u/Mr_Frost1993

The silicone fumes are just about gone, so Cyrus should be able to get back into his home tomorrow when I get home from work (the pool module itself is very well-ventilated as well, but I’m leaving the door open for the next 20 hours at the time of typing this post text out.

I’ll make a less janky-looking version of the pool later, was sort of on a time crunch since I need to get this done before I’m out of town for two weeks. Anyone who has seen Cyrus’ posts before knows he can freely hunt in enclosure (he’s good at it, too), and the pool is just another thing meant to make things easier for his babysitter. I’ll do one last beetle cull before I leave town to keep from having too many adult Darkling Beetles running around, but… yeah, I’m otherwise done. This enclosure was always meant to require minimal maintenance, but I hope to one day make his 380-415 gallon forever home even better than this one since I know what does/doesn’t work.

It’s actually kind of cool to see Cyrus dig out mealworms to eat. Not this one, though, he somehow ended up around 5” above the bulk of the substrate (“The Sinkhole,” where the substrate depth can reach up to 8” deep in some parts)

I’ll add another batch of male Dubia Roaches to his enclosure when I finish building him his new pool, rather only worry about the three already in there than to focus on preventing a dozen more from escaping while I work.

Like many animals, Cyrus understands the concept of basic schedules. The only one I have to do manually is his water changes, and he WILL judge me if I’m late 😂

Also, wanted to include the mist system in this montage because there’s always someone who says they hate it… so enjoy the clip of him going out of his way to wait for it to go off before walking right out into it

This video shows his first time discovering the hole in the ground between the cash registers (one of which he uses as a pillow in the video) inside the Super Duper Mart that leads down into Subway West. He has since used it at least three times that I’ve noticed.

Other than this, the only other access point he uses regularly is the stairwell inside the Hospital. I wonder how long before he discovers that the Monorail is itself a big tunnel with three different entry/exit points 🤔

Little dude likes to make himself comfortable during naps

Yesterday showed how aggressive my cleanup crew (Darkling Beetles, Buffalo Beetles, Porcellio scaber, and Porcellio dilatatus) can be, this post shows more of how many critters will come up from the substrate’s depths to feed. The two minnows were reduced to skeletons in a few hours, and at the time of this video being recorded they were mostly focused on what remains of Josh’s Frogs’ cleanup crew treats

I know this sub gets a few people each week curious about going bioactive and how a cleanup crew functions, so this is what it can look like

I love these guys, they make gecko poop disappear within a couple hours, but take care when you use them since they can be pretty voracious. These beetles (and their larvae, the lesser mealworm) straight up mobbed and devoured a dubia mid-molt.

If you’re going to use them, make sure you supplement them with calcium (I use the calcium flakes that I give to my aquarium shrimp) and protein (I toss in a couple of my cat’s freeze-dried minnow treats, which will be reduced to skeletons by the following morning)

These same rules apply for other cleanup crew species, including the other three that I use in my leopard gecko’s enclosure (darkling beetles/mealworms, Porcellio scaber isopods, and Porcellio dilatatus isopods)

After five weeks of ignoring mealworms, Cyrus finally decided to eat when he spotted a lone dubia roach in his humid hide. Actually impressed by how fast he caught it, legit made a pounce from 11” away and got it on the first try!

I know it’s an occasionally contentious issue online, but this one is for the folks that say they are “bad” climbers.

Not saying it’s always done in a safe manner, that, of course, will always be up to your discretion as its keeper, I just like to point out that they’re indeed capable if given the opportunity. These branches in my enclosure are at a slant, but I do have footage of him doing fully vertical climbs as well (and rather rapidly, at that)

I’m drafting this post just under an hour after recording the last segment of this video, and he’s still staring at me.

Whenever he sees me, he tries to get as close as possible. Considering he’s readily clambered onto my hand even on my first attempt to handle him, I think he wants to hang out, but I’m not going to risk him being out in the open with my cat around (the enclosure is built like a tank for a reason, and the top is 7ft off the ground to make certain she has no way to get in)

I know this sub is a bit split on this project over the past year, but folks over at r/HerpHomes have confirmed via comments and DMs that they want me to compile a long video of his first 48-72 hours in his new enclosure via the 27 cameras in there, so if the folks here want the same then I’ll post the YouTube link on here as well (otherwise, those that do want it can just follow the other sub and hang tight while I go through the camera files, compile, edit, and upload said video)

In the meantime, here’s a quick video to showcase the sense of scale, since I’ve come to notice where his preferred daytime sleep area is (luckily for me, it’s right in front of one of the access ports I’ve showcase before, so he’s easily accessible if I ever need to collect him for emergencies)

So the gecko has finally moved into that 260 gallon Fallout enclosure I’ve been working on. It’s been around 2 ½ days, and he’s pretty much just been on a mission to explore everywhere, and it seems there’s a few places he hasn’t discovered yet.

Might take a while to put together (since I’d have to track all the movements and then deal with editing the clips), but would you guys be interested in me making a video of his first 48 hours or so? With the exception of his sleep time, he’s been pretty active so there’d be enough footage for maybe a 2-3 hour video once I trim the fat and post on YouTube. Idk, if there’s demand for it, I’ll start working on it

Idk about the rest of the country, but those in the Midwest, at least around Chicago, know it’s gross out right now. That excess humidity and heat made its way into the enclosure, and within 20 seconds of me remotely raising the fan speed this guy scampered out from the bottom of the enclosure (the coolest area until now) and climbed all the way up to be directly below the fan, and he’s been sitting there for the past 20 minutes or so, just occasionally repositioning his body.

Good to know he isn’t dumb, he’s proven capable of climbing and descending the entire enclosure without issue since moving in, and he seems to be picking places to hunker down as his needs change throughout the day. He’s already also figured out the rain schedule. I just need him to be more keen on drinking from his main gravity fountain

Only ever seen them yawn head-on, never saw how it looks from the side. Probably should’ve named him Imhotep lol

Slapped a 50w fan up there alongside some smaller fans to dehumidify the enclosure

Almost ready for the gecko to move into his enclosure, here’s a little showcase of where the build is at. All that’s left is for the two billboards at the end of the video to finish curing, then siliconing them into place at an angle since they double as planters for wheatgrass to feed the grasshoppers. Once the silicone odor goes away, I can finally move this little guy in

Not sure what flair this would fall under, so we’ll just consider it “Enclosure Help”

I’m moving the gecko into his new enclosure next week Friday after work, but the room his current temp enclosure is in will be unfortunately taken while we house a family temporarily, and their kid, who I don’t trust, is being put in that room. I also can’t simply carry that enclosure upstairs, since I’m recovering from a major patellar dislocation and stairs are hard enough without hauling a 33 gallon Exo Terra enclosure full of substrate up a flight of stairs, especially with no surfaces upstairs big or sturdy enough to hold its weight. I did buy a cheap 10 gallon polycarbonate tote to hold him until the last bits or curing are done in his new home (for anyone concerned about his 33 gallon temp enclosure, the one he’s moving into is 260 gallons)

I’ve never had to set up what is essentially a quarantine enclosure, so this post is just requesting advice on that. I’d prefer not to spend more money on something I won’t need beyond two weeks, so any advice on using paper towel as a “substrate” for now is appreciated. Also, since his UV lamps’ mounts are hardwired onto their respective enclosures, is it worth the splurge for calcium with D3 or do you think he can tough out 9 days without it? Heat isn’t a concern, it’s going to be plenty toasty these next couple weeks to the point where I’ll have to figure out a cooling solution for night time.

Gecko Tax included.

Pretty much as the title says, I went to the Elegoo slicer to start setting up a print since by my count there was 5 hours left on the current one, and it said my printer was offline.

So I went downstairs, and sure enough it’s just dead. No fans, no light, the only thing signifying it’s receiving some sort degree of power is that the power switch itself is still glowing red. Switching it off and waiting an hour didn’t do anything, although it’s still at least illuminated when flipped to the “on” position.

I’m trying to upload the video used on this post, but the website keeps freezing on me, so in the meantime I’m hoping someone has any suggestions? I’ve had it for just over a year from the Batch 5 preorders, haven’t had an issue until now.

Despite sealing it half a dozen times by now, water still finds a way to somehow seep out of the enclosure. So… I’m giving that up.

The aquarium is staying, it’s still doing its job feeding ambient humidity into the tunnels and humid hide, but I’ve been prototyping a gravity-fed water dish using a 32oz mason jar. Plus it rains for 10 seconds every day at 12:05pm, so the new reservoirs I’ll be placing around the enclosure will having water in them for the hour or two before it all evaporates and gets whisked out of the enclosure by the fans.

For now, Subway East is being remodeled to provide a little extra space in the tunnels now that the big water feature is out of the way, I’ll still put a small dish where it used to be so the springtails can still have their little pool parties.

Gecko is still on track to move in this holiday weekend. Also there’s now 24 cameras wired into the enclosure, but I have ideas for placement on two or three more. We’ll see