The Dreaded Substrate Question

[daveo]

I have kept Chameleons in the past and had the paper towel substrate and all worked well. While I asked a question in a previous thread, Chris Anderson mentioned that he used substrate similar to that in a pygmy enclosure. Can anyone elaborate on that for me? I am not understanding where the water goes in that type of setup. Is there a drain hole somewhere or do you remove the water trapped in the substrate? I like the look, but I am afraid that the bottom of the enclosure is going to be a swamp. I have done some research but it has left me with more questions than answers.

 

[Carlton]

Usually there needs to be a good percolation layer below the substrate. It will help if you do some reading on vivarium setups that are based on a living substrate...such as dart frog tanks. I don't know specifically what Chris' setups are, but basically its a balancing act between airflow (for evaporation and air quality), filtering and percolation (so the soil isn't constantly boggy), and a live clean up crew that can keep the waste under control. If the plants are living in the substrate that makes a difference too.

 

[KLowery88]

I'd definitely do some reading up on bioactive enclosures. Right now my Veiled Chameleon's screen cage sits on top of a utility sink that I've made bioactive. It has a built in drain that I covered with screen, and it has a painters bucket underneath to catch any drainage. The bottom layer is lava rock, but one of my other bioactive tanks uses LECA, which is expanded clay balls. The lava rock is covered with hardware cloth, then a sandy-soil mixture, then a soil layer. All that is covered by leaf litter to help protect the clean up crew of springtails, isopods, and morio worms and beetles, though Al finds ways to hunt them.

 

[daveo]

Maybe I will just stick with the paper towels, this seems like more work than I am willing to do

 

[KLowery88]

I enjoy it from a kind of hobby perspective, but it definitely does take some work to keep everything cycling well. Like right now I'm having an issue with the Selaginella kraussiana in the bottom right corner because I think the watering is too much. It sits right under where my mistking rian nozzle sprays down. I'm going to swap it out for some moss and see if that lives better.

 

[daveo]

Do you ever have to drain water from the drainage layer? If so how is that done?

 

[KLowery88]

Do you ever have to drain water from the drainage layer? If so how is that done?

Any excess would flow into the bucket as it filters through the layers. I didn't block the drain, just covered it with screen to keep any large particles out.

My aim is to get most of the the water caught by the plants before it hits the soil to avoid any sogginess, and then have what water that does soak into the soil used by the plants.

My Crested Gecko is in a bioactive Exoterra, and with hers, I can see where the water level is since the walls are glass. I just adjust the watering accordingly to make sure the standing water never hits the soil. With the LECA, the clay actually absorbs some of the water and will transfer it to the soil as the soil dries, and vice versa.

 

[gotwqqd]

I'm having good success with organic soul with percolate and another natural water absorbant

It's covered with small Mexican pebbles

Getting the correct water used and plants is all needed