos sound sound weird and don't have use a tripod haha. I also watch a lot of RedLetterMedia and they mockingly dissect various aspects of filmmaking in their "Best of the Worst" segments, so that's helped a bit.

I haven’t had anything burn out. I’m currently using LEDs as grow lights and a CHE on a thermostat for heat. During winter I switch to a CHE and a blue incandescent.

Thank you for the comment - the substrate mix I am using is working well for the gecko and the species of grasses and succulents I am growing. It worked not very well for my other plants (sage and verbena) which did not survive long term. It has worked for the Joshua tree. The sage was replaced with a California buckwheat, but I used the potting material it was grown in and covered that with my substrate. I will likely continue to use a variation of this mix, but I may need to test the pH and/or add some additional nutrients to really maximize its potential. It should be noted, the verbena and the sage were species I picked opportunistically - while there are species that grow in the desert, these two species were not native desert dwellers, so it may just be the conditions were never going to be quite right for them. As for basking, I use a CHE and a heat light (heat light on a timer, CHE on a thermostat). The gecko does not bask during the day but as the lights turn off she will come out and sit on the rocks that have absorbed the heat.

I spray maybe 3-5 times a week. I will do a deeper watering every week or so and let some flow through the substrate into the drainage layer.

I don't think variety of isopods is that important as long as the ones that you have are doing ok

I don't know much about scorpions, I'm afraid, though it is hard for me to believe isopods harm them. I was unable to culture some of the larger arid springtails in the setup but I have small silver ones as well (unsure of the species) that I have been able to culture. You could also try blue death feigning beetles as cleaners. I have seen them in the Mojave near scorpions, and I have read online that they are good cage mates.

The burrow she is in is her humid hide, her other hide is behind the rock structure, she uses it less frequently

@@ConnorLongDVM Ok, I probably need to watch both build videos. I assume you moss in there to help keep it humid.

My take is that Facebook groups pertaining to reptile care are the same as any other Facebook group - they’re prone to becoming echo chambers, and IME generally devoid of appropriate references. Even for groups that contain professionals and reference peer reviewed papers, the dialogue skews heavily towards people who post the most, who may or may not know what they’re talking about, and the positions of the group are sort of just repeated without much thoughtful analysis. Leopard geckos almost certainly eat vertebrates in the wild, on occasion, and the nutritional content of a pinkie mouse is going to be different than an insect. I can’t tell you off hand the nutritional profile, and I’m not sure it’s even been studied in sufficient detail for a really great explanation, but in general I think a varied diet is beneficial. That said, pinkies should probably not make up a large portion of their diet - insectivorous lizards can develop gout if fed too much animal protein. So if you want to feed an occasional pinkie mouse, particularly to females who are going to be making eggs I think it’s reasonable but I wouldn’t use them very often. So, yeah, TLDR - I generally assume everyone is full of it unless they are really transparent about where they are getting their information (which I try to be in these videos). Peer reviewed citations are probably best, hobbyist publications and personal experience are useful as well, but if they’re just kind of parroting back stuff they have no experience with nor a legit citation I wouldn’t take them very seriously.

@@ConnorLongDVM yea I agree.

I’m a poor substitute for an isopod expert - you could try inaturalist

If iNaturalist is accurate they live around riverside - I would add that putting wild caught isopods into your enclosure theoretically could put your gecko at risk for parasites if s/he eats them.

It would be challenging since manual cleaning could dislodge individual pieces and the material is porous. You might be able to tweak it and use epoxy or resin or something instead of silicone so they're embedded in a waterpoof matrix.

Gotcha. Yeah I've never done bioactive before, and I dunno if it's worth the trouble for rosy boas, since snakes don't poop nearly as often as lizards...may have to experiment with epoxy. I guess the only way to know is experiment and see what works. If i figure out how to make it work reasonably well I just might make my first build video. I love the idea if working with decomposed granite, as it's readily available on Amazon in a lot of color variationm. Thr rocks you made look awesome, but perhaps for my purposes it may be better just to do a background if cleaning is difficult, since they're less likely to somehow poop on the wall. Thanks for sharing your 2 cents. I've been trying to figure out how to make this work for a dry set-up since I saw Clint show a bioactive build for emerald skinks. This is definitely the closest I've seen to what I'm going for.

@@ConnorLongDVM would it be cool to show a few b roll shots of your build if I do a video on my attempt to make this work for a non-bioactive set-up? Just want to show how my process went from watching Clint's skink build and triyng to figure out how to make a similarly cool rosy backdrop. I'm def a novice, but perhaps people can learn something from my attempt, even if it doesn't work out superbly.

You know, I'm not really sure - I'm a poor substitute for a geologist. I'd imagine the American southwest has a lot of desert rock of various types (some likely being monzonite). The type of rock likely doesn't matter that much other than aesthetics. You could make replicas if you like the look or you could do a similar type of setup with rocks available locally

cholla cactus wood

I collected them wild but you can buy cholla wood online and in some herp shops as well

@@ConnorLongDVM thank you!! 🙌

This is a 40g breeder (actually 50g if you measure the dimensions, not sure why it is called a 40g). It's a good size to use because it's a common size to find second-hand for bargain pricing

@@ConnorLongDVM Thank you so much! I have a 36x18x12 so similar floor space. Needed to know so I could get an idea if the superworms would be ok for my size enclosure

@@bluestickman2684 I strongly recommend against using superworms. IME they don't bring anything to the table and they destroy plants and cage furnishings.

@@bluestickman2684 Were I doing this over again I would just use arid tolerant isopods and springtails.

@@ConnorLongDVM Oh ok, thank you though!

I wouldn’t say “any” branches - some may be sharp. Some may be toxic (feeder insects will gnaw on hard scape, and conceivably could then be eaten by your lizard - not a likely scenario, but I’m not comfortable with a blanket statement). But I knew exactly what I was looking for - cholla branches and juniper wood are actually sold for use in terrariums and both happened to be naturally occurring where I was visiting. As for sterilization - again, I can’t guarantee 100% everything will be safe. But in general, diseases are spread animal to animal, not on branches or rocks that I had sitting in my garage for months. Parasites typically need to be ingested. And herps tend to get sick in captivity due to poor husbandry, with opportunistic secondary infections - meaning the animal got an infection because it was ill, not vice versa. So no, I didn’t sterilize anything; because I personally believe the risk of an infection stemming from non-sterilized materials to be negligible.

Perhaps a more concise way to put it - I would be more concerned about a communicable disease on a commercial item purchased in a pet store near other captive herps than I would be that a rock I pulled out of a desert wash was somehow an issue. Pet shops are where the sick animals of the same species are.

@@ConnorLongDVM You seem very knowledgeable, thank you so much for your reply!

Thanks for the question - feeding her is still very important. She might occasionally get a stray mealworm or isopod, but there aren't enough in the vivarium to sustain her, nor are they gutloaded or appropriately supplemented.

I started the culture in 2016, so they had been in culture for about 4 years

@@ConnorLongDVM how long did you wait untill you started using the isopods one your reptiles enclosures?

You know, I haven’t used a deep heat projector before so I can’t really comment. Currently I am not having any difficulty projecting heat, so I don’t think I need to make any changes at this time - the 40 gallon is not very tall so projection hasn’t been a problem

The gecko is doing great. Tank is fine, I'm going to redo it in the near-ish future. No major updates, just plugging along. I did discuss it on the animals at home podcast which sort of served as the unofficial part iv

@@ConnorLongDVM that’s great!! I’m definitely going to be doing a version of this set up 😍 this will be my first time doing one and I’m so happy you did this. Like you said there isnt much available info on it.

The moon was an effect I created with a black light, it is not a commercial product and does not provide UVB

@@ConnorLongDVM thanks, Does the black lights just produce heat?

I have not, but I haven't put much effort into it - I believe there were two species of arid springtails - the larger ones which had a huge population boom initially and then disappeared, and smaller silver ones that continue to do well in more humid sections of the vivarium. I was able to culture the silver species. If I hook up my macro I could maybe get a picture

@@ConnorLongDVM That would be awesome. I've been concerned with maintaining an arid clean up crew but it's certainly motivation to see yours work out. I'll be experimenting on a smaller scale for sure! Any chance that you'd be willing to sell a bit of that culture? Id be interested in buying some for sure.

@@ConnorLongDVM post a picture of them on bugguide I’m sure you can get an id there best of luck

It's region specific, I don't have any online suggestions unfortunately. I'd look at nurseries, botanical gardens, or native plant groups in your area (depending on the area). Everything in this setup was either made from scratch, personally collected by me, or purchased locally.

@@ConnorLongDVM Thank you

I get some from local nurseries in my area and I have some contacts with folks who manage university collections. On occasion I will trade or buy from hobbyists. I don't really have a commercial supplier that is accessible remotely for viewers who don't live near me. For rare(ish) stuff (I don't know that I have anything that really qualifies as "rare" or is particularly valuable) I would recommend contacting universities that have collections, they will often have plant sales and if not will just give you cuttings. You may have to propagate them on your own, but they'd literally just be thrown away otherwise. Local plant societies will have swap meets too.

@@ConnorLongDVM Yeah, I was thinking of propagating some sort of jade plant, because I would really like to put some ogre's ear in my leopard gecko's vivarium. I have found a website that sells quality succulents, I am just waiting until spring where the weather is warmer where I am from so that plants don't perish during shipping.

@@MinionRush0906 succulents are so popular you will likely be able to find some locally at nurseries, garden centers, or even Craigslist (This presumes you’re in the US - if you’re abroad I wouldn’t presume to know trends) Jade plant is pretty bulletproof, I don’t think you’d have to special order it unless you want a particularly rare variety.

Yes, I do live in the U.S, so I will look on chraig'slist. Thank you for the info about jade plants.

My understanding is that bark scorpions are particularly venomous so they would not be my first choice. As for having an entire population of predators and prey, they answer is… maybe? Leopard geckos eat scorpions in the wild, but scorpions are also potentially dangerous prey items. The best way to deal with the beetles is to not use beetles. Arid resistant isopods work better as a clean up crew

@@ConnorLongDVM indeed they are. I want to build I vivarium as well and I think I will have apex predators be emperor scorpions and praying mantis. Both can easily live in an arid climate.

It depends what exactly you mean - you could use it for an arid setup but to the best of my knowledge you would not be able to grow any plants. Excavator clay isn't a product I use, so I'd recommend seeking out someone who has used it for questions about it.

@@ConnorLongDVM What I meant is if I myself wanted to make a tunnel system using PVC pipes I got this idea from another Bio setup on a RU-vid channel Reptile Jones

You may have answered a question I have been researching. I'm considering a foam and Drylok rock work structure in a Bearded Dragon viv. I've read about the issues with superworms and the foam rockworks. So...the solution is to seal all exposed raw areas with silicon?

Thank you for the comment! I don't know if you're serious or not, but I don't have any commercial venture associated with this at the moment and it's hard for me to envision how I could make it profitable or ship an enclosure without it becoming just appallingly cost prohibitive. That said, if there is ever sufficient interest and those kinks can be worked out, I will certainly post about it on my channel.

@@ConnorLongDVM I hear that! And yes totally serious! I’m not crafty enough to make my own and would love one for a future pet so if you’re ever in California again I’d be happy to drive from LA to pick up your creation!