Providing you the tools to create the self sustaining BioActive vivarium of your animal's dreams!
Online product purchasing coming soon! Be the first to know! Sign up for our email announcement.
Our products are available for sale in stores. Online sales available February 2021!
Available in 3 qt and 6 qt bags.
Our all-natural, hand-blended substrates were created to improve animal welfare by replicating the soil that would be found in their natural habitats. Each blend is made with a wide variety of natural, organic materials that will support animals, plants, and a clean-up crew in a BioActive enclosure. It can also be used as a traditional terrarium substrate, being replaced when needed.
Gut Load Diet
Leaf Litters
Moss
.png)
Drainage Layer and Barrier
Desert and Grassland Live Plants
Rainforest Live Plants
Why is Our Hand Blended Substrate Different?
If you went outside, no matter the ecosystem you live in, and looked down at the ground you would see that your soil is diverse made up of many types of organic materials. If your soil was only clay, or sand this would be worrisome. You would go right out and purchase items to amend or add to them. Otherwise, you wouldn't be sure anything would grow very well. Your soil wouldn't be healthy.
Most all commercial reptile, amphibian, and invert substrate for sale is typically only made of 1, 2, or 3 basic ingredients and is not ecosystem specific. Shallow amounts are added to enclosures until it has been dirtied by the animal's food and feces, then it is scooped up, thrown out, and a new bag purchased. The cycle starts again. This is a waste of time, resources, and money!
​
Our substrates have many ingredients.
The Forest Floor blend has 17 ingredients.
​
​
​
​
​
The Rainforest blend has 14 ingredients.
​
​
​
​
​
The Grassland & Savanna blend has 12 ingredients.
​
​
​
​
​
​
The Desert blend has 11 ingredients!
​
It is a healthy, nutritious, living soil that can support the needs of a living bioactive enclosure.
If your not looking to go fully bioactive, and just want to reduce bedding changes and cleaning up feces these blends will support a clean-up crew to help keep your chore time down to cleaning water bowl and washing glass. You will need to add leaf litter to the surface of your substrate to ensure your clean-up crew has a place to hide and does not become your animal's next meal.
​
What is a Bioactive Set-up and Why Could it be Better for Your Animal?
Simply put- bioactive vivariums are enclosures that mimic your animal's natural habitat. Giving them a slice of what they would experience in nature. In nature animals have options. To do this, you will add all parts of a living cycle- rich, nutritious substrate to support growth, detritivore insects, plants, leaf litter, branches, and other nature items.
​
The Substrate
Our all-natural, hand-blended substrate was created to improve your animal's welfare by replicating the soil that would be found in your animal's natural habitat. Each blend is a wide variety of natural or organic materials that will support this living cycle. In very wet, humid rainforest enclosures a drainage layer and mesh barrier will need to be used to keep the soil from growing bad bacteria. In all others, a deep layer of substrate will help your animals feel at home, promote a stable humidity level, and allow your animal to burrow like they would in the wild.
​
The Detritivore Insects
Detritivores are small, harmless insects that live in the soil or leaf litter and eat rotting, decaying organic material and animal feces. They are commonly called "the clean-up crew". These insects play a key role in keeping your enclosure clean. With the addition of detritivores, you will greatly reduce or eliminate the need to routinely change bedding and clean up the animal's feces. They will do this for you!
​
Plants
Plants provide many benefits to your animal's health and well-being. As your enclosure plants take root and grow they will create an ever-changing environment for your animal, in turn creating environmental enrichment. These plants will also allow your predator to hunt for their food as they would in the wild. When choosing your plants make sure they are non-toxic and will thrive in the ecosystem you are planting them in.
​
Leaf Litter and Other Natural Items
Leaf litter is extremely important to a bioactive environment. Leaf litter provides a hiding place for your clean-up crew so they are not eaten by your animals. Leaf litter will provide a natural meal to your clean-up crew. Your clean-up crew will eat the decomposing leaves, in turn fertilizing your soil with their feces, feeding the enclosures plants. Smaller terrestrial animals will use the leaf litter as a playground, climbing over and under. Natural branches and twigs will provide structure for your growing plants. Make sure that all leaf litter and nature items that are added have been sanitized, so you are not bringing in unwelcomed guests (diseased and harmful insects) into your enclosure.
​
Lighting
Providing the proper lighting is as important to the plants and animals living in your enclosure as the sun is for wild ecosystems! Reptiles and amphibians need exposure to UVA/UVB to metabolize calcium.
​
​
Making a BioActive enclosure is not a complicated as you think!
​
Here are a few things to remember:
1. It is important to keep your animal's natural habitat in mind when creating your enclosure. If you are not sure what your animal's natural habitat is, we have an animal habitat directory (Coming soon!) to help.
​
2. Each item you add to your enclosure will play an active role in your mini-ecosystem. Make sure to add items that are free from chemicals or could be toxic.
​
3. Add substrates that are full of nutrients so your clean-up crew and plants can thrive.
​
4. You will not be doing complete substrate changes. Every 6 months you can add our organics replenisher pack (Coming soon!) and plant boost (Coming Soon!). Adding nutrients back into the soil your clean-up crew has been eating and organically feeding your plants.
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)