Dragon strand and bioactive

[KobaOregonherper]

Is a bioactive set up even possible with the way these are set up? I'm grabbing one for Koba since he'll outgrow the one hes in soon. But I'm wanting to stay bioactive. If any of you have done it show me some pics!

 

[Beman]

@jamest0o0 hun can you show off No names clearside that you have bio active?

 

[jamest0o0]

Here's mine. Please excuse the mess, was from winter and had a bunch of plants and junk laying around

 

[Daesie11]

Here's mine. Please excuse the mess, was from winter and had a bunch of plants and junk laying around

Is that a pitcher plant that you have in there?! I've been wondering about those! My exotics shop sells them and today I started to think how great it would be to have that to clean up any loose feeders... is it something you would recommend?? I wasnt sure if it was safe or not.
Also, do you have any threads or blogs following the set up of your bioactive?
This is a beautiful enclosure and I am definitely envious!

 

[GoodKarma19]

Is that a pitcher plant that you have in there?! I've been wondering about those!

Pitchers are safe! I have a nepenthes sanguinea that I'll be incorporating. it's sitting on the windowsill right now, eating up all of the gnats.

 

[Daesie11]

Pitchers are safe! I have a nepenthes sanguinea that I'll be incorporating. it's sitting on the windowsill right now, eating up all of the gnats.

That's amazing! Are there any types of carnivorous plants that are not safe that I should stay away from? Is it just pitcher plants that are safe? I think I've only seen a pitcher plant once or twice at my exotics shop, but they always have some type of carnivorous plant there. My boyfriend has always wanted to own one, he will be so excited hahaha

 

[jamest0o0]

Is that a pitcher plant that you have in there?! I've been wondering about those! My exotics shop sells them and today I started to think how great it would be to have that to clean up any loose feeders... is it something you would recommend?? I wasnt sure if it was safe or not.
Also, do you have any threads or blogs following the set up of your bioactive?
This is a beautiful enclosure and I am definitely envious!

Hey I appreciate the kind words! Unfortunately I didn't really document much putting this together lol. I have some pictures of it growing in over time, but that's about it.

As for the nepenthes pitchers, they do great for me. They just like very bright light, lots of water(distilled or RO), and humidity. Some lowland nepenthes can be picky about the temperature swings, but most seem to do fine. Mine has tripled in size catching hundreds of millipedes, isopods, flies, and other random critters. They're safe assuming your chameleon isn't tiny enough to drown in a huge pitcher.

 

[Daesie11]

Hey I appreciate the kind words! Unfortunately I didn't really document much putting this together lol. I have some pictures of it growing in over time, but that's about it.

As for the nepenthes pitchers, they do great for me. They just like very bright light, lots of water(distilled or RO), and humidity. Some lowland nepenthes can be picky about the temperature swings, but most seem to do fine. Mine has tripled in size catching hundreds of millipedes, isopods, flies, and other random critters. They're safe assuming your chameleon isn't tiny enough to drown in a huge pitcher.

If you ever find yourself with just too much time on your hands, I know myself and plenty of other people on here would love to hear about how you set up your enclosure and all your tips and tricks! It would be an awesome resource for those looking in to starting a bioactive setup.
Also, do you think a pitcher plant(or any carnivorous plants, if applicable) would be able to thrive in a non-bioactive setup?

 

[GoodKarma19]

That's amazing! Are there any types of carnivorous plants that are not safe that I should stay away from? Is it just pitcher plants that are safe? I think I've only seen a pitcher plant once or twice at my exotics shop, but they always have some type of carnivorous plant there. My boyfriend has always wanted to own one, he will be so excited hahaha

Pitchers are amongst the more hardy and trample-proof carnivorous plant species (the highland species seem especially suited for cham enclosures!), but I'm sure other species can be used if they're positioned out of the way! N. Sanguinea is a commonly sold highland species that can tolerate a wide range of conditions and can grow very large pitchers as it matures (up to 10-12" long!). The plant itself (as in the leaves) stay fairly compact, so it's a good terrarium candidate if you raise it up a bit! I'm thinking I might track down some venus fly traps to incorporate in my groundcover, too.

A really great way to control gnats is to put sundews in a bright windowsill. I'd avoid putting any of the sticky plants where your cham is likely to get at them, of course!

 

[Zevil]

Hey I appreciate the kind words! Unfortunately I didn't really document much putting this together lol. I have some pictures of it growing in over time, but that's about it.

As for the nepenthes pitchers, they do great for me. They just like very bright light, lots of water(distilled or RO), and humidity. Some lowland nepenthes can be picky about the temperature swings, but most seem to do fine. Mine has tripled in size catching hundreds of millipedes, isopods, flies, and other random critters. They're safe assuming your chameleon isn't tiny enough to drown in a huge pitcher.

Unfortunately my pitcher died off. Some people told me it's because it can't adapt to my nutrient rich substrate. Pitchers are supposed to be planted in moist sphagnum moss it seems.

 

[Daesie11]

Pitchers are amongst the more hardy and trample-proof carnivorous plant species (the highland species seem especially suited for cham enclosures!), but I'm sure other species can be used if they're positioned out of the way! N. Sanguinea is a commonly sold highland species that can tolerate a wide range of conditions and can grow very large pitchers as it matures (up to 10-12" long!). The plant itself (as in the leaves) stay fairly compact, so it's a good terrarium candidate if you raise it up a bit! I'm thinking I might track down some venus fly traps to incorporate in my groundcover, too.

A really great way to control gnats is to put sundews in a bright windowsill. I'd avoid putting any of the sticky plants where your cham is likely to get at them, of course!

I think I'll try to find myself one that I can incorporate into my enclosure! It would be nice to have something that will take care of some of my loose feeders and gnats for me. Thank you!

 

[KobaOregonherper]

Here's mine. Please excuse the mess, was from winter and had a bunch of plants and junk laying around

Did you remove the bottom to fit onto your substrate?

 

[KobaOregonherper]

Here's mine. Please excuse the mess, was from winter and had a bunch of plants and junk laying around

Looks great! I remember seeing this set up a weeks ago, didnt realize it was a strand enclosure.

 

[snitz427]

Here’s the start of one of mine. Adding more branches and plants this weekend. It hasn’t started to anchor and grow in at all, yet.

I think setting up the enclosures are half the fun!

Bioactive atrium

Soil activity

 

[Beman]

I think I'll try to find myself one that I can incorporate into my enclosure! It would be nice to have something that will take care of some of my loose feeders and gnats for me. Thank you!

Just make sure Pesto can't fall into it. Tiny little dude living in his big old world lol.

 

[JoXie411]

Here's mine. Please excuse the mess, was from winter and had a bunch of plants and junk laying around

I was thinking about adding pitcher plants to the cages to control my gnats problem! Go to know they are safe. Nice set up, makes mine look weak

 

[Daesie11]

Just make sure Pesto can't fall into it. Tiny little dude living in his big old world lol.

Lmao dont worry, I will. The ones my exotic shop sells are still very small, so hopefully they will just grow with him and be fine. If they seem too grow too big I'll just take it out until he gets bigger hahaha. Such an itty bitty guy lol

 

[Beman]

Lmao dont worry, I will. The ones my exotic shop sells are still very small, so hopefully they will just grow with him and be fine. If they seem too grow too big I'll just take it out until he gets bigger hahaha. Such an itty bitty guy lol

LOVE HIM!

 

[JoXie411]

Is a bioactive set up even possible with the way these are set up? I'm grabbing one for Koba since he'll outgrow the one hes in soon. But I'm wanting to stay bioactive. If any of you have done it show me some pics!

Would you mind posting your current set up? I love looking at how ppl have bios set up, not enough ppl do it

 

[KobaOregonherper]

Would you mind posting your current set up? I love looking at how ppl have bios set up, not enough ppl do it

This is my soon to be retired juvenille bio active enclosure. This picture was taken almost 6 months ago when I finished putting it together. I dont have any recent photos, these plants are all quite a bit larger now, that arrowhead is wrapped around most of the branches, the birdsnest fern has a trunk of roots and the bella palm almost reaches the top of the enclosure. The only fake plants in there now is the vine going across the top. There's also now a few nepenthes sanguinea scattered and a ficus in the back.