@@harriet4452 they don’t at all, having a water bowl especially a big one raises the humidity a lot and beardies should only be in a tank of 20-40% humidity
I’m getting ready to transition our baby beardie to a 110 gallon enclosure and I am now definitely, going to set up a bio active, my favorite too! Your beardies are so beautiful and cute!!! Thank you for sharing your knowledge. What a great Momma you are! 😊😊😊
@Cal Vert Well, for your situation, no you shouldn't have a water bowl, but for other places where the extra humidity is needed or not affected by a waterbowl, you need one in there. Not to mention it is enrichment for the dragons to have a waterbowl if you aren't in a too humid environment. Mine likes to soak in his sometimes. Also right now I'm trying to get his humidity up because it's 30 and should be between 40 and 60
So the Lion King brought us Pride Rock, and now thanks to your wee dragons, there is Poop Rock! I see the pros and cons to both types of enclosures. In some ways I can see where the tile one might be good for someone just starting out or for a youngster due to it being easier and a little more straightforward to clean and get the hang of it all before stepping up to a bioactive one. Of course the bioactive one looks so much prettier plus....it is bioactive! This is a great reference video for anyone who is looking into keeping dragons or similar species. Love watching that little guy attack the aloe plant. I think you are also a Mother of Dragons! Thank you Suzy!
it is funny you ask this because I am splitting up my two "babies" Milo and Otis. I am making each of them BioActive Enclosures. I will start working on that tomorrow. Thanks for asking.
Thank you and God bless you for this video! I had a precious baby bearded dragon not too long ago named Lava who went to a new home because of my own health reasons. I'm still so heartbroken. I love bearded dragons and know everything about them and caring for them properly, and I used tiles. So cheap and easy to clean! For my food and water dishes I just used those ceramic soap holders you get in the bath section at Walmart, way cheaper too. Hopefully a miracle will happen and I can care for what I love again, permanently. You also did the right thing in keeping his name in which the love of his original owners lives! Thanks again! God bless!
I love both the looks....and that is why I don't have or can't keep plants in my tanks bc the fish or critters eat them...you have some very interesting critters...great video
thanks for the video. i'm getting my first dragon in a few weeks and my goal is to mimic their natural environment the best i can. i fell in love with them after seeing wild ones on the mine i work at.
Bearded dragons need a tube uvb light that covers 3/4s if there cage likethe reptisun 10.0 or the Arcadia 12% with these coil uvb bulbs they can develope medabollic bone disease. I loveeee your setups tho they are beautiful !! Also play sand is safe to use as long as your husbandary is on point ! :)
@@serenity_watches1715 Coil bulbs do that?! I knew they weren't the best but I never knew of that...When I had my baby Lava I had no choice but to use a coil bulb for the time being, because I had a 20 gallon tank saved in my closet for his baby stage. I was going to build my own custom enclosure but long story short, I don't have the precious light of my life with me anymore...(he's not dead though) I'm still so worried about him...😢😡😔💔
Lovely video! I've had my beardie for almost 9 years now, so no chance of moving him to a bioactive enclosure anytime soon. I would love to try making one in the future though.
In my experience, when the dragon freshly “goes” in either set up, it smells in both. I am still taken off guard when that lovely aroma hits me. Hahaha if you know what I mean. But in the bioactive one it seems to get covered and not smell (or be seen) and on the tile one if it dries it doesn’t really smell (like if you are at work or something) but it is easy to find to clean up. My fauna was well established and breeding before I put my baby dragons in there. I think that helped too
Since he will be happy either way, I would rather not worry. I want to enjoy my beardie. I think your instincts are just right for you and your beardie.
Full grown bearded dragons should be fine but what I suggest is damping it and compressing it really flat with a bottle or something less chance of impaction
If temps and humidity are fine impaction is never a worry as bearded dragons are on loose substrate in the wild. I always use top soil for my beardies from 1month old till now and hes about 4 1/2. He loves to burrow aswell. I wouldn't worry too much 😀
Impaction mostly comes from not having enough moisture to help the foreign body pass through, however size of the foreign body is also a concern so smaller mouth sized wood chips or large chunks arnt too geat, but as long as your beardie/a beardie has plenty of fluid intake be it greens, baths, or what have you, impaction from soil/sand shouldnt be a problem at all
I like your bio active setup. I wouldn’t feed roaches calcium because their exoskeleton will harden and they might not be able to shed causing them to die inside their old shed. I grow my own mealworms and made that mistake when I started.
love the video! i have a leopard gecko and i have paper towel as his substrate and i’m thinking about upgrading to tile because it’s still easy to clean and still looks pretty nice and neat.
We started with a gecko and had a bio-active tank. Once we had it set up, it was so easy. I feel like our bearded dragon bio set up has been more difficult because you have to make sure the clean up crew can service the dry hot temps. Trial and error for us but we’ve made it work.
Im trying to decide whether or not to go bioactive. I have a 55 gallon and have the tiles. My dragon has the same spot for his bathroom which makes it so easy to clean. I have all the stuff necessary for bioactive an i love the way bioactive looks. Decisions, Decisions lol
@@QueAquatics 1 year 8 months. My son brought him home and i ended up falling in love with him! So i bought him a crested for Christmas and took the Dragon. The Crested Gecko is in a bioactive tank and i have two asian toads in bioactive. Glad I found your channel!
He is a cuddly cutie pie!!! The babies are to cute too watch taking a shower !!! ✌💕 This video was awesome Suzy , this will certainly help new beardie folks!!!
Cool Dragon cool name👍😊. It's funny how pets get their names. I don't normally name my fish but I did name my biggest frontosa he is the only fish I have with a name. He crashed all the driftwood in the tank so I named him Timber. He is the one in my Logo and on my banner I think he will be famous one day 😆 Grate video amazing info real good job thank you😊👍👏👏❤
Hi I love the video! Can you tell me what kind of tile is it and who its stuck down? I've been researching till my fingers hurt trying to find the best substrate for cleaning and I really like the tile!
I just use the tile from my local hardware store, there are so many colors but I stay away from shiny. Most of my tiles just have a rubber cabinet liner then I lay the tile but I have used silicone to glue it down. My store cut a few tiles to the right size.
yes, these are normal floor tiles and real easy to clean. I have used melamine and PVC boards but I haven't used wood. I am not sure about that because it is porous and would (no pun intended) absorb nasties. I do use wood in my tortoise enclosure but I intend on throwing it out in the spring
Well also found out through some professionals you're not supposed to keep water in their cage because it introduces humidity into their cage bearded dragons are supposed to be kept in a dry environment. What I do is give them bath time or give them water through a syringe. Both ways are a good bonding moment.
Your terrarium is goals!! I searched your videos for a step by step how to video for this bio-active setup but alas there was none. I have been searching far and wide for an aerated substrate in which to house my bearded dragon and get my own bio-active enclosure going. Would you be so kind as to point me in the right direction?
Sweet& Filthy In this enclosure I used Terra Sahara from the Biodude, sphagnum moss, I also had some reptisoil. I added a bit of the charcoal that my springtails were in and then I added some leaf litter and topped it with a little more terra sahara. I am about to create another enclosure because the babies are getting bigger and I think they need their own setup.
@@QueAquatics Thank you for the information and the ultra timely response! I hope to replicate your enclosure and look forward to watching more of your quality content, be it related to bearded dragons or not. Keep up the great work!
Awe thanks lol, btw I was telling you about my baby bearded dragon not eating for weeks.... he started eating roaches three days ago and eating veggies too! Soooo I’m glad, hope he continues thriving! He sleeps in my hand every night! Sometimes tries to climb into my hair!
I really like the bio tank, I’m too nervous to set it up at this time though.... I have a baby beardie and I’ve only had him about three weeks going on four now and he hasn’t been eating any insects.... the last week I’ve been feeding him with a medicine dropper because he had gone a week n a half before without eating.... idk what to do. He ate well when I first got him . So I’m too nervous to change his setup right now.
awe, poor baby! Something might be wrong because baby beardies usually eat like crazy. Is he in shed? Do you have a reptile vet near you? I wish I could help :(
Yeah he was in shed when he stopped eating but he’s not in shed anymore and still continuing not to eat so I’ve been feeding him with a medicine dropper and I brought him to a vet but they said he looked good and sent me on my way....
QueAquatics awe thank you I would appreciate that! He sleeps in my hand every night and he u sweatbands my body language now, I think we’ve bonded really well together, he seems comfortable with me... except the eating thing, so I want him to have the best chances possible! Thanks! 🙏🏽
Great bio active setup I have the from biodude, i just buy isopods n springtales once a year to make sure it does its job. ? Where do u get ur plants from and which ones ?
I go through so many plants, I get the edible kind and as he eats them I get more. I just make sure I treat them like food and wash them real good before planting. I like to use clover and all different succulents. You can use herbs too like mint, basil, dill, oregano, and thyme.
where did you get the substrate for the bio tank? I was going to wait for my beardie to get bigger before getting loose substrate but this looks great for little guys
I put ceramic tile in my bearded dragon enclosure took it out a week later. I noticed her nails were being filed down too low. Not good. maybe for a day to trim down her nails.
Question: when you say basking temp is 95 degrees(or higher for babies) is that the air temp or the temp of the basking spot with a surface laser thermometer?
How often do you spray the tank? I keep reading that too much humidity is not at all healthy for your beardie, do you have any problems with this with your bioactive enclosure? I’ve been kind of weary about setting up my dragon’s tank like this, but it does seem really useful and I like the way it looks, so I’m definitely considering it!
I usually spray the “cooler” side every other day. This is where I put the isopods. But I rely on my humidity ready and keep it low. I don’t spray it the same as my high humid tanks.
I used the same method that I used on my parrot. I kept adding about tablespoon chopped so finely that they had to go through it to get to the food they wanted. She acquired a taste for after a bit
It would depend on what your humidity is to start with, mine here is at 30% in the winter and about 40% normally. But if you already have a humid environment then do not spray. My silkie is kept at 55% so she is sprayed a lot
Nice video. I am new to raising beardies and have some questions. I like the idea of a bio active media. What is the humidity of the enclosure in the dragons’ area? I keep mine at about 35% RH. How damp is the isopods’ soil. I bought some crickets and it took about 3 days to say the heck with crickets. I switched to Dubia Roaches; they are much easier to handle (don’t jump all over the place) . The roaches make little noise , don’t smell and the colony is much earlier to grow. Again, I enjoyed your video. 🙂
I have 3 bearded dragons that love the bio active and one that loves the tile. I left it up to my dragons. My baby beardies were all in 20 gallons long until about 8 months or so then I moved them into 40 gallon breeders. I am designing a 4' by 2' enclosure.
As a baby that would be ok but closer to 120 cm is about right. Smear some silicone on the glass and while it’s wet throw some dirt or coconut coir on the walls so the dragon doesn’t have the clear glass
I think each dragon has its own personality and disposition. Some dragons mellow out with age, but not all. I have a young one that is very food aggressive
Hi susie, i am in the process of converting my 4 bearded dragon vivariums to bioactive. I known there is the bio dude who supplies substrate but he does not ship to where i live. Do you do your own substrate and if you do can you please give me the mix. Love the viv for the little one and very informative video 😊
Josepha Mercieca I used the bio dudes the first time but shipping was $50. So I have been experimenting with mixtures. Reptile soil, sand (small bag) sphagnum, a little cypress and leaf litter. I use the leaf litter to keep the isopods fed and happy as well as the sphagnum. After I mix that up and put down a good layer I water it real good and put in my clean up crew. Then I add tons of aloe, and other plants that my guys love to chomp on. After a few weeks of letting them get settled I add more cypress mulch.as a top layer.
Josepha Mercieca go to a supply store like Home Depot get organic topsoil . Play sand. It has to be play sand . And sqagnum moss a mixture of each . You can also add some cocofiber to the mix . Just make sure you have equal parts. Now you also will need the cleaning crew such as isopods, dubia roaches, ect. . Now when you do bioactuve you need to make sure your husbandary is on point I reccomend joining a bearded dragon group on Facebook. Lol
I am looking to transition from Exo Terra Plantation soil to a bioactive terrarium, what is the substrate you use to house the isopods & spring tails and to grow the plants??
In this enclosure I used Terra Sahara from the Biodude, sphagnum moss, I also had some reptisoil. I added a bit of the charcoal that my springtails were in and then I added some leaf litter and topped it with a little more terra sahara.
Milo and Otis were 4 mo the old during this video. They are now 5 months. They were hatched in Oct 2018. The bio active substrate started with The Biodudes Sahara mix. I have several real plants in there for them to chomp on too. Joshes frogs also make a good desert substrate for bio active enclosures. It is a little different than my humid enclosures as they like it dryer. Do you have a bearded dragon?
QueAquatics yes I do, she is about 5 months old and I would like to put her in a bio active tank for a while but I’m worried about stuff like impaction.
@@QueAquatics I've recently been doing research about bearded dragons and once I stumbled upon BioDude, I decided I would go bioactive for sure. Seeing this now, four years later, makes me all the more convinced BioDude's substrate is the way to go
Isis Arana the tiled floor one I clean just about everyday, the bioactive one I haven’t really ever cleaned. I remove any urates that I see, I have raked the substrate to ensure my microfauna are breeding and that’s about it
Hello, I've got a question I hope you can answer. I have just acquired a new beardie that appears to be the same age as yours here in this video. I attained everything I need for the bio-active setup but I'm reluctant to put my beardie in such a setup due to impaction. My question to you is how have your juvenile beardies faired in such an environment?
Sweet& Filthy I have not had any issues as of yet. Both of my babies are very good hunters though. You could try feeding him in a separate tub if you are worried. Do you think that would help?
@@QueAquatics Yes I do. Thank you for your input and the tip. We certainly will be keeping that in mind when going forward with our bio active terrarium. Thank you again!
I used to have a Bearded Dragon when I was in high school but had to give it away when I was going to college and working full time and could not care for it like I should. I am in the process of setting up a tank to get another since life has slowed down a bit. Could you please tell me what you used for your substrate? All I can find to make a dessert bioactive substrate is the bio dudes Terra Sahara.
Do you know anything about how to clean.there teeth one of my bearded dragons bottom teeth are dark brown he was a rescue I got a year ago an noticed his mouth being discolored but just the teeth an gums on the bottom
The bio is more attractive but seems to require more work and ide be worried that the beardies would eat the isopods and spring tails which would probably be ok if they weren't poop cleaners 🤔🤔 my beardie attempts to or accomplishes eating almost anything that moves lol otherwise bioactive would be my choice although not as a better enclosure but as more of a rain forest touch and look instead of desert or dry type which is easier, attractive and less time consuming. 😊 imo bioactive would be my choice and would be a big help for shedding ☺
