Bioactive terrarium for a leopard gecko

IHaveNoIdea

New member
Hello, I'm thinking about making a bioactive terrarium for my biggest leopard gecko. Her tank is 83x31x40cm. I'd order an arcadia earth mix (what about earth mix arid? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Arcadia-Earth-Mix-Substrate-litres/dp/B01ATGKAN6)
and some woodlice and some springtails. I'd like to put some live plants there too (peperomia and crassula).
My question is:
Should be the dry or the wet side hot? (I'm sure the micro organisms would thrive in a warm and wet conditions, but my gecko needs a place to warm herself and I don't them to bother her).
Thanks
 

ReptiFiles

New member
Like a normal leopard gecko enclosure, I would say that the warm side should have a damp/moist area, but there doesn't need to be an entire wet region. Although this isn't really the best place to ask this question — I recommend joining Reptile and Amphibian Bioactive Setups on Facebook and reading the files they have there. Most likely they will be able to answer your questions much better than we can.
 

IHaveNoIdea

New member
So here is my new "bioactive" leopard gecko terrarium. I used clay balls as a drainage layer and the rest of it is pure Arcadia Earthmix Arid. There are some logs I found in local woods (baked) and granite stones from local quarry (cleaned). For heating I use 35W heat bulb and 20W heat cable. I haven't added any woodlice or springtails yet.
IMG_20180121_131826.jpgIMG_20180121_132345.jpg
 
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