# Making a Vivarium



## hierodula (Apr 18, 2009)

So, I was thinking of building a vivarium. Any thoughts/tips on what I should put inside it. substrate, plants, types of mantids, and the rest of the stuff thanks. :lol:


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## tonyi (Apr 19, 2009)

If you want a tropical vivarium like the one I have, then there are a few important aspects to keep in mind.

First, drainage. Proper drainage is one of the most important factors. I recommend a layer of LECA/Hydroton at the bottom. Then you need some kind of filter barrier on top of that to preven the substrate from mixing with the Leca (since this leads to a smelly goo). I use two layers of fine-mesh insect net.

Second, substrate. A good substrate mix is usually comprised of coco chips or bark chips mixed with sphagnum moss or peat moss. Commercial low-cost orchid substrates without additives are a good choice if you don't need too much. Also keep in mind that you don't need much substrate, definitely not the kind of depth you find in a flower pot. In a viviarum, roots can spread sideways, which means that you only need as much depth as is necessary to stabilize your plants physically. With most plants you don't need much at all to achieve this.

Third, lighting. Aquarium light bulbs are usually a good choice. If you want lots of vegetation, you'll need lots of light. I can teach you how to measure light using an SLR camera if you want but in most cases that's not necessary. Just make sure you gets lots of light. In a high enclosure, you need to add a lot of extra light to cover those extra inches of height.

Fourth, plants. You can find most of the plants you need in places where they sell ordinary potted plants. Just remove all the soil from the roots before you plants them. I usually rinse the roots under running water. Suitable choices are, for example; Fittonias, Peperomias, Creeping fig (Ficus pumila), Pothos, etc. Watch out for plants that grow too large or develop very extensive root systems (i.e. the tree-like figs, Ficus benjamina and the rest).

There's so much more to say but I think that the best thing is to do some research of your own and mention what kind of size you're interested in and what kind of other stuff you have available (lighting, etc.).

If you want to read up before taking the plunge, there's more than enough good info on this forum; http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/parts-construction/. Check the "construction journal" threads for inspiration.


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## hierodula (Apr 19, 2009)

hey thanks. im planning to raise an H.Membranacea ooth, so I need a sub-tropical environment what plants do you suggest? I was thinking of using vines for the bottom and putting some sticks so the mantids could travel up and down and some small plants that that grow up and down. you think thats good or do I need more :huh:


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## tonyi (Apr 20, 2009)

> hey thanks. im planning to raise an H.Membranacea ooth, so I need a sub-tropical environment what plants do you suggest? I was thinking of using vines for the bottom and putting some sticks so the mantids could travel up and down and some small plants that that grow up and down. you think thats ggod or do I need more huh.gif


For ground cover, I recommend Peperomias. They're very easy and they cover a lot of space with only a few plants. The only downside is that they may cover too well, i.e. mantids and prey can hide underneath the big leaves. Sticks sound like a good idea. For a neat look, you might want to check aquarium stores, they usually have driftwood and cork. That's what I use, it looks a lot nicer and is more resistant to rot.


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## Omen414 (Apr 20, 2009)

I found this website if its of any help. Not sure what a Vivarium is but thats what came up when I googled it. Good luck!

http://home.comcast.net/~epollak/Viv2005/v...onstruction.htm


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## tonyi (Apr 21, 2009)

A vivarium is basically a terrarium designed as a habitat for some kind of animal. For vivariums with considerable water features, the term "aqua-terrarium" is not used much, the word "paludarium" would yield more hits. However, that said, I wouldn't recommend a paludarium for mantid keepers. There's always a risk that the mantis could fall into the water feature and drown or that its prey would succumb to that fate.

A step-by-step construction journal of how I built my vivarium can be found here. Keep in mind that the water feature in the construction journal was removed before I put my mantis in there.


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## hierodula (Apr 21, 2009)

Tony said:


> A vivarium is basically a terrarium designed as a habitat for some kind of animal. For vivariums with considerable water features, the term "aqua-terrarium" is not used much, the word "paludarium" would yield more hits. However, that said, I wouldn't recommend a paludarium for mantid keepers. There's always a risk that the mantis could fall into the water feature and drown or that its prey would succumb to that fate. A step-by-step construction journal of how I built my vivarium can be found here. Keep in mind that the water feature in the construction journal was removed before I put my mantis in there.


thanks for everything  ill definitely will keep this in mind when I build my vivarium.


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## PhilinYuma (Apr 21, 2009)

hierodula said:


> thanks for everything  ill definitely will keep this in mind when I build my vivarium.


I have just ordered an inexpensive kit for converting an 10 gallon aquarium placed vertically, into a vivarium. If it works out well (or if not!) I shall post the results next week.


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## hierodula (Apr 21, 2009)

PhilinYuma said:


> I have just ordered an inexpensive kit for converting an 10 gallon aquarium placed vertically, into a vivarium. If it works out well (or if not!) I shall post the results next week.


thanks Phil


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## hierodula (Apr 21, 2009)

unfortunately when I try to post my document, this computer doesnt allow it :angry: ah whell the dimensions for my viv are 2' long, 1'tall, and 1' wide. is that too big for a about 150 nymphs?


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## tonyi (Apr 22, 2009)

> unfortunately when I try to post my document, this computer doesnt allow it angry.gif ah whell the dimensions for my viv are 2' long, 1'tall, and 1' wide. is that too big for a about 150 nymphs?


Personally, I can picture a few pros and cons with having so many nymphs in a vivarium setup. If you get a nice ecological balance in the vivarium and get springtails and other invertebrates to establish, then you'll have a lot of food for the nymphs. However, the predation is likely too much for the populations to bear, so I think you'll have to keep introducing springtails. Fewer nymphs might be able to live off those populations without destroying them. Second, in a planted vivarium, all those nymphs will produce a lot of debris. Droppings are no problem, they'll only feed the plants. The feeder insect remains and the remains of dead nymphs will however become a problem. In my experience, insect remains do not break down easily in a vivarium (unlike many other types of organic matter). Thus, you would need to remove the debris regularly, which can be quite difficult. Planted vivariums usually do not provide easy access to all parts of the surface area, especially when you have a lot of creatures that might escape.

So, if I were you, I'd probably consider rearing the nymphs in a traditional manner until their number is considerably less, then try the vivarium approach. I think that rearing a dozen or so nymphs in a vivarium could be quite interesting and far more manageable.


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## hierodula (Apr 26, 2009)

Tony said:


> Personally, I can picture a few pros and cons with having so many nymphs in a vivarium setup. If you get a nice ecological balance in the vivarium and get springtails and other invertebrates to establish, then you'll have a lot of food for the nymphs. However, the predation is likely too much for the populations to bear, so I think you'll have to keep introducing springtails. Fewer nymphs might be able to live off those populations without destroying them. Second, in a planted vivarium, all those nymphs will produce a lot of debris. Droppings are no problem, they'll only feed the plants. The feeder insect remains and the remains of dead nymphs will however become a problem. In my experience, insect remains do not break down easily in a vivarium (unlike many other types of organic matter). Thus, you would need to remove the debris regularly, which can be quite difficult. Planted vivariums usually do not provide easy access to all parts of the surface area, especially when you have a lot of creatures that might escape. So, if I were you, I'd probably consider rearing the nymphs in a traditional manner until their number is considerably less, then try the vivarium approach. I think that rearing a dozen or so nymphs in a vivarium could be quite interesting and far more manageable.


maybe i should seperate them and when there is about 15-20 nymphs I should then introduce them into the vivarium. and it will probably be more interesting


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## nasty bugger (May 10, 2009)

I'm planning, and have the materials for a vivarium similar to Tony's description, but the main difference is the plan I got, from a frog breeder, and mine is for frogs, has a space on the bottom.

The waffle type grid like you see between some ceiling lights and the room below, Has stand offs, and is used to hold the leca out of the bottom space where water from misting will accumulate. Mesh is put on this, the leca, then some put anther layer of mesh, and then sphagnum moss or whatever substrate you use.

A pipe with slots in the bottom part of it, that can be and is kept capped so critters don't get in it, is put in a corner throught a space in the waffle grid and before the substrate is addedaround this pipe. This pipe is for syphoning off water after it accumulates enough in the bottom space to draw out, thereby keeping things fresher and avoiding bacterial build up, hopefully.

The rest is similar to Tony's. leca, then mesh that I got at a Michaels craft store, to keep the sphagnum moss, that goes on top of the mesh, from getting into the leca.

I'll plant in the sphagnum and put java moss on some driftwood and such.

The tank I saw has 'pillow moss' in it, and I'll be adding some of that when I do the job.

Mine will have slabs of slate that I found while hiking, and some gravel in some places in the viv that come from local rock that has the color I want in the tank. The slabs will provide hideouts and possibly a waterfall surface.

WARNING: If you cook/bake you components to rid unwanted critters, they can flash up to fire if conditions are conducive. Watch it.

I soak my stone and wood for a couple hours, and just for overkill I put them in the oven at 300 degrees to cook anything left alive. Some say 20 minutes, some say 45 minutes.

I just did it while I was on the computer there, till I smelled it starting to burn the house down...  not really, but you will want to watch out if you heat the stuff.

As one person wrote, some items have a flash point that differs from others. You may want to look into flash points, or just watch the stuff if you cook it.

I think oven heating is much better than microwave heating. The microwave heats way fast, and my wood charred a bit in the microwave.

My book says to watch for plants that will push the lid off the viv, or crack the glass if the plants are too strong.

The rate of growth is another factor, but that comes with experience I guess.

Hot lights may overheat the viv interior, so keep em cool.

I was told, after buying a commercial waterfall for the viv, that the commercial waterfalls have spots that bacteria will accumulate and are difficult to clean, and that a pump that just raises water over real rocks is actually healthier, as you can remove rocks and clean them if they get dirty, or change them.

I'm thinking a pump in the open space under the waffle grid will recirculate that water, till it's changed.

In a dry climate like AZ we have misters people mount on the eaves of the patios that cool the area down some. Because we arent already saturated with humidity it cools down. We have these available and one of the tubes with a single fine mist head can be put on a timer to humidify the viv.

I've seen really fine foggers, but they say you have to install them so your particular fauna, i guess insects are considered fauna, (?) can't get into where the piezo device actually is, or they could be seriously injured.

As Tony said, the driftwood is cool, and corkbark backgrounds. I've seen aquariums that had aquarium silicon on the back glass, and had peat moss and other stuff, sticks half bamboo for water flumes, and other stuff stuck to the aquarium silicon to make it look more dense or jungle like. I haven't decided on my background yet.

I've found some fairly inexpensive cork background, so that may be what I use, and then I may just use local rock, but that would be way heavier.

I found leca available at hydroponics stores or at a local frog breeder at a reptile show.


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## PhilinYuma (May 10, 2009)

hierodula said:


> thanks Phil


The kit arrived safely. Looks good! All ! need to do now is assemble it! More in a few days!


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## tonyi (May 11, 2009)

nasty bugger said:


> I'm planning, and have the materials for a vivarium similar to Tony's description, but the main difference is the plan I got, from a frog breeder, and mine is for frogs, has a space on the bottom.


I had a false bottom, as it is called, in my previous vivarium. Make sure that 1. it can take quite a bit of extra weight, just in case and 2. that it cannot be shifted after you've installed it and 3. that the barrier between the substrate and the false bottom is stable and not biodegradable.

I had some trouble with my old false bottom design since it tended to droop after a while while the barrier was being broken down by bacteria and turned into a slimy goo. After a while, the substrate started to make contact with the water and then wicked water up, turning the whole viv into a swamp. After that I started to use Leca since it's easier and cannot break.



nasty bugger said:


> The rate of growth is another factor, but that comes with experience I guess.


My advice is that you only get plants that won't get too high. I've had a Ficus in my previous viv. It didn't look too good when it grew too big since I had to prune it all the time. Removing it was impossible until I decided to tear the whole viv down since it had rooted itself all over the place (and Ficus roots are strong!) and attached itself to the false bottom.



nasty bugger said:


> I was told, after buying a commercial waterfall for the viv, that the commercial waterfalls have spots that bacteria will accumulate and are difficult to clean, and that a pump that just raises water over real rocks is actually healthier, as you can remove rocks and clean them if they get dirty, or change them. I'm thinking a pump in the open space under the waffle grid will recirculate that water, till it's changed.


Make sure you have easy access to the pump, it will require maintenance. I thought I had easy access to the pump in my previous viv but then I found that I had to move some of the decoration to get to it. Moving large chunks of the decoration is not a good idea since it may injure the animals.



nasty bugger said:


> I've seen really fine foggers, but they say you have to install them so your particular fauna, i guess insects are considered fauna, (?) can't get into where the piezo device actually is, or they could be seriously injured.


The insect fauna may wreck the device by getting into it so even if you don't care much about the critters themselves, they have to be kept out. I know a lot of people who hook up their foggers to hoses and keep the foggers outside of the viv. This seems like the best solution to me.



nasty bugger said:


> I've found some fairly inexpensive cork background, so that may be what I use, and then I may just use local rock, but that would be way heavier.


Rocks are not only heavy, they also drastically increase the risks. When working with rocks, it's way easier to damage the viv by dropping them or getting too close to the glass. Cork would be my choice if I were you. It also has the advantage of being suitable for mounting orchids if you want to add that later.


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## [email protected] (May 11, 2009)

A thought that could work is a style of Bonsai called group planting, where you can make a slab out of clay or slate or even cork, and then plant it that way you could trim it, that is if you would want a tree in it.

Also there was viv for arboreal boa in reptile mag from june, it talks about light, size, substrate, also foggers, water, and plants, and then maintenance.

Danny


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