u/Z3fyre

hi everyone! i'm coming over from the crested gecko sub about preparing to upgrade my boy's tank and setup, figured i'd throw the post here as well for more advice. the actual tank arrived yesterday and i'm looking to start setting it up through the week/next weekend. i've never done a bioactive setup before, so i'd love any advice people have. in particular if anyone has advice on if i need to let the setup "settle" with its plants and cleanup crew, or how to keep feeder insects like crickets, that would be very helpful!

additionally i'm gonna put my materials list below so if people have recommendations or i'm missing something obvious please let me know!

HAVE

big tank
terrafauna, hydrogrow, sphagnum moss, leaf litter, bioshot (from TheBioDude)
nightstand that is being turned into a tank stand
ceramic heat emitter + dome w dimmer (will prob need to get a stronger one for the bigger tank)
UVA bulb + dome
feeder/water ledge
misting bottles
various not-alive decorations (coconut w ladder, vines, bendable branch thing, small hollow log, hammock net thing)

GETTING DURING ACTIVE SETUP

live plants - will be getting from reptile supply shops near me, and if those are out there are stores like home depot with safe plants that i will thoroughly wash its planting soil off of and replant in the tank (IF THIS CAN BE DANGEROUS/TOXIC TO THE LIZARD PLEASE LET ME KNOW)
springtails and isopods for cleanup crew (from either reptile supply shop or petsmart/petco near me)

PLANNING TO BUY

UVA+UVB bulb (when i first got my gecko i got advice from some people who said they had issues with uvb burning their lizards in the past, but based on what i've seen on this sub and other care guides i feel confident in my ability to manage it and notice if it does cause problems for my guy).
hook/hanger stand for light and heat bulbs
cork/other material backboard maybe? is this a thing people do? would love to give him something other than a blank wall behind glass to look at

Hi everyone! I've been lurking around the sub for a bit but this is my first time posting. I've had my crestie since early October 2025, and am getting ready to upgrade his tank in the very near future. I'll probably be making a separate post going over my buy list/plans and asking for suggestions, but apart from that it's also about time for me to get more food for him. The store I got him from recommended the Pangea complete diet with insects, and he.....hated it. Didn't realize it at first, was just worried that he didn't seem to be gaining weight, so I bought their growth and breeding formula and immediately noticed a difference, as in I could actually visibly tell he had been eating from the cups. He's much bigger now, and is not accepting my attempts to mix the with insects powder in with the growth and breeding.

I've been seeing ads for Blue River Diets mixes recently, and they seem to have some sort of relationship with Zen Habitats. I'm just unsure how they rank in terms of actually providing the right nutrients for cresties, so if anyone has info or advice on that I'd love to hear it. Additionally, if people have flavor recommendations from any brand please let me know!

Bioactive tank list

Blue River Diets/food flavor reccs