Corns & Colubrids
Corns & Colubrids
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Live vivariums
A live vivarium is a enclosure setup that comprises of live plants, organic type soil that contain its own clean-up crews (nl. live springtails and isopods) as well as natural rocks and woods.
These are extremely adjustable setups that get made purely to suite a specific species you want to house, from rain forest type setups all the way through to live desert setups. It all depends on what you would like to keep.
Building live vivarium's is a very fun process that takes time to create. Without getting into too much detail there are a few things to consider.
Planning custom enclosures
Depending on the size and type of the vivarium you want to convert, you can add things like water features, rock formations, trees and arboreal scapes, watering holes or small streams. There is so much you can do to ensure it looks natural.
When water or high humidity will be involved it is better to use glass enclosures that are available in various shapes and sizes.
At Tyron's Corns & Colubrids, we recently started building our own live vivariums and are so happy with the results we now offer to custom build these setups for our customer's specific needs and can give you solid advice and recommendations for your little pet.
Consider
The type of animal will obviously determine the type of setup.
When you start planning consider what size enclosure you want to create and if it will be a suitable size for the specific animal you want to house, and if that animal requires special lighting or heating, how would the plants you want to use, respond to those conditions?
If you want to add water features the vivarium must be waterproof. There are many different types of expanding foam and silicone products that will help you achieve this.
When using adhesives to secure branches, rocks and structures within the enclosure, always use animal safe products that will not harm your animal or the living organisms in the soil, meaning it must be non-toxic and waterproof.
Keep in mind that everything you add to the enclosure can't be done all at once. You build it in stages and when something have been affixed with adhesive, that needs 24 hours to set or dry before the next level can be built.
the clean-up crew
The clean-up crew consists of different species of invertebrates which break down the waste left by a pet reptile in its habitat.
Isopods are the most commonly known clean-up crew members and their job is to break down all the rotting plant matter. Occasionally your reptile will break some of the plants when moving around in the vivarium the broken plant matter will eventually fall to the floor and begin to decay. The decaying plant matter will then be consumed by your isopods.
Rotting plant matter can cause mould and we know mould is not welcome in an enclosure. Do not fear as this is a job for the next member of the clean-up crew. They are called springtails.
Springtails (collembola) are tiny little insects that feed on mould. No matter if the mould is from rotten plant matter, waste from your pet, uneaten food items or even just pop up randomly from high humidity levels. Springtails will take care of it for you.
Every organism, plant, animal and element has its own unique responsibility. A live vivarium is basically like shrinking a section of the wild and having a small ecosystem that looks after itself.
If you would like to build your own live vivarium and need advice, use the contact button below.
plan before you start
Use plant species suited for the specific environment you are creating. This will also affect the type of ground cover you will use in the habitat.
Plastic egg trays and planters can be used to raise the ground level when installing water features or making a dam with rocks or pebbles that can be covered by vines, seed pods, leaf litter or moss. It is also a nice way to hide the filtration systems out of sight.
Living vivarium setups can be costly depending on what you are looking for. We can advise and point you in the right direction to make your vivarium appealing at a smaller cost.
