Smaller naturalistic tank

M

majahawt

New member
I've been wanting to set up a bioactive/naturalistic tank for one of my leopard geckos (Donut)! The thing is, his current tank is made of wood, and it's not deep enough for a proper drainage layer. I've been thinking about getting him a glass tank instead and I just now saw that I can get one of the Exo Terra tanks for 15% off, which would be great since I'm gonna spend quite a lot on the interior.

However, his old tank is 86cm long and 37cm deep, whereas the Exo Terra tank is 60cm long and 45cm deep. I'm wondering if he'll be OK with that change? It's quite a bit smaller but there's the added depth and the fact that a glass tank will allow me to install some levels with sticky or magnetic ledges/etc.

Personally, I think he'll be OK but I wanted to hear more opinions on this!
 
JessJohnson87

JessJohnson87

New member
Bio-active leopard gecko tanks don't need a drainage layer, you just need to have an area with some leaf litter and moss for the clean up crew to live and breed in. With that said, I think the current tank you have for him would be fine for that.

Creating a Bioactive Leopard Gecko Setup - Gecko Time - Gecko Time <---this is a great article on setting up a bio-active/naturalistic environment. I would also check out the naturalistic sub forum for more ideas. There is also a group on Facebook for bio-active, it's called Reptile and Amphibians Bioactive Setups and they are very helpful when it comes to setting up a naturalistic/bio-active enclosure.
 
T

thepianoguy

New member
THAT Fine, i am going to do one in my tiny little 10 gallon(much smaller than yours!)

Here you might wanna check out TheGeckosTime article!

@acaprt might able to help you!


i can tell you what do you want for ingredients because i am starting this too.

sand
topsoil
coconut fibers
outside soil
crushed leaf litters
excavator clay the most important! hope this helps.
 
A

acpart

Well-known member
I'm not the one who wrote the article, I'm just the editor. There are 2 bioactive articles in Gecko Time. To find them (as well as anything else) go to geckotime.com/archives. All our articles are listed there by date and each entry is a link to the article. You can do a search for "bio" and find the 2 articles.

Aliza
 
A

acpart

Well-known member
Yes, I do keep one bioactive and it's worked well for the past 5 years. Since it's arid, I don't use a drainage layer. I use mostly coco fiber with a small amount of desert sand mixed in and some leaf litter. I use dermastid beetles for cleanup. There are super worms breeding in there and they tend to hang out under the water bowl where it's moister. I also keep a jar lid of gut load for the crickets and the worms.

Aliza
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top