But Paper Towels Are SO Ugly… – A How-To Guide for Creating An Easy Naturalistic Terrarium

But Paper Towels Are SO Ugly…

A How-To for Creating An Easy Naturalistic Terrarium

 

I’ve been receiving lots of inquiries lately asking for tips and tricks to setting up an easy Naturalistic terrarium, so I thought it might be fun to post up a little how-to guide.  I should mention that this design is ideal for healthy juvenile & adult New Caledonian geckos.   Babies and sick or injured geckos should be kept on a paper towel substrate so it is easier to inspect poop (that’s right, I said poop!).  Also, when housing in a naturalistic set up, insects should be offered to the diet with caution, as clumsy hunters may end up with a mouthful of dirt!!  The safer option is to offer insects to your geckos in a Kritter Keeper or Rubbermaid type container, outside of the naturalistic enclosure.

 

We are calling this enclosure the “Lazy Man’s Bioactive”.  Its a step up from paper towels, but not as elaborate as a full-blown vivarium with water features and living walls.   Our “Lazy Man’s” set up is what we’ve found to be the happy medium between the two.  It utilizes a natural soil floor with a live clean-up crew, and it will support growth of a few select live plants (we will discuss different live plant options in this article).  We developed this version after much trial and error in keeping our breeding geckos in naturalistic enclosures.  When we started, we went all out.  Live plants, drainage layer, a living wall, and a running water feature that created a trickle of flowing water that cascaded down the back of the tank.  Ooooh….it was awesome!!  Then we got the geckos in all the enclosures and the girls started laying.  They uprooted the plants.  They tore out the screen that protected the soil from falling into the drainage layer.  They pulled away at the living wall and clogged up all the tubes for the water feature.  They uprooted more plants.  It was less than awesome.  Repairing the damage they constantly caused was even more time consuming and costly than building it all in the first place.  It was awesome for viewing at first, but in the end, it was an epic fail.

 

For this How-To, we are using an appropriately sized glass tank.  This design will not be suitable for all-screen enclosures.

 

To start out, you want to use a good healthy substrate.  Your soil is the most important element of this enclosure, so you really don’t want to skimp here.  Too often we see people trying to do this type of set up using those expandable coco fiber bricks, and unfortunately those bricks alone are just not going to be successful for this project.  It should be free of fertilizers, and please be sure it is safe for use with crested geckos.  I start by moistening the soil lightly, and then give it a good mixing to aerate.  A rubber spatula works great for this.

 

For this method, I do not add a separate drainage layer.  I have personally found it to work better without, however it is important to remember not to over-water your enclosure, because without this drainage layer, an overly moist substrate might promote mold growth.

 

Next, you’ll want to make sure that the walls of your tank are clean.  For everyday spot cleaning, we choose the chemical-free approach.  A razor blade and a little elbow grease is all you need!

Now you see it –

 …and now you don’t! –

 

After we’ve gotten all the glass cleaned up, give it a quick rinse –

 …and then wipe dry –

Voila!  Like brand new!!  If you choose to do so, at this point it would be a good idea to add some helpful creatures like earthworms to your soil.

 

Now that we have a clean tank & some nice healthy soil, we can start adding plants.  For this example I am showing just one (Pothos, for anyone who is curious), but you could add several plants if you like.  Just be sure that the plants you choose are safe for use with crested geckos.  If you would like a list of safe (and unsafe plants), please contact us.  Your plant should be free of fertilizers, and be sure to rinse the plant & check it thoroughly to make sure there are no harmful insects hitching a ride on it!!  We add our plants in bare root, and we only choose strong healthy plants.

We have chosen to place our plant towards the rear of the enclosure, but the location of your plant is entirely up to you.  If you are working with a variety of plants, it would be wise to put the taller growing plants towards the rear of your terrarium, and the lower growing plants in the foreground.  You should refer to the guidelines for your specific plant to learn about planting depth & spacing.

 

Now that the plant is securely in place and the worms are making their new home, its time to add some more ground cover.  This step is optional.  I like to add organic green moss.  It provides a nice bump of color & it helps to keep humidity up without having to keep the tank too wet.  Notice that we have left a section of the ground cover bare.  This is where we will later add food & calcium dishes.  By placing your moss out of this area, you reduce the chances of your geckos tracking the moss into their food dish.

 

The next step is to add a nice structural branch.  You want to make a nice jungle gym for your gecko to climb on, so if need be, add more than one branch to achieve this.  Be sure the branch is secure in its location & cannot easily fall or jostle out of place when your gecko jumps on it.  It may take a bit of twisting & turning before you find that perfect spot for it!  If you’d like, you can wrap your branch with some artificial leafy vine, as pictured here.

 Be sure there are no sharp edges or exposed wires on your artificial vine, and that it is free of glitter and/or toxic dyes.  If you keep calcium or food dishes on the floor as we do, also take note of where the arms of your branches hang out.  You don’t want water dripping off your branches & directly into your food or calcium dishes when you mist your gecko.  Also double check the uppermost part of your branch & be sure there is enough clearance at the top for your tank’s lid to slide back in place –

 

Its time to get some color into this tank!!  Since most colorful live plants are either toxic, or require natural sunlight (or both!), we choose to use artificial flowers.  The choices are almost endless here, but the same rules apply – be sure there are no harmful dyes used & that there are no sharp sections or exposed wires.  We put taller flowers in the back & shorter flowers toward the front for better viewing of the animals.

 

Now you want to fill in any empty space.  Your gecko will use every inch of his enclosure if you let him, so try to occupy any large open space with vines or small branches.  You don’t want to pack your tank tight with so much decoration that your gecko can’t move about freely, but you don’t want any giant holes either.

 

There’s still a big chunk of open space on our tank…and I think a lovely cluster of leaves will fill it in nicely.  To attach leaves to the walls of the tank, we use stick-on plastic picture hooks.  I feel that they stay put better than suction cups, and I like that there is no metal or sharp edges to worry about.

 You will be able to see the white tab of this hook from the outside of the tank though, so keep that in mind.  Other options include suction cups or magnets.

 

Now that the hook is secure, we can hang our leaf cluster –

 

So here’s our tank so far –

– Almost done!!  Just a few more steps to go.  Easy so far, right?

 

We haven’t done too much to fill in the floor area of our tank yet.  Crested geckos spend most of their time up high, so that’s the area we focus on the most.  Its not uncommon for them to spend some time on the ground though, so let’s make that a little more fun for your pet by adding a hide.  This can be as elaborate or as simple as you like.  Just make sure it is reptile-safe, will stand up to the humidity, and that your gecko can get in & out of it easily.  We like to use cut sections of cardboard mailing tubes…but the choice is up to you.  Try a few options & have fun customizing your own tank.

 

Next we can add our dishes.  Crested geckos don’t need a water dish.  They prefer to lick droplets of water from their enclosure during misting.  You should offer a food dish, and we also think it is wise to offer a dish of pure calcium with NO D3.  Your gecko may never touch this at all.  In fact, he may just trample through it & leave a bunch of pretty white footprints on the glass for you to clean up later.  But…if your gecko needs a little calcium bump, he will lick freely from the dish to supplement himself.  Personally, I feel its better to give him that option.

 –

  And now for the food dish –

 

You are almost done!  Replace all your screens & doors…be sure they close correctly & can be securely locked –

 

Just one step left – ADD A GECKO (preferably one purchased from thegeckogeek.com – again, this is just personal preference 🙂 !!)

 

Congratulations!!  You now have a beautiful naturalistic terrarium that you and your gecko can both enjoy!!

 

Check back on this site soon…we are working on an easy cleaning & maintenance guide for naturalistic terrariums right now!!

 

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