Is It REALLY Good for Tarantulas? BIOACTIVE HYPE!

Keeping tarantulas in a bioactive enclosure...is that a good thing or a bad thing? Let's cut through the hype and the excitement and talk to Dan from Amphibicast about the origins of bioactive enclosures and when and if they are ideal or even suitable for other species of exotic pets like snakes, tarantulas, scorpion, geckos and more!

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[tarantulacollective]

and be sure to check out the AmphibiCast podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!

[teslasintern]

So, I'm one of those guys, who keeps everything "bioactive". I do it pretty strictly because I prefer live plants for me to look at. In my defense, it takes very little water to keep habitat appropriate plants thriving; even the Chaco Desert, has green plants in it... Also, arid tarantulas always burrow or create structures, that increase their humidity relative to outside in the blaring sun (after all, earthworms live in Arizona too, and they die with less than 40% soil humidity).

As far as lighting goes, my plants often create a canopy, making the entire enclosure a hide basically. 1000 lumens from an LED, is nothing compared to all but the densest vegetation in actual sunlight. I guess what I'm saying, is bioactive can be appropriate even for arid species, as long as it's arid bioactive. It's totally not necessary, but when done right it's definitely not harmful, and in my opinion, creates a more beautiful habitat.

[RxToscino]

Nobody can cancel you Richard! Keep up the good work.

[tommyarton]

I agree. You can actually do bioactive with no drainage layer at all. For arid species, there are arid springtails and cooler climate isopods as well. The main goal of "bioactive" is to just create a functioning ecosystem to the climate you're trying to replicate for your T. I started with darts, so my view on this might be different, but T's definitely do seem to benefit from it depending on the natural history of the species being kept. For example, it may be easy to build a quick vivarium for an L. parahybana, but making a viv for something like an Androctonus will be pretty hard as they live in pure sand and rock.

Good video man

[stevem]

There definitely is a problem that people have making bioactive enclosures for dry species. It's not like their natural habitat and not good for many T's. Species specific habitats are the way to go. I'm not saying all species of T's should not be kept bioactive, but know your T's natural habitat and set it up accordingly.

[maxhamilton]

This is true. Your channel, Tom Morans channel and Dave little beasties channel are the best three on YT to date. Thanks for the content, Ive learned a lot, Richard

[awesomeanimalswithalishav]

Bioactive does not = high humidity. There are desert /arid biomes in the world too. My leopard geckos are getting bioactive enclosures soon, they certainly aren't going on Eco Earth with a drainage layer, etc. They're getting the appropriate arid substrate, succulents, and will have more dry-tolerant springtails and isopods. I'll be adding a corner under the water dish that is slightly more humid, but mostly it's a matter of matching the enclosure to the animal. The same thing with tarantulas. Doing a bioactive tarantula tank doesn't mean you're sticking a T into a damp environment either. I just did one the other day and the only difference to the tank was I added some sphagnum moss under the water dish and plan to overfill it. Everything else remained the same. Yeah, technically it's not bioactive because I didn't want live plants in there with a burrowing species, but the springtails will help prevent mold/mites/gnats/etc. without changing the enclosure. The only reason I could see not to do it is the possibility of the isopods or springtails harassing the T.

[immanus]

just use succulents for the dry ones, there are dry loving isopods - just mimic their scrubland habitat in the wild, bio actives don't have to be a rainforest environment that the hobby portray it to be. You need to fully research iso species and the tarantula's actual habitat beyond the country it's from.

[TuberoseKisser]

I don't think Bioactive is over hyped but I do get a "I'm better than you" vibe from people that talk 80% about their bioactive enclosure and 10% about the actual animal.

[caitgems]

I'm experimenting with bio-enclosures at the moment so it was good to hear some rationale instead of the usual hype. 👍

[ac]

I'm so glad you put this out. I'm brand spanking new to the hobby. Legit your last collaboration is how I found you and I've been binge watching your vids and now I want tarantulas. All my reptiles and amphibians are bioactive. I didn't know if I should go bioactive or not with my tarantulas. I don't know why he keeps mentioning dart frogs as I have never once considered dart frogs. Each one of my builds is based off the individual needs of the species in the vivarium. Most people who really do bioactive as a hobby build based off their animal's need. With that being said it's been great to hear how that applies to tarantulas. I actually didn't want to go bioactive with my tarantulas because I'm just getting to know the species but I wondered if I would be doing them a disservice by not going bioactive. Now I don't feel so bad. Because you are right it is expensive and time consuming maintains a vivarium and for me a beginner maintaining an ecosystem in a box (what I call it) when I'm just learning about Ts was a bit intimidating. Great video thanks for this

[Keigancarah]

great video! i’ll have to check out the podcast soon! not sure why i haven’t yet!

[brandimyhren]

Honestly spiders didn’t survive this long by not being able to live in many different temps, humidity and substrate not to mention the diets they have it’s pretty clear to see these spiders can survive many different ways. That’s why I’m glad we can have these kinds of discussions to allow people to hear and see others ideas and experiences with these topics and learn from them. Thank you for sharing gave me some things to consider and learn more about when setting up spider enclosures.

[AmyBuccilla]

Great conversation! I learned some important info from it. Thanks for posting!

[Cliffhanger_MFC]

Awesome video and very helpful. I am new T keeper and have been contemplating on making bio active enclosures for my Ts in the future but I have my reservations with how expensive they are and what the upkeep really is. I am doing tons of research to see if a B A kit would be better and less maintenance then a non B A. I have plenty of time so that’s a plus.

[captaintravensong]

I support your plastic plants! I use plastic in mine and my Ts are perfectly happy. Got my second the other day, and thanks to you I'm learning so so much! 🖤🕷🕷

[rockymountainspiderfreaks]

We dont keep any tarantulas but our theraphosa species in bioactive ...but can't resist having a little piece of Brazilian jungle in my living room in our theraphosa tanks 😍

[jupiterrocamora]

WOW! It's a really informed and relevant clip! I guess I don't have to feel that bad for keeping minimalist enclosures for my Brachypelmas and Grammostolas.

[colemikel]

If you go bioactive and use springtails always make sure to provide plenty of matter for them to eat on like dead leafs and pods and others into the soil not just on the top. And makes sure to get the right sprintails depending on what type of biome the T comes from.

[samleonard]

I'm glad you said it. I've wanted to start bioactive for my enclosures but it just sends line a lot of work, for a product that doesn't seem to meet my tarantulas needs.