Bio Active terrarium Love and Hate relationship!

I just got back to owning cute beautiful two 7-9 months old ball pythons :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:. Their home is a kit from The Biodude for ball python, It is a great kit. I don’t use bugs. Yet I created springtails (in moss maybe), my snakes are in own exo terra large low Terrariums and having Normal issues… with:

Temps Humidity Gnats not yet on mold :crazy_face:

1). Working on a small gnat issue. Any advise? FYI I have a cat so that hanging tape is out and chemicals too! Drying out is messing with humidity (working on as well). I have Plexi on screen tops.

2). Also any suggestions lol
(exo terra lid is the screen divided into fours) not sure why exo did that? It is not a solid screen tops, I wish exo terra made custom plexi tops??? !!!

3). Last thing lol (UTH) with thermostat the Dirt substrate, Thermostats Is at 92 I’m barely getting hot burrow hide (heat gun) 78- 80. I heard (90 -100) beside two store brought hides (cold and hot end!) I also made three hide dirt burrow one in cold side, middle and hot end (1 1/2 Inch thick of substrate dirt in hot end burrow (always making sure not close to the glass bottom!) Belly burns (NERD suggested) thermostat 98 -105 they did a video on the zoo med 600 thermostat FYI! Just wondering what you all are setting thermostat TEMP with …bio active setup with uth.

I hope this makes sense, early morning texting. It can be just a dangerous as drunk texting lol

What issues are you all having and how are you dealing with the good and the bad! How can I prevent issues, tricks of the trade!

Researching, I am finding there is NOT a lot of info on maintaining, dealing with issues or vague the bio active terrariums. A lot of videos of unboxing the bio kits and building them, but not maintaining?

Thank you all and please all stay safe!

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The gnats will go away as your vivarium becomes established. The population of springtails and pill bugs will need to be big enough to eat the fungus and other garbage that the tank will produce. It’s bio active, life is going to happen. You need the bugs.

You can cover part of the top up with plastic wrap and clear tape to help with humidity.

You can put the UTH on the side of the tank. Or get a CHE. Make sure you have either hooked up to a thermostat.

I quite enjoyed using some exo terra large lows for some young boas and balls a few years back. What I did was replace the top with a piece of glass I had cut, and then drilled some holes in it to mount radiant heat panels in the enclosures. If I had thought about it longer than 5 minutes I would have forgone the glass and just went with wood.

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@azjohn thanks so much for sharing the knowledge. Yup, gnats seem to be dwindling :+1:! Yeah have a feeling going to need the bugs. The bio dude states a product called bio shot and terra ferma, is like a replacement or be use with the bugs. One tank has a tiny tiny springtails and small colony.

Stay safe.