That MF Wolf
New Member
Does anyone use an indoor bioactive enclosure with plants? What do you use?
Bioactive enclosure
- Thread starter That MF Wolf
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I've got about 4" of putting soil covered by a layer of mulch and I added springtails, pill bugs, and Earthworms. I've got Pothos, grass, and Chia growing.
That MF Wolf
New Member
Do they get out?
No, it's a closed chamber. Even if wasn't It's a plastic tote I don't think they'd be able to get traction to climb the walls. Something that's wood though the pill bugs probably could climb out.
Christyk
Member
I have a bioactive enclosure for frogs (our turtle is outside) but it has begonias, orchids, live moss and a few other plants. Spring tails and zebra stripe isopods for the cleanup crew. Works great!
maxgirlie
Member
Interested in creating a closed bioactive chamber. Can someone tell me what they use or how they built theirs? This will be for a baby sulcata.
Hello!
It's questionable if you need a fully bioactive enclosure (with full nitrogen cycle and complex layered substrate) for a sulcata (they outgrow any indoors setup pretty quick).
Some keepers just use potted plants and add "cleanup crew" (springtails and isopods) into one-component substrate (orchid bark). Most tortoises will chew and trample plants to the roots in a day or two unless you use well-established plants (which are clearly perceived as an obstacle).
Many bioactive substrate mixes contain sphagnum moss and small rocks (pumice, lava rock). When ingested accidentaly or on purpose these components can cause impaction issues. Also, soil and coco coir based mixes get very messy as your sulcata grows larger.
If I didn't scare you off - here is one thread to get started: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/the-mighty-odins-indoor-oasis-the-build.128248/ (just follow it and linked threads - it's about growing foliage in sulcata enclosure but you can throw in a cleanup crew to get more self-sustaining setup).
I would be happy to share my experience, but I'm only setting things right now for my redfoot and not sure if it's a successful endeavour. The substrate is a drainage layer (I use pumice, but expanded clay is better) covered with a fiberglass mesh. On top of it is a mix of orchid bark, cypress mulch (20-30%), leaf litter (10-15%) and the rest is a coco coir. Once I get some edible plants (chia, endive, green lettuce, coleus, small spider plants) growing from seeds, I will add more leaf litter on top. In the meanwhile, I've added springtails - hopefully, they will establish large enough population in a month or two to control mold (damp leaf litter gets a fungi boom in 2-3 days). Night hide has a plain cypress mulch inside. Isopods are breeding (I'm opting for porcellio laevis) in a separate container, I expect to get 20-30 young ones in a month.
My tortoise is kept outside right now (weather allows). You can often see an advice to let bioactive enclosure to go through the mold bloom (4-6 weeks) before putting animal inside - this recommendation must be followed.
The_Four_Toed_Edward
Well-Known Member
I would be interested hearing about your experiences with the drainage layer over time. Maybe make a thread about how your experiment goes?
I'm not sure if I want to keep a diary
Many things can go wrong (e.g. fungal issues on plastron) and I'll resort back to a simple substrate In skink's terrarium things are going pretty well but I much less sure about tortoise enclosure. Perhaps, I'll make some photos and post them all at once in a while.
The_Four_Toed_Edward
Well-Known Member
That'll do it!
Skink? What kind of skink?I'm not sure if I want to keep a diary
I have an indonesian blue-tongued. To my untrained eye - halmanera. ("Skink tax" included)
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That's about as good as I've EVER seen it attempted indoors
