[snakeprint]

Ok, I'm planning early for Christmas this year, and have put a deposit down on a goniurosaurus luii for my other half, as it's a lizard that's been on his wish-list for ages. I am planning to get a 60x45x45 exo terra for the little fella, which should sit on top of my oedura monilis and get just enough heat from below to keep it gently warm.
I would like to get things so that he can set up a naturalistic kind of environment, with live plants, and possibly a bonsai tree. Has anyone ever done this, and does it work?! Care sheets for goniurosaurus mention ficus, and I know this is a good species for bonsai. I had a flick through Ben's bonsai book and have also seen that sageretia theezans is a tree that requires high levels of humidity and likes temperatures between 18 and 24 degrees celsius, so it would probably do well in that environment. I don't know if it would be toxic to the gecko though, so if anybody has any idea on this please let me know. There doesn't seem to be a common name for it, but apparently it has small white flowers in summer, followed by blue berries. If I can't find any information on that, I will obviously go with some kind of ficus but it'd be nice to have a choice.

Also, how long do people recommend having the tank set up for before introducing the gecko? I am thinking it might be a Christmas present that gets stretched out over at least a week - day one I give him the tank, then some hydroleca (is that what you call those clay ball things used for drainage?) and coco-fibre substrate, then springtails and woodlice and plants. How many days later should the gecko go in, or will he be fine to go in there straight away?
I would love to have a go at setting the tank up myself so it's all ready for Ben to see on Christmas Day, but I think he will enjoy setting it up himself and might be disappointed if I do it for him! Any thoughts much appreciated. Thanks.

[Lordoftheswarms]

Where do you get springtails and woodlice?

That all seems fine. You could look up information on the plant you want to know about.
If it's toxic, I would think it would say so on one of the sites you find.

[snakeprint]

I'll try googling it, but I doubt if there will be any sites that tell me this. I'm guessing if something is poisonous to a lizard in the wild, they will generally know to avoid it. It's a bit different when you put them in an enclosed space with something. They don't really get a choice!

My local pet shop often has springtails in, and I can order various types of woodlice from dartfrog.co.uk. They have all sorts of bugs and stuff used to keep things clean. It's probably not much use to you if you're trying to get hold of some in Canada though! I have found springtails in my oedura monilis viv without introducing them. Either they have come from the coco-fibre substrate I use (which is unlikely as it's a vacuum packed compressed block when I buy it), live moss, or they have simply found their way in from somewhere and started breeding in there.