The Final Stretch! (Bioactive Build pt. 3)

When you go to take a cute picture of some flowers, and then promptly shatter the door you were going to fix later today. :oops: :LOL: :banghead:

View attachment 245835

Guess I'm going to the glass shop to see if they can pick the shrapnel out of the plastic frame (which is totally fine, except for the damaged hinge pin that caused this mess!) and cut me a fresh piece!

Not how I intended to spend the morning, but... I got a cute flower picture I guess? :unsure::ROFLMAO:

View attachment 245836
We got to work on soft touches my lady
 
The quote from the glass shop is pretty high ($108 CAD :eek:) and the turnover is 10 business days, so I currently have my favorite pet store on the case for a full replacement door. I'm friends with the manager, so I'm hoping to cut a deal and get it in asap!
 
So, that's a negatory. :(

But the more I look at it and watch my readings, the more i think i could probably do away with doors entirely! My temp and humidity readings are good... maybe I'll try it as an open enclosure? I could always rig up screen doors or something, if it became an issue! Or like, use strong magnets to attach screen and take it down whenever I feel like it? :unsure:

I'm really good at making lemonade, haha!
 
So, that's a negatory. :(

But the more I look at it and watch my readings, the more i think i could probably do away with doors entirely! My temp and humidity readings are good... maybe I'll try it as an open enclosure? I could always rig up screen doors or something, if it became an issue! Or like, use strong magnets to attach screen and take it down whenever I feel like it? :unsure:

I'm really good at making lemonade, haha!

I would totally consider that if you can keep her contained in it. I keep the doors open on occasion on my Atriums and I absolutely love the look. The chams like it to. The challenge for me is keeping them in it as their branches are close to the edges, and also keeping the mist and feeders contained.
 
I would totally consider that if you can keep her contained in it. I keep the doors open on occasion on my Atriums and I absolutely love the look. The chams like it to. The challenge for me is keeping them in it as their branches are close to the edges, and also keeping the mist and feeders contained.

Feeders are my primary concern (particularly BSF!), followed by keeping Pickle Rick in there! There's no possible way that he could get out unless he fell out, but I worry about the falling haha! Maybe a mesh curtain to put up while feeding flying feeders or something...? Food for thought!
 
When you go to take a cute picture of some flowers, and then promptly shatter the door you were going to fix later today. :oops: :LOL: :banghead:

View attachment 245835

Guess I'm going to the glass shop to see if they can pick the shrapnel out of the plastic frame (which is totally fine, except for the damaged hinge pin that caused this mess!) and cut me a fresh piece!

Not how I intended to spend the morning, but... I got a cute flower picture I guess? :unsure::ROFLMAO:

View attachment 245836
Oh no, sorry the glass broke. I took my doors off while working on it cause I was soo scared on breaking off a hinge.
 
I took my doors off while working on it cause I was soo scared on breaking off a hinge.

You have divined exactly how I initially broke the door hinge, lol! For some reason, I never occurred to me to just take the darn things off! Would have made construction a lot easier... next time! :hilarious:
 
It took a solid 4 hours, but all of the plants are in! I still have a list of things to do (leaf litter, CuC, have to fix the left door cause I snapped the hinge pin, cap for the PVC drain, MistKing, etc.), but this is a good stopping point! I'm very proud of how it all turned out, and my fingers are crossed for minimal die off! This turned out better than I could have imagined. Special shoutouts to @jamest0o0 and @dshuld for all of their valuable help throughout this process, and @Beman, @JoXie411, and @Daesie11 for being awesome and listening to my excited rambling and ridiculous number of WIP pictures at all hours!

Even with the one LED board I'm getting temperatures up to 90F at the mesh, so I don't believe I'll be using any additional basking elements. If anything, I'll be raising the boards. I'll monitor it in the coming days/weeks, and see what needs adjustment (if anything).

Complete plant list:
  • Dwarf Meyer's Lemon
  • Marble queen pothos
  • Varigated heart leaf philodendron
  • Fluffy ruffle Boston fern
  • Nepenthes varicosa
  • Nepenthes burkei
  • Begonia rex
  • White nerve plant
  • Creeping thyme
  • Brass buttons
  • Creeping fig
  • Various airplants
And now, without further ado: pictures!! :D That enough sticks for you @JoXie411? ;)

Slightly elevated front view (doors open, after misting):

View attachment 245791

Left side, right side:

View attachment 245786

View attachment 245787

Left across:

View attachment 245788

Right across:

View attachment 245789

Front view (doors closed):

View attachment 245792

Looks amazing!!
 
Now with more leaf litter, and a few native CuC species! Lily's in the enclosure in this pic for quality control - she had no problems getting around, and I'm thrilled!

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The leaf litter is mostly weeping willow in various stages of decay, with a little bit of magnolia in the lower layers. I harvested it from an area I've had good luck "trapping" springtails in the past. Isopods include c. Convexus, a. Vulgare, and o. Asellus. These are all native species with overlapping ranges, so I'm hoping they'll play nice! I expect if any one species will "win", it'll be the c. Convexus due to their crazy birth and growth rates. I also added "springtail soup" from my thriving temperate springtail culture, a handful of red wiggler composting worms, and a couple dozen detritus milipedes

We'll see how it goes in the coming months!
 
So, I clearly have no chill when it comes to plants! :oops: I was fussing with the viv (misting it, arranging plants, doing some light pruning), and the relative bareness of the back was bothering me a little. So, now the viv has a neoregalia 'fireball', two neoregalia chiquita lindas, and a nepenthes spectabilis. The nepenthes seedling isnt in great shape, and I figure it'll have a better chance here than anywhere else in the house! The neoregalia broms are pretty washed out right now due to poor lighting, but should perk up and add a real pop of red and some yellow/orange!

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this looks AMAZING! If this is for a female, if/when she lays infertile eggs, will the CuC dispose of it?

This one is for the male Nosy Mitsio X panther I'll be picking up on the 23rd, but I'll be doing a somewhat less intensive bioactive build for my panther girl, Lily, next! The CuC will eventually start to dispose of infertile eggs as they mould, so no more digging them up! :D
 
It took a solid 4 hours, but all of the plants are in! I still have a list of things to do (leaf litter, CuC, have to fix the left door cause I snapped the hinge pin, cap for the PVC drain, MistKing, etc.), but this is a good stopping point! I'm very proud of how it all turned out, and my fingers are crossed for minimal die off! This turned out better than I could have imagined. Special shoutouts to @jamest0o0 and @dshuld for all of their valuable help throughout this process, and @Beman, @JoXie411, and @Daesie11 for being awesome and listening to my excited rambling and ridiculous number of WIP pictures at all hours!

Even with the one LED board I'm getting temperatures up to 90F at the mesh, so I don't believe I'll be using any additional basking elements. If anything, I'll be raising the boards. I'll monitor it in the coming days/weeks, and see what needs adjustment (if anything).

Complete plant list:
  • Dwarf Meyer's Lemon
  • Marble queen pothos
  • Varigated heart leaf philodendron
  • Fluffy ruffle Boston fern
  • Nepenthes varicosa
  • Nepenthes burkei
  • Begonia rex
  • White nerve plant
  • Creeping thyme
  • Brass buttons
  • Creeping fig
  • Various airplants
And now, without further ado: pictures!! :D That enough sticks for you @JoXie411? ;)

Slightly elevated front view (doors open, after misting):

View attachment 245791

Left side, right side:

View attachment 245786

View attachment 245787

Left across:

View attachment 245788

Right across:

View attachment 245789

Front view (doors closed):

View attachment 245792
I thought phillondendrum were really poisonous for Chams?
 
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