How often to change substrate?

Hi, I know some people don’t use substrate (I use that eco earth stuff) but for me it works well as it keeps up the humidity nicely (I live in quite a dry area) and my female veiled doesn’t eat it. Anyway, My cham never actually poos in her cage, it’s always on a little climbing frame I built for her so I was wondering how often it is necessary to change it?
Thanks :)
 
If you want the easiest to maintain set up with using a substrate, I would strongly suggest putting in the extra work and cost and going bio active. Otherwise, get rid of the substrate which can be a bacterial breeding ground. There are other ways to maintain humidity such as wrapping 2-3 sides with shower curtain, lots of live plants, add an extra misting, etc. This is a great guide on going bioactive. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/intro-to-bio-activity.2429/. It’s a little bit of a challenge if you have an all screen enclosure, but definitely doable. I’m using root pouches for now. Others have made large planter bins to set their enclosures on/in, created a ‘box’ to go inside the enclosure and many other creative ideas.
 
If you want the easiest to maintain set up with using a substrate, I would strongly suggest putting in the extra work and cost and going bio active. Otherwise, get rid of the substrate which can be a bacterial breeding ground. There are other ways to maintain humidity such as wrapping 2-3 sides with shower curtain, lots of live plants, add an extra misting, etc. This is a great guide on going bioactive. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/intro-to-bio-activity.2429/. It’s a little bit of a challenge if you have an all screen enclosure, but definitely doable. I’m using root pouches for now. Others have made large planter bins to set their enclosures on/in, created a ‘box’ to go inside the enclosure and many other creative ideas.

I agree with making some additions to simply add to the bio activity, but for the most part eco earth can be bioactive as much as anything else. It just takes some time to establish. Bio activity is a bacterial breeding ground, that's what you want. Aerated soil that is exposed to some organic material(poop, dead feeders, etc) will have beneficial bacteria colonize throughout. You can tell if this happens by putting some soil over a dead feeder, food, poop, whatever... in a week or so it will have been broken down entirely by the bacteria. This bacteria also outcompetes mold and harmful strains of bacteria that tend to take over in sterile environments.

So overall. I'd make sure the coco fiber is well-draining. I would also add springtails and isopods to add to the break down. Wouldn't hurt to mix in some regular soil too which would be simple to do and helpful.
 
I agree with making some additions to simply add to the bio activity, but for the most part eco earth can be bioactive as much as anything else. It just takes some time to establish. Bio activity is a bacterial breeding ground, that's what you want. Aerated soil that is exposed to some organic material(poop, dead feeders, etc) will have beneficial bacteria colonize throughout. You can tell if this happens by putting some soil over a dead feeder, food, poop, whatever... in a week or so it will have been broken down entirely by the bacteria. This bacteria also outcompetes mold and harmful strains of bacteria that tend to take over in sterile environments.

So overall. I'd make sure the coco fiber is well-draining. I would also add springtails and isopods to add to the break down. Wouldn't hurt to mix in some regular soil too which would be simple to do and helpful.
I was thinking more of avoiding a soggy moldy mess of harmful bacteria by adding a drainage layer and clean up crew. I guess being brand new to bioactive, my knowledge of various ways to achieve it are limited. So, you taught me something too. :)
 
I was thinking more of avoiding a soggy moldy mess of harmful bacteria by adding a drainage layer and clean up crew. I guess being brand new to bioactive, my knowledge of various ways to achieve it are limited. So, you taught me something too. :)

Yeah you're not wrong about that. Most of the things we do for bioactive are too keep the plants healthy. If you don't have plants directly in the soil, it's very easy to create a bioactive environment for breaking down waste. I had several enclosures that were just about an inch maybe two of soil. Never had to clean. I just had some holes drilled at the bottom to drain out the water.
 
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