my custom gtp enclosure

[James_Scott]

I would love to see a thread to show people how to deal with problems they encounter. It is common with FAQ's in aquarium forums, but there is a wealth of knowledge on this site that could be used more tactfully and seen as advice and not criticism for all of us. I liked Pythoninfinite's suggestion of increasing the aquatic plant life to assist in breaking down fecal matter and to begin the first stage of waste to fertiliser conversion. The advice on cleaning canister bio material was also extremely important. For anybody wanting to attempt this kind of setup, I say go for it, but remember what Jamie and others have said. This kind of setup requires constant checking on the health of the animals and quality of water. Long term it may require a thorough scrub and clean with antibacterial chemicals. Personally I think the effort is worth it. I am an avid believer in reducing the number of reptiles we keep so we can put more time into their husbandry needs. I hate seeing a beautiful snake on newspaper. I still have a number of snakes on newspaper which I am slowly either moving on or converting.

 

[James_Scott]

I would like some answers for people new to this kind of setup. 1. How can I check the quality of water? 2. How fast should the water flow be in the tank and how can I control it? 3. What kind of aquatic plants work best to clean the water? 4. Do I need special lighting for aquatic plants? 5. How often should I change the water? 6. Do I need to change the soil substrate and if so how often?

 

[Pythoninfinite]

I would love to see a thread to show people how to deal with problems they encounter. It is common with FAQ's in aquarium forums, but there is a wealth of knowledge on this site that could be used more tactfully and seen as advice and not criticism for all of us. I liked Pythoninfinite's suggestion of increasing the aquatic plant life to assist in breaking down fecal matter and to begin the first stage of waste to fertiliser conversion. The advice on cleaning canister bio material was also extremely important. For anybody wanting to attempt this kind of setup, I say go for it, but remember what Jamie and others have said. This kind of setup requires constant checking on the health of the animals and quality of water. Long term it may require a thorough scrub and clean with antibacterial chemicals. Personally I think the effort is worth it. I am an avid believer in reducing the number of reptiles we keep so we can put more time into their husbandry needs. I hate seeing a beautiful snake on newspaper. I still have a number of snakes on newspaper which I am slowly either moving on or converting.

I wholeheartedly agree with you Scott in every point you make. My desire to jump in on these threads is because everyone except the oldies just LOVE the look but are unaware of the drawbacks, and if it leads to a real discussion about the practicalities, then we might all learn something new. I love the idea of these things in naturalistic habitats, but the notion that Chondos need to be saturated with water most of the time is just wrong. A tank like that, with heated water in the bottom, relatively limited ventilation, and misters operating from the top will probably kill almost every living thing put in it, except for fungi & mould. The photos showed it to be extremely wet, the vegetation was saturated, and I can see little chance of this improving in a relatively closed environment. It won't take long for the plants to start yellowing and going to sludge if they can't remain dry most of the time. Ventilation is critical, and to be honest, I can't see how you can have good ventilation in a tank like this without losing needed heat.

Jamie

 

[Pythoninfinite]

I would like some answers for people new to this kind of setup. 1. How can I check the quality of water? 2. How fast should the water flow be in the tank and how can I control it? 3. What kind of aquatic plants work best to clean the water? 4. Do I need special lighting for aquatic plants? 5. How often should I change the water? 6. Do I need to change the soil substrate and if so how often?

I'm already a couple of hours later than I should be for doing some brushcutting on my neighbour's property... I'll get back to it in the weekend. I have done a few of these things in the past, some successful, some not so...

Jamie

 

[James_Scott]

Many people who keep dart frogs in Europe deal with the problem of ventilation by installing small computer fans that draw air from the top and blow it out near the base of the substrate. This helps to dry the substrate without the fear of a draft for the snake. You will need to install a container for the fan with wire mesh at both ends.

 

[James_Scott]

To keep the aesthetics going you could mount it in a vertical hollow log.

 

[James_Scott]

I can give a few more pointers for people wanting to start one of these. The plants to use on land for the most part don't need to be planted in the soil if you use the following. Orchids, Bromeliads, air plants and many species of hoya. These simply can be tied to a log or pinned on the wall of the enclosure depending how you are set up. As for lighting most plants require 4000 - 5000 lumens to thrive in an indoor environment. Bromeliads don't mind lower light levels.

 

[Waterrat]

Nobody seemed to mention or consider the FACT that GTPs often descend to the ground and they sometimes rest on the ground for days. Someone mentioned they like to go for swim - GTPs don't swim unless they have to. The stringy bark on the branches will be damp and possibly cause discomfort if not worse to the snake, They always prefer smooth branches to rest on. Knowing little bit about the animal's ecology helps a long way but it's apparently not fashionable amongst pet owners. My 2 bob worth.

 

[Pythoninfinite]

One of the best all-rounders is Devil's Ivy or Pothos, happy to grow in soil or doesn't mind having its roots in water. Easy to grow from cuttings and is either straight green or variegated. Syngoniums are good too. Heaps of stuff on the web about lighting for indoor plants - seems that normal daylight flouros are as good as almost anything for most applications.

CptLici, 4 PMs in an hour is enough I think, if you want to discuss anything pertinent to this thread (and to date your PMs don't indicate that) please do it here on the open forum. Thanks matey.

Jamie

J

 

[James_Scott]

Nobody seemed to mention or consider the FACT that GTPs often descend to the ground and they sometimes rest on the ground for days. Someone mentioned they like to go for swim - GTPs don't swim unless they have to. The stringy bark on the branches will be damp and possibly cause discomfort if not worse to the snake, They always prefer smooth branches to rest on. Knowing little bit about the animal's ecology helps a long way but it's apparently not fashionable amongst pet owners. My 2 bob worth.

This is where I think a dedicated discussion board would be good for this subject. We could have suggestions on how to set up a vivarium to suit the needs of that particular species. The better suited environment for the species the less problems we will encounter. Waterrat is probably the most knowledgeable on this forum when it comes to GTP's so I would be very interested to hear how you would set up a vivarium for a GTP. Please keep in mind most of us don't have the room or the tropical environment for outdoor aviaries.

 

[Waterrat]

James, I don't have vivariums, I keep everything outdoors except for gravid females and hatchlings. So, I can't really help there. We tried keeping GTP over water at the zoo and it was a disaster. One thing though, re- humidity and wet substrates: I use sphagnum moss for substrate in juvenile enclosures and I only water it when it's completely dry, i.e. about once a week. As Jamie said, the wet / dry cycle is important.

 

[James_Scott]

This is an issue I have with Vivariums that use egg crate for a false bottom. The traditional method is to wrap flywire around it to stop soil from falling into the water. The problem with this is that the water evaporates and enters the substrate from the bottom. This works its way to the top of the substrate and the entire floor is moist. Not enough to grow moss, but not great conditions to keep herps. I am testing a new method of putting the false floor on an angle where it is higher at the back and lower at the front. I will also place less permeable material over the egg crate that will still allow drainage but have less issues with evaporation. I use orchid mix, a small amount of sand and leaf litter as a substrate. Keep in mind a substrate for one species may not be suitable for another.

 

[Flaviruthless]

I currently have pothos, syngoniums, bromeliads, palms, calatheas, fittonia, tradescantias and diffenbachias growing in my GTP tanks, using nothing more than a $5 fluoro from Bunnings. I think with planted tanks it is better if you can let the tank cycle for a while prior to adding any animals (I let mine run for close to two months) as this will reduce the likelihood of having mould and fungal explosions (it's pretty dramatic!) and gives you more of a feel for the plants before it gets too complicated. It also lets the plants establish themselves before they get trashed.

 

[Pythoninfinite]

Yes, I was looking the other day at sites offering advice for cheap effective lighting for indoor plants, and the good old daylight fluoro comes up pretty well, unless you want the very expensive (to buy and run) vapour lamp option...

Jamie

 

[James_Scott]

I use led flood lights. In singular form and batons.

 

[herp.derp]

I wholeheartedly agree with you Scott in every point you make. My desire to jump in on these threads is because everyone except the oldies just LOVE the look but are unaware of the drawbacks, and if it leads to a real discussion about the practicalities, then we might all learn something new. I love the idea of these things in naturalistic habitats, but the notion that Chondos need to be saturated with water most of the time is just wrong. A tank like that, with heated water in the bottom, relatively limited ventilation, and misters operating from the top will probably kill almost every living thing put in it, except for fungi & mould. The photos showed it to be extremely wet, the vegetation was saturated, and I can see little chance of this improving in a relatively closed environment. It won't take long for the plants to start yellowing and going to sludge if they can't remain dry most of the time. Ventilation is critical, and to be honest, I can't see how you can have good ventilation in a tank like this without losing needed heat.

Jamie

the roof is covered by wire mesh, and the wooden top piece does not have a top to it, allowing air to flow freely
the plants are from an area where they would remain wet for their entire lives, so the moisture wont be a problem
i should state, i am no expert on aquascaping, so i may not have all the answers to your questions and issues, but i can assure you that the guy who made the enclosure is an expert in the field, having done so for about 10 years, i fully trust his knowledge and judgement
he has similar setups in his shop in carnegie which are also misted regularly and wet all day. they are thriving and have been for years now

i really must stress that this isnt a situation like some of the current custom reptile enclosure builders, who are basically just cabinet makers, adrian has worked in this field for a very long time and really knows what hes doing

 

[BeZaKa]

I would like some answers for people new to this kind of setup. 1. How can I check the quality of water? 2. How fast should the water flow be in the tank and how can I control it? 3. What kind of aquatic plants work best to clean the water? 4. Do I need special lighting for aquatic plants? 5. How often should I change the water? 6. Do I need to change the soil substrate and if so how often?

The info pertaining to water quality/flow etc Im happy to help out with feel free to PM me for details if you so wish. I can recommend easy and cost effective ways to monitor and maintain water quality. My experience comes from 20 odd years with tropical fish breeding etc.

 

[Cypher69]

The info pertaining to water quality/flow etc Im happy to help out with feel free to PM me for details if you so wish. I can recommend easy and cost effective ways to monitor and maintain water quality. My experience comes from 20 odd years with tropical fish breeding etc.

I'm just wondering about those UV filter systems (mainly used for ponds)....would this be a beneficial addition to the current canister filter OR would it also kill off the "good bacteria" in the water?

 

[James_Scott]

The info pertaining to water quality/flow etc Im happy to help out with feel free to PM me for details if you so wish. I can recommend easy and cost effective ways to monitor and maintain water quality. My experience comes from 20 odd years with tropical fish breeding etc.

Thanks BeZaKa, but I'm hoping somebody will post on the forum so the information is there for everybody to learn. Maybe we should start a new Vivarium how to thread so we are not hijacking this one.

 

[BeZaKa]

I'm just wondering about those UV filter systems (mainly used for ponds)....would this be a beneficial addition to the current canister filter OR would it also kill off the "good bacteria" in the water?

There are many diff forms of uv filters however the uv filtration will not kill off beneficial bacteria. Safe to use