Hello all, I have looked through some of these posts for ideas for a new live tank for a crested gecko, but it seems that there are about as many opinions and ways of doing this as there are owners! This is going to be a family pet so I'm not looking for anything too exotic (read: expensive or hard to find haha) or difficult - I know that I am a beginner and I don't want to get in too deep too soon and end up with a bunch of dead plants or a sick gecko. Maybe in a few years I'd like to re-do it with a bit more finesse, but for now I'm just wanting to do it right.
My plan is: start with a layer of clay balls in the bottom of a ZooMed 18x18x24 tank, then a layer of mesh, then ecoearth. I would plant the plants (ficus tree, bromeliads, ferns?) in the ecoearth and cover the soil with cypress mulch or some other not-easily-swallowed substrate. Then add some hides, vines/branches, a ledge or two, a shallow water dish and food dish. Lighting would be a 25watt bulb for heat (if needed) and light during the day, and a fluorescent bulb for the plants. Plan to mist the tank in the evenings just enough to keep the substrate from drying out.
SO, does this sound alright? It just sounds fairly simple, I feel like it should be much more complicated not that I can't mess up simple just saying! Are there any plants that you would recommend for a beginner? Do I need anything else for the plants to thrive, special type of bulb, animal-friendly fertilizer, maybe skip the mulch so the gecko poo goes right to the plants? I'm also curious about microfauna - isopods, springtails, even small worms - I love the idea of a small ecosystem, and I get rollie-pollies (pill bugs) in my basement, can I use those guys safely or do I need to buy them somewhere? Do I have to "breed" them separately or just drop them in and let them do their thang?
Well, I think that's it. I'm excited to get this thing up ASAP but not at the expense of the gecko's well-being. Thanks in advance for your advice, once it's done I'll be sure to post pics!!
My plan is: start with a layer of clay balls in the bottom of a ZooMed 18x18x24 tank, then a layer of mesh, then ecoearth. I would plant the plants (ficus tree, bromeliads, ferns?) in the ecoearth and cover the soil with cypress mulch or some other not-easily-swallowed substrate. Then add some hides, vines/branches, a ledge or two, a shallow water dish and food dish. Lighting would be a 25watt bulb for heat (if needed) and light during the day, and a fluorescent bulb for the plants. Plan to mist the tank in the evenings just enough to keep the substrate from drying out.
SO, does this sound alright? It just sounds fairly simple, I feel like it should be much more complicated not that I can't mess up simple just saying! Are there any plants that you would recommend for a beginner? Do I need anything else for the plants to thrive, special type of bulb, animal-friendly fertilizer, maybe skip the mulch so the gecko poo goes right to the plants? I'm also curious about microfauna - isopods, springtails, even small worms - I love the idea of a small ecosystem, and I get rollie-pollies (pill bugs) in my basement, can I use those guys safely or do I need to buy them somewhere? Do I have to "breed" them separately or just drop them in and let them do their thang?
Well, I think that's it. I'm excited to get this thing up ASAP but not at the expense of the gecko's well-being. Thanks in advance for your advice, once it's done I'll be sure to post pics!!