Realized I havent posted any of my other enclosures, so Ill get around to doing that in the coming days. First, here is the only reptile I have that I actually purchased in the last few years (as opposed to taking on rescues). He is a rambunctious little ornate uro that was captive bred by a friend of mine last year.
I have all my enclosures set up as bioactive, and didnt want this one to be any different. The enclosure is a 6 foot by 2 foot by 18". (not quite an adult enclosure, but should hold him for awhile as they dont grow super fast) Like bearded dragons they come from a more arid environment, so that posed some particular issues. That they are also herbivorous posed a few more. It seems like the more arid the environment, the more toxic the plants. For the substrate, I used more sand and decomposed granite in with the topsoil than normal, but otherwise didnt change too much about the substrate itself. I went with a slightly deeper drainage layer than normal too, and a layer of fibreglass screen over the drainage layer to keep the soil out of it.
On top of the substrate, I used a mix of oak, magnolia and sea grape leaves for a nice thick leaf litter. I live in the city so had to buy this all and get it shipped to me. I also added a number of logs, bark pieces and rocks for the invertebrates to have moist hides under. I added local isopods, African nightcrawlers, and a few crickets found their way in too. I added springtails, but I have a feeling that its simply too dry for them to thrive in there. Im going to be getting some dermestid beetles in, but havent gotten around to it yet.
For plants, I put in a couple different species of aloe, hen and chicks, a spineless cactus, and I honestly cant remember the one on the far left. All non toxic though, and he has happily been munching away on them when he feels I dont feed him often enough. The hen and chicks are his favourite, but he isnt against climbing up on top of the cactus and eating the softer top pads (as you can see from the second picture). All are planted directly in the soil except for the cactus. Ive never had much luck with those, so just put the pot in with it for ease of changing out if need be. Having said that, he may not leave any of it anyway.
For lighting I have a 4 foot Zoomed HO T5 fluorescent with reflector, an Arcadia 100 watt MVB, a 70 watt Iwasaki Eye ColourArc metal halide and a 75 watt halogen flood. The hottest area of the basking zone has about 135F surface temperature tapering down to an ambient temp of around 75 F on the cool side.
Thats him way down on the far right surveying all that is his...
I have all my enclosures set up as bioactive, and didnt want this one to be any different. The enclosure is a 6 foot by 2 foot by 18". (not quite an adult enclosure, but should hold him for awhile as they dont grow super fast) Like bearded dragons they come from a more arid environment, so that posed some particular issues. That they are also herbivorous posed a few more. It seems like the more arid the environment, the more toxic the plants. For the substrate, I used more sand and decomposed granite in with the topsoil than normal, but otherwise didnt change too much about the substrate itself. I went with a slightly deeper drainage layer than normal too, and a layer of fibreglass screen over the drainage layer to keep the soil out of it.
On top of the substrate, I used a mix of oak, magnolia and sea grape leaves for a nice thick leaf litter. I live in the city so had to buy this all and get it shipped to me. I also added a number of logs, bark pieces and rocks for the invertebrates to have moist hides under. I added local isopods, African nightcrawlers, and a few crickets found their way in too. I added springtails, but I have a feeling that its simply too dry for them to thrive in there. Im going to be getting some dermestid beetles in, but havent gotten around to it yet.
For plants, I put in a couple different species of aloe, hen and chicks, a spineless cactus, and I honestly cant remember the one on the far left. All non toxic though, and he has happily been munching away on them when he feels I dont feed him often enough. The hen and chicks are his favourite, but he isnt against climbing up on top of the cactus and eating the softer top pads (as you can see from the second picture). All are planted directly in the soil except for the cactus. Ive never had much luck with those, so just put the pot in with it for ease of changing out if need be. Having said that, he may not leave any of it anyway.
For lighting I have a 4 foot Zoomed HO T5 fluorescent with reflector, an Arcadia 100 watt MVB, a 70 watt Iwasaki Eye ColourArc metal halide and a 75 watt halogen flood. The hottest area of the basking zone has about 135F surface temperature tapering down to an ambient temp of around 75 F on the cool side.
Thats him way down on the far right surveying all that is his...
