The Biorama Vivarium Concept & Nano Biotope Builds for Madagascan Day Geckos
by Jay Vannini
Young male blue-tailed day gecko (Phelsuma cepediana) basking on a liana in a newly assembled Mauritian plantation edge biotope build. Leaves of an epiphytic Mauritian orchid (Angraecum sp.) shown left. Author’s animal and image.
As is mentioned in the introduction to this website, there is a real and very interesting nexus between the rare plant collecting community, advanced aquarists and those who keep and breed reptiles and amphibia, now known as herpetoculturists. While some will quibble which camp drove interest to the other, my personal observations of all three fields dating from the early 1970s, together with research of the available literature clearly shows that it was demand by small animal keepers that were interested in a wider selection of live décor for their vivaria and aquaria that really sparked the contemporary wave of interest in rare plants suited to their needs.
Regardless of the initial catalysts, it is safe to say that there are now many rare plant collectors whose interests have crossed over to include herpetoculture and advanced aquaculture–usually in the form of pet poison dart frogs and tropical reef invertebrates–over the past two decades.
Immature female orchid mantis (Hymenopus coronatus) in ambush pose on a sympatric melastome, Pachycentria glauca, in one of my densely planted SE Asian rainforest biotope vivaria. Quite apart from their beauty, some female orchid mantis possess learning abilities and behaviors that will change your views on insect intelligence if you interact with them as captives. Author’s animal and image.
My upstairs study in California has had a pair of 18”x18”x24”/45x45x60 cm all glass, temperature and humidity-controlled enclosures in it for the past eight years plus. During that time these have served multiple roles as mist chambers to establish seedlings of rare cloud forest palms (so functioning as Wardian Cases or “terraria” in the strict sense), breeding Asian orchid mantis (Hymenopus coronatus) and housing a small assortment of Central American treefrogs (Phyllomedusidae) in densely planted vivaria. Their sturdiness, design features and functionality are a tribute to the generally high quality of modern tank manufacture, misting systems, lighting arrays, timers and heating equipment. Other than weekly cleaning, irrigation reservoir top ups, feeding and occasional changes of light bulbs, the maintenance of these tanks has been surprisingly stress-free.
After moving the last of my miniature palms and other assorted delicate seedling plants to the greenhouse in November 2020, I decided that it was finally time to refresh the look of these tanks. I was initially reluctant to house live reptiles or (new) amphibians in them because of their relatively small usable volume following substrate fill, which is ~30 gl/115 lt. After evaluating their suitability to house pairs of interesting small tropical reptile species, specifically the Sri Lankan pygmy lizard (Cophotis ceylanica), satanic leaf-tailed geckos (Uroplatus phantasticus), William’s blue geckos (Lygodactylus williamsi) and some of the smaller day geckos (Phelsuma species), I opted for the latter mainly due to suitable mature size, relative ease of care, and better tolerance to abrupt background temperature fluctuations that typically occur throughout the year in a coastal northern California home.
Details of the species’ selection process and the design criteria for both builds are discussed below.
Color plate from the second edition (1926) of Dr. Paul Krefft’s exhaustive “Das Terrarium”. Krefft pioneered the biotope vivarium concept and his books have chapters on tropical foliage plants suitable for exotic herp enclosures. Surprisingly, some of his very well-designed enclosures from the early 1900s and illustrated in both editions eclipse a few modern zoo displays I have seen recently. Author’s book and image.
I have often argued that the current wave of interest in rare tropical forest plants as collectors’ items can trace its way back to major improvements in European herpetoculture during the early 1990s. In particular, some Germans and Eastern Europeans appear to have led the movement to combine terraria housing poison frogs (Dendrobatidae and Mantellidae) with plant species that originated from similar regions in the Neotropics and Madagascar. Broadly speaking the term used by German aquarists and herpetoculturists to define the proper physical structure for these enclosures is Biotop gemäss or roughly a “Biotope equivalent”. An early advocate of heavily planted vivaria for tropical herpetofauna was Paul Krefft, who published the groundbreaking “Das Terrarium” in 1907. See footnote on image left. Many freshwater and tropical marine aquarists around the world have enthusiastically embraced locality specific biotope exhibits for their tanks, and some of these displays are outstanding.
See “Poison Frogs: Biology, Species & Captive Husbandry (Lötters et al., 2007) for a general overview of the advances in frog vivaria design and captive management made by some leading European herpetoculturists in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
This trend was picked up rather later in the U.S. and only began to gain real traction among hobbyists here during the past decade when online posts begin to show that some of the more innovative vivarium designers were incorporating a selection of region-specific ornamental plants for their displays. The demand that this created for miniature orchids, ferns, aroids, gesneriads, etc. provided the impetus for many suppliers of wild flora in tropical countries to increase the variety of their offerings to commercial nurseries and retail plant buyers in northern countries.
But in some ways, it was the living coral reef aquarists who trailblazed high tech solutions to create aesthetically pleasing, complex miniature tropical bioramas for the home and office. The most extreme examples of these are 10 to 24 gl/38 to 90 lt seamless nano tanks showcasing locality specific marine invertebrates. These usually display live corals and anemones from islands in the Indo Pacific but sometimes also house a small crustacean such as a banded coral shrimp (Stenopus hispidus) or other colorful reef shrimp species for added interest. Together, commercial ornamental mariculturists and tropical marine hobbyists have generated a wave of ground-breaking design, engineering and management innovations that have gone mainstream over the past 15 years. At this time they are, without a doubt, very much the sharp end of the spear when it comes to designing and implementing visionary wild animal husbandry techniques.
Domestically bred Clownfish (Amphiprion spp.) and a variety of LPS corals on display in a mixed nano reef tank in the U.S.. Private collector, author’s image.
While many terrestrial vertebrates require much larger spaces than these aquaria to thrive, it is still definitely worth one’s while to also make an effort to duplicate natural conditions for them. Sensorial enrichment of all types, including gentle fluctuations in air movement, light intensities and spectra as well as temperature gradients in the enclosure together with frequent changes in scents, tastes, visual stimuli, natural sound and so forth are all valuable elements to keep in mind when planning a cage.
Interior design as a discipline can be broadly defined as conceptualizing the development of a structure’s interior and the physical and visual improvement of this space that results in a “healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment” for those that use it. And while some interior decorators once believed that shag-carpeted bathrooms and mirrored closet doors fit that definition, I’m sure the rest of us all know what an “aesthetically pleasing environment” is when we see one.
The best display elements of cutting-edge wild animal husbandry should provide constant visual reminders that invertebrates and vertebrates alike are individual micro-components of diverse, fragile and complex ecosystems. Even the most naturalistic medium-sized vivaria are hardly perfect artificial habitats for small herptiles, yet much can be learned from their design and management that may be of value to both the hobby and conservation-oriented captive management projects further down the road.
Despite the widespread availability of terrarium and vivarium suitable plants hailing from across the world’s deserts, rain and cloud forests, a quick review of display enclosures shown online are remarkable for the banality of plants that have been utilized in the builds. Some well-regarded zoos and museums–rather surprisingly–seem to be particularly bad offenders in this regard.
Thankfully, the era of drab, one-size-fits-all, earth tone tinted Gunite-finished zoo enclosures are finally fading, although not fast enough for my taste. More thought is now given to hardscape and captive habitat design in zoos, natural history museums and public aquaria. Some very naturalistic renditions of tree trunks, anthills, fallen logs, cliff faces, etc. have been rendered by architects, engineers and private individuals, often with integrated painted backgrounds that project a full landscape diorama fading far into the background (e.g. the San Diego Zoo’s Reptile Walk). Unfortunately, even after spending an enormous amount of money and effort on finishing sexy visual anchors like artificial rainforest tree buttresses within the enclosures and state-of-the-art interactive signage without, their livescapes are frequently unimaginative, poorly installed, and often reveal very unhappy plants.
There are basically four styles of tropical vivarium design that employ live or artificial flora:
The ubiquitous “Who Cares?” approach that employs any plant cheap and handy no matter their appearance or suitability. Good examples of this include any plastic or synthetic plant, common species of Ficus, English ivy (Hedera helix), spider plants (Chlorophytum comosum), epipremnons, heartleaf philodendron (Philodendron hederaceum), random Sanseviera cultivars, crotons, generic selaginellas, seedling conifers, hybrid Neoregelia and Cryptanthus bromeliads, prickly pears (Opuntia), common aloes as well as other nondescript succulents, etc.
Displays that are notionally correct in that they at least incorporate plants native to the continent or island from which the animals originate. Examples might include use of central or south Mexican cacti in a Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum) enclosure or north Asian palm or screwpine species dominating as focal points in a Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis) exhibit.
Biorama type vivaria that are much closer to a natural aspect by use of plants native to the broad ecoregion or country the animals originate from. This is where the poison dart frog crowd has made the most noteworthy advances. Some examples include utilization of southern Colombian endemic plants for a Surinamese snake or Upper Orinoco drainage aquatic plants for turtles restricted to the Peruvian Amazon.
The much more challenging locality specific biorama or nano biotope type enclosure that exclusively employs small plants and other live décor (or naturalistic renditions of same) that are known to be broadly or closely sympatric with the animals kept. To my mind, these are the most interesting and rewarding vivarium builds of all and there appear to be very few examples shown online.
Arboreal frog keepers have the easiest task in terms of matching plant choices to the species they keep. Neotropical and southeast Asian tree and gliding frogs, together with the Madagascan and southern African reed frogs commonly kept in captivity are mostly fairly light in terms of weight so inflict minimal damage to foliage in general. There is a vast selection of cultivated plants available online that can be matched to their regional origins. Lizards and snakes can be somewhat more problematic in terms of plant selection when their size, sharp toe nails and weight come into play, with smaller arboreal lizards and molluscan, small frog and lizard-feeding arboreal snakes also being relatively easy to match with sympatric plant species. Aquatic/semiaquatic turtles, lizards and crocodylia housed in very large paludaria or spacious glass or wire mesh enclosures with water features permit the use of small trees, etc. and probably present the best opportunities to build knockout, high visual impact bioramas.
Presently, the highest diversity of readily available, noteworthy “rare” tropical plants at reasonable price points originates from:
The Neotropics, including parts of the American deserts, Andean country and Central American lowland tropical wet and dry forest ecosystems. Examples: Lightly armed cacti, agaves and yuccas, bromeliads, aroids, dwarf cyclanths, miniature orchid species, peperomias, marantas and goeppertias, dwarf palms, gesneriads, etc.
Southern Asia, especially Thai, Malaysian and Indonesian lowland wet forests. Examples: Epiphytic and lithophytic ferns, begonias, rheophytic plants, scandent ficus, nepenthes, aeschynanthus, jewel orchids, terrestrial aroids, ornamental primroses (Ardisia and Labisia species), hoyas and dischidias, medinillas, etc.
Madagascar and outlier islands, especially dry forests and northeast coastal wet forests. Examples: Angraecoid orchids, several large epiphytic ferns, medinillas, juvenile screwpines or pandans, dwarf aloes, dracaenas, Dypsis palms, etc.
Africa, especially East and West African wet forest and North and Horn of Africa/Arabian desert plants. Examples: Impatiens species, sansevieras, many ornamental dracaenas, terrestrial and epiphytic ferns, adeniums and cyphostemmas, dorstenias, euphorbias, aloes and haworthias, etc.
Australia and New Guinea are undoubtedly great origins for herps but don’t offer a great selection of readily available plants suitable for terraria other than some orchids, hoyas, ant rubiacs and screwpines.
Arboreal habitat of Sylvia’s leaf frog (Cruziohyla sylviae) as well as many other noteworthy frog species in lightly disturbed Caribbean slope lowland rainforest of central Panamá. Bromeliads shown flowering here are the very widespread and showy Guzmania musaica. Author’s image.
A Purist’s Vision – First Blood
My original attempt at a locality specific biorama vivarium (= nano biotope) was a 100 gl/378 lt enclosure that I set up in the summer of 2011 designed to house two pairs of young Sylvia’s leaf frogs, Cruziohyla sylviae (then considered to be conspecific with C. calcarifer). This beautiful and iconic frog species is distributed from the Caribbean lowland forests of extreme eastern Honduras through to the foothill forests in the Canal Zone of central Panamá, with an isolated record from the Darién near the Colombian border on the Pacific slope. Because these generally nocturnal frogs are often very active when awake and utilize the totality of their enclosure area when enclosure conditions are optimal, the vivarium was heavily planted with a wide variety of tall, showy plants native to Panamanian coastal and foothill rainforests. Plant size ranged from Philodendron verrucosum and a medium sized stained-glass palm (Geonoma epetiolata) down to leafy liverworts (Plagiochila sp.) and miniature orchids such as Masdevallia tonduzii, Pleurothallis allenii and Dichaea species. In addition, several miniature epiphytic/lithophytic ferns including Elaphoglossum peltatum, Trichomanes and Microgramma species were planted on cork branches. Illumination, misting, heating and ventilation systems were automated via precision timers and lighting included a combination of Giesemann T5s, UVB emitting fluorescent twists, LED light bars and heat emitting “moonlight” night vision bulbs. The end result was very satisfying, and all plants housed in the 36”/95 cm tall enclosure grew well and flowered regularly.
Image right shows the central Panamanian lowland rainforest biorama-type terrarium discussed here in late 2011 at initial stages of development and still looking a bit “empty”, shown several months after planting with early morning lighting on. Dimensions are 36”x18”x36”/92x45x92 cm. Larger plants shown include Geonoma epetiolata, Anthurium dressleri, A. amnicola, Maxillaria reichenheimiana, several Guzmania musaica, G. elvallense, Racinaea crispa and two Dichaea species. This enclosure aged remarkably well and was a very low maintenance and interesting decorative feature in my home for many years. Out of laziness I opted to use the hideous textured foam back panel provided by the tank’s manufacturer as a major design mistake I regretted almost instantly. However–since there is no accounting for taste–all of the frogs actually favored its slightly pebbled texture as a daytime high perch (see frog basking upper center). Most of the background was mercifully obscured shortly after this image was taken by plantings of climbing Philodendron verrucosum and Syngonium erythrophyllum as well as later colonization by mosses, filmy ferns and leafy liverworts. Rather than sculpted insulation foam or bark tiles, I would probably use a sturdy, dark colored and non-woven geotextile panel affixed to the rear panel the next time I do a large vivarium build to speed the “greening” and visual interest of the background.
Above, two adult Sylvia’s leaf frogs (Cruziohyla sylviae) from foothill rainforest of Limón Province, Costa Rica. Captive-reared male shown left during daytime perched on a flowering bromeliad (Guzmania musaica - see prior image of this plant in situ) in the author’s collection in California, and a wild frog shown right roaming around in nature after dark. Images: ©J. Vannini 2021 and ©F. Muller 2021.
Both the leaf frogs and most of the plants on my list are considered to be best suited for advanced keepers but all thrived for a number of years in this vivarium. While I chose not to rain chamber the frogs since I had no desire to rear tadpoles, I frequently observed pairs in lengthy amplexus when winter rains occurred in my area. All of the plant species flowered or spored over the course of the vivarium’s maintenance and the only loss suffered was a miniature orchid (Masdevallia tonduzii) that probably got stepped on by the larger female frogs one too many times. A major advantage inherent in selecting arboreal reptiles and amphibia for tall, densely planted tanks is that you are able to increase the effective surface area available to the animals for shelter, exploration, display and breeding by many multiples. This is especially true for “sticky-footed” species such as treefrogs and arboreal geckos that can utilize every surface in a screen-topped glass vivarium. The horizontal vivarium dioramas normally used for terrestrial herpetofauna, even when stacked rockwork and wood are used to provide cover and basking sites for their inhabitants, rarely provide more than 2X the tank floor’s advertised surface area.
Most of the plants shown in the image above ended up outgrowing the display after four years at which point they were simply swapped out for small replacements. Many orchid species that attain large sizes when mature are surprisingly suitable candidates for Wardian Case and vivaria cultivation when young and may even flower for several years before facing forced eviction.
Plant choice should be dictated by their suitability to vivarium culture, ability to handle animals clambering over and through them without suffering damage, growth rates, ultimate sizes and one’s wallet’s ability to handle potentially heavy expenditure for acquisition. Warning: I know many herpetoculturists incorporate spiny plants, especially cacti, euphorbias and some bromeliad genera, into their tanks with no apparent issues, but as a rule I don’t like the idea of forcing any soft skinned animals into constant contact with sharp objects–including spines and thorns–in small vivaria.
Obviously, the larger the enclosure the greater the plant palette available for permanent plantings. With taller vivaria having larger floor spaces (to >6’/1.90 m tall and 3’/95 cm wide and deep) becoming increasingly popular as decorative features in some northern country herpetoculturists’ homes, many robust understory plants and even sapling trees can be mixed to excellent effect. Besides the greater plant diversity available to the collector, these larger sized vivaria can grow many desirable species to full size.
Whatever the ecosystem you are trying to replicate, the animals should have sufficient space and enough ready refuge areas so as to prefer to retire INTO the biorama if they feel threatened when the enclosure is opened rather than be prompted to flee outside.
The Phelsuma Builds
Again, both tanks used in this project are 18”x18”x24”/45x45x60 cm with a free interior volume of approximately 30 gl/115 lt. Given my druthers and starting from scratch, I would have selected a 24”x18”/60x45 cm footprint that was taller by at least 12”/30 cm. For those interested in this option, there are at least two ready-made, brand name tanks with these dimensions available on the market. In my view the vivaria I had on hand, despite exceeding generally recommended cage space requirements for a mature pair of most day gecko species, need at least a tad more height. That observation aside, one of the huge advantages of this size tank is that it is still manageable to move around when empty by one reasonably strong person. This allowed me to tear the tanks down, carry them downstairs to hose them out, thoroughly disinfect them and air them out on the terrace in full sunshine for several days, then schlep them back upstairs again for a redesign and retrofit. As to the latter, the only changes made to the tanks themselves were to install under tank heat mats and to swap out the old stainless-steel mesh tops and pop in new replacements that I perforated for mist nozzle installation.
Both tanks had aged, generic bark panel backgrounds already installed that are visually quite neutral, so I just washed and disinfected them rather than bother changing these surfaces.
Two inch/5 cm LECA drainage layer used on the bottom of the vivaria with a plastic mesh substrate barrier on top. An inch/2.5 cm deep strata of fine conifer bark covered this, then was overlaid by differnt blends of leaf litter. Author’s image.
Having had success using LECA/Hydroton balls topped with black shade cloth as a foundation substrate in these vivarias’ previous incarnations, once I had polished the glass inside and out again to my satisfaction, I laid a 2” deep layer of well rinsed Hydroton, then dropped a ready-made substrate barrier that completely covered the tank floors (Fig. 1). Not being a fan of “muddy” substrates in any enclosure holding animals and to minimize the risk of the inhabitants accidently ingesting the substrate, for the second layer I chose medium grade, composted Monterey pine (Pinus radiata) bark of a well-know, high quality New Zealand brand. I thoroughly soaked and rinsed the bark for several days, followed by a 24-hour soak in Physan 20 (a quaternary ammonium disinfectant), then multiple tapwater flushes over the course of a week until the bark was odorless again.
Bioactive vivarium floors: These are more or less a standard practice these days for humid vivaria. Be very careful with isopod, burrowing cockroach and large cricket introductions if you are growing very small, rare plants that will suffer setbacks when subjected to new leaf and root tip predation by isopods and any type of voracious small arthropod. Isopods and crickets love to snack on prized plants! Always provide a more attractive food source to larger feeder insects to limit the risk that they are tempted to gnaw on a fifty-dollar (or more) orchid. Despite their popularity with many proponents of bioactive substrate management, I again emphasize that many commercially available tropical isopods have few qualms about feeding on live plant tissue and once introduced can be hard to completely eradicate if they become troublesome. Other temperate origin species will erode cork and decorative wood items in perhumid environments (hence the term “woodlice”). Springtails, other detritus feeders and spot cleanings are a much safer option if health and appearance of your plants are important to the success of the build.
An assortment of basking spots and differently textured perches are important design elements for cages of all arboreal herptiles, especially if kept in pairs or small groups where a dominant individual will usually “hog the limelight” so to speak. Even novice herptile keepers will have noticed that their wards favor certain spots within the enclosures that they provide. Again, a bit of research invested in the animals’ behaviors in nature and the ecosystems they inhabit in will usually provide excellent pointers as to best types of surfaces to offer them in captivity.
As is the case for tropical freshwater and marine aquaria, vivaria designed to house reptiles and amphibia need careful planning if mixed species exhibits are contemplated. Many herptiles become visibly distressed if forced into close proximity with other ostensibly harmless small animals that may occur with them in nature but can be perceived as threatening, or even real potential predators, when made to share the same bathroom. By and large, peaceful and small diurnal arboreal animals housed in vivaria that permit them a substantial height advantages within the enclosure over similarly sized innocuous and small nocturnal terrestrial companions are the best combination if peace and good health is to prevail. Watch for potential cannibalism or predation between species if breeding occurs.
Bamboo, Lianas and other Woody Decor
Although bamboo seems to be a popular decorative choice for day gecko enclosures in the U.S., if not used judiciously it can create a visually “blah” vivarium environment. Bamboo stems are unsuitable mounts for epiphytes so are therefore a poor selection when used on their own for those interested in providing their lizards with living perches. Most green bamboo species dry tan or brown, so I opted to use black bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra) that dries to an attractive medium brown or dark violet-gray color. Bamboo species whose stems dry bright green are very desirable design elements for many Madagascan biotope vivaria. Cork tubes, despite being foreign to the island, are quite neutral in aspect, provide excellent refugia and are a very good option if one plans on growing lots of epiphytes. Slabs placed strategically across the vivarium floor will provide cover for any small compatible species of terrestrial Madagascan frogs or lizards you may want to experiment with as co-tenants. After evaluating other alternatives, I decided to employ “soft” tree fern totems currently being marketed in the U.S. and the EU at 20”x2”x2”/50x5x5 cm dimensions. Because these totems are very well-finished, two or three can be pinned together to provide a 4” or 6”/10-15 cm wide slab that is well suited for mounting small staghorn ferns and medium sized orchids. In order to give them a more natural aspect, I trimmed off the edges with sharp shears to leave them fairly round in cross section.
Lianas are scandent woody vines that are omnipresent features of rainforests, cloud forests and tropical dry forests. They definitely add the “tropical look” together with a great deal of visual interest to displays, especially those of bauhinias and other climbing legumes. For larger enclosures showcasing Madagascan herpetofauna, vertically oriented dried stems from the golden cane palm (Dypsis lutescens), stilt roots of screwpines/pandans and heavily pruned live dracaenas are also nice touches.
Many imported wood products have been fumigated previously to meet USDA entry requirements so be sure and thoroughly wash them with a mild soap, rinse repeatedly and allow to air dry for several days prior to installation. I have recently received cork tubes from a well known reptile supply house that had live millipedes onboard, so a good wash and several days warm sunning is a good idea for for more than one reason.
Besides cork bark slabs, rounds and tubes as mainstays, other wood options include peeled grapevine, manzanita, driftwood from various origins, seed pods (esp. Lecythidae and Fabaceae), dried lianas (esp. scandent Bauhinia species), etc. Some fairly realistic looking rockwork and props such as “live” bamboos and mangrove stilt roots cast in lightweight resins are also suitable for use, especially after having been well scrubbed and “aged” to mute the artificial look.
Shown above, both vivaria with leaf litter and woody decor installed, prior to planting. Any large items that will have epiphytes attached to them with fishline and require removal of the top of the enclosure to move should be planted first, as shown right.
Leaf Litter
Reptile supply houses now carry a wide variety of dried leaf choices suitable for natural-looking forest understory displays including magnolia, sea grape, tropical almond, oak, bamboo, etc. People who have access to clean, unsprayed foliage from any non-toxic tropical trees can harvest and air dry these to add unique touches to their vivarium designs. Very large enclosures can make good use of cleaned and dried palm fronds to add further natural touches since decomposing fronds are ubiquitous forest floor cover across the tropics. Non pesticide treated avocado, rhododendron and discarded ornamental aroid leaves are also worth having around and are nice for mixing together to create very natural tropical forest floor looks.
For my builds, different blends of dried leaves were used to create distinctive looks that match the understories of bamboo groves and plantation edge. For the Phelsuma klemmeri enclosure I utilized a thin layer of magnolia leaves (Magnolia sp.) that were largely covered by a layer of aged bamboo litter. For P. cepediana I mixed a small amount of magnolia, Indian almond (Terminalia catappa), originally of Asian origin but now naturalized almost everywhere in tropical coastal lowlands around the world, washed and dried arborescent aristolochia foliage as well as food-grade tamarind (Tamarindus indica - native to Mauritius) seed pods for a decorative touch.
Deep litter layers also allow healthy populations of invertebrate cleanup crews to build up and also help keep arboreal animals out of contact with their own fresh faecal matter.
Lighting, Background Heat, Ventilation and Misting
Because day geckos require at least one good-sized and well-heated basking spot in order to thermoregulate properly, each vivarium has two temperature and humidity sensors placed at different heights along the side glass to monitor heat gradients in the enclosures.
Lighting used includes a blend of 26W UVB emitting fluorescent twists, 40W heat emitting incandescent bulbs, 13W + 15W full spectrum LED light bars and 16W LED full spectrum nano spots, which together emit a total tank brightness equivalent to >300W of incandescent output per enclosure when all are connected. Lights are connected to four separate timers with the UVBs on for 12 hours daily, the heat bulbs and LED bars switching on in the mid-morning for nine hours, a 15W LED center bar for five hours from 1000 to 1500 hrs and the nano spots pulsed on a series of 15-minute cycles hourly from 1100 hrs to 1400 hrs. This combination produces more than sufficient lumens to grow any tropical forest plant located within 18”/35 cm of the light sources to perfection. It also provides fluctuating levels of light and warmth from morning through early evening that, together with nocturnal cycles, are a normal part of any tropical reptile’s day.
As is evident from the paragraph above, rather than invest in new state-of-the-art lighting systems, I jury-rigged a fairly good solution from existing gear I had on inventory plus the purchase of the LED spots. If you are planning a new build, I suggest a careful look at the online offerings of both advanced freshwater aquarium LED lighting as well as broad spectrum spots and refugium lights designed for use with tropical marine tanks. Many quite reasonably priced LED aquarium illumination arrays now include a variety of easily custom controlled options such as ramp lighting for dawn and dusk fades, simulated passing cloud cover, electrical storms, moonlight, etc. Some are also plug and play for digital audio, permitting natural background sounds to be synched with the lighting system. Coupled with reptile-tailored UVB bulbs and basking lamps, these represent an outstanding alternative to traditional lighting solutions for captive herptiles and can also help create very dramatic displays.
Medium wattage under tank heaters were installed to provide a steady source of warmth for the enclosures when lights are off. Lower tank temperatures in winter with a background house temperature of ~65F/18°C fluctuate between 68°F/20°C at dawn to 80°F/27°C at midday, while upper tank temperature range is from 70°F/21°C at dawn to 85°/29°C across most of the top half of the enclosures and >92°F/33°C at spots adjacent the basking lamps throughout the middle of the day. Tank temperatures throughout most of the year will be a few degrees F warmer than these.
The 36”/92 cm wide lighting system assembled for this build shown from above with three hoods housing LED bars, incandescent heat lamps and UVB emitting twists together with an 12”/30 cm LED bar and individual spots with timer and rheostat-controlled CPU fans in operation. Author’s image.
Ventilation is provided for both vivaria by two 4.75”/12 cm externally mounted Vantec Stealth PC case fans connected to a single rheostat that permits precise adjustment of gentle airflow through the tanks. These fans are connected to a timer and switch on several times daily following the mist cycles in order to allow foliage and hard surfaces to dry completely. They are mounted on soft rubber dampers that help produce almost inaudible and vibration free function when running. Please note that efficient CPU fans do indeed “cool” the enclosures quite rapidly so this should be taken into account when setting timers and fan speeds.
I also refurbished the very reliable misting system I have used for years with this manufacturer’s mid-range pump connected in two arrays consisting of four mister nozzles each with inline dripless valves. This pump is plugged into a programmed timer that permits two very precise diurnal irrigation cycles as well as different mist burst times and uses RO and distilled water in a 4 gl/15 lt reservoir as a source. Standard issue, higher end misting pumps are capable of handling double this number of nozzles and still maintain respectable line pressure, so with only eight nozzles in both arrays the result is a very fine, swirling mist. Because the fans run intermittently throughout the day, the enclosures’ relative humidity varies between the saturated environment that lingers some time after mistings to ~65% RH by late afternoon.
Head detail of juvenile neon day gecko (Phelsuma klemmeri). Author’s animal and image.
Animals
Yellow-headed or neon day gecko (Phelsuma klemmeri) Seipp, 1991. To 4”/10 cm overall length. One of the smallest species in the genus. A relatively recent introduction to the global reptile trade but a huge captive breeding and commercial success since the late 1990s due to its ease of care, bold personality and amazing, jewel-like coloration. This extremely beautiful small lizard is now relatively inexpensive when purchased as hatchlings and remains seemingly overlooked by many herpetoculturists. In nature P. klemmeri is restricted to low elevation, seasonally dry bamboo forests in northwestern Madagascar at scattered localities around Antsirana, Ambanja District and at least one other site in the Mandrozo forest in the Melaky Region much further south along the west coast (Razafimahatratra et al., 2010). IUCN listed as Endangered on its home grounds but now widely bred in captivity throughout the world, largely from a small group of founders collected at the time of its discovery. My group of juveniles originated from multiple generation captive breeding projects managed by several separate sources to eliminate the risk of sib crosses in the future.
This beautiful small gecko is strikingly similar in size and appearance to high colored mature males of the East African white headed dwarf gecko, Lygodactylus picturatus. Unlike most day geckos species, neon day geckos are remarkably sociable and fairly large groups can be held together in heavily planted vivaria with little or none of the strife observed in other Phelsuma spp.
Head detail of a blue-tailed day gecko (Phelsuma cepediana). Author’s animal and image.
Blue-tailed day gecko (Phelsuma cepediana) (Milbert) Mertens, 1962. To almost 6”/15 cm overall length. Somewhat shy and skittish lizards but a longtime favorite. This was one of the few Mascarene day geckos that was readily available to European reptile collectors in the early 1970s. Like many hobbyists living in the UK at that time, this was the first Phelsuma species I kept so it has sentimental as well as aesthetic value for me. This very colorful day gecko species, together with P. ornata, are known to be pollinators of several threatened Mauritian plant species and have been the subject of field studies examining these relationships. The plants mentioned all share brightly colored nectar visually attractive to day geckos, which are known to possess excellent color vision (Taniguchi et al., 1999; Hansen et al., 2006). It occurs in a variety of low elevation habitats, including plantations and suburban environments throughout Mauritius. IUCN listed as Of Least Concern. Wild-collected day geckos that were imported to England under this name in the 1970s were even more vividly colored than animals currently on the market and shown on the internet. There may be more than one Mauritian day gecko species lumped under P. cepediana subject to revision by taxonomists going forward. Captive breeding now supplies almost all of the animals in the pet trade, including my sexed pair. Another exceptionally desirable day gecko species when space is at a premium. Watch for periodic bouts of intense aggression by mature males towards their mates. Heavily planted enclosures like this one provide plenty of avenues of escape and safety for females when things get a bit tense on the domestic front.
Day geckos are omnivores, and their care is greatly simplified by being able to alternate live food items with specially prepared diets for frugivorous or nectivorous geckos that are easily found online. Many options exist to provide them with feeding stations in the upper reaches of tall vivaria, which use large suction cups to hold the frame in place and removable cups for presenting food. Flightless fruit fly (Drosophila hydei) cultures and suitable containers to store fair numbers of very small crickets, or newly hatched dubia roaches as well as options such as black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larva save on the tedious need to make weekly purchases of feeder insects.
Many day gecko owners know this from bitter experience, but as a warning for novices; newly-hatched Phelsuma species are very small, often flattened, extremely curious and superb escape artists. Make sure your screen cover is completely flush and tight to the tank top at all times or they will disappear (and die) almost immediately. Seal every crack or edge space that might prove an escape route for hatchlings. Please be extra careful to check your lizards’ positions when opening doors to vivaria and always have a small plastic cup and long handled, soft fabric net handy should one of your fleet-footed pets decide to go walkabout.
A pair of north Madagascan Bulbophyllum occultum flowering in the author’s collection. This is the dark colored flower form and a large, well-rooted division of the one in back was used in the Phelsuma klemmeri build. Despite being uncommon in cultivation, this striking and variably colored tropical orchid species is an excellent choice for Madagascan bioramas. It has a wide distribution in suitable habitats along the entire east coast of the island and also occurs across the north and northwestern regions as well as on the Comoros. Author’s plants and image.
Plants
Madagascar and its outlying islands are justifiably famous for their diverse and unique flora. Many of the smaller plants species that are popular in cultivation are intolerant of permanently humid conditions. Seedling Dypsis palms and the ubiquitous Madagascan dragon trees (Dracaena marginata) tend to grow too fast to use for this purpose because of their large mature sizes but, as discussed previously, their stems are useful. So, with aloes, pachypodiums, euphorbias and alluaudias also discarded as options due to their environmental requirements, and arborescent plant options rejected because of their rapid growth, a much shorter plant list of suitable candidates emerged. Fortunately for an arboreal gecko genus, these are mostly smooth-leaf epiphytes with somewhat succulent leaves that handle small animal traffic well.
Above, both freshly-assembled builds, fully planted but prior to introduction of the animals. The enclosures were cycled for 48 hours before the geckos were released into them to check temperature and humidity fluctuations as well as to fine tune misting and ventilation cycles in order to meet the needs of the plants without disrupting the animal’s routines too much. Author’s image.
Because these are displays for arboreal geckos that favor the upper areas of their enclosures I have mostly dispensed with any plantings on the floor of both vivaria.
Perhaps the most readily available and vivarium suitable of Madascan plants are a rich variety of epiphytic orchids, especially dwarf and miniature species from the genera Angraecum, Aeranthes and Jumellea, together with dry forest terrestrial orchids of the genus Oeceoclades. All of the small and mid-sized Angraecoids can be flowered on a regular basis in properly lit terraria and vivaria (see image below). They are extremely interesting subjects for cultivation on their own and, depending on their size, are robust enough to handle frequent small vertebrate traffic without falling apart.
Another fact that favors planting a variety of Angraecoids in day gecko vivaria is that at least one insular Phelsuma species, the Réunion day gecko (P. borbonica) is documented to feed on nectar from two sympatric orchid species, Angraecum cadettii and A. bracteosum (Bègue et al., 2014). Because day geckos are pollen feeders, they are probably only accidental pollinators of these orchids. It seems likely that this interaction between Madagascan day geckos and flowering orchids is much more common that currently believed.
Two species of Angraecoid orchids used in these builds are shown flowering above. Left, Angraecum praestans from northern Madagascar and right, Jumellea fragrans from Mauritius. Images: ©R. Parsons 2021.
Fortunately, I have a very good selection of attractive plants hailing from both seasonally dry and tropical wet forests of Madagascar and insular Malagasy on hand in my personal collection in California. Many of them are long-term inventory items that I propagate and were large enough to take offsets or cuttings from, so I was able to end up with a very interesting and showy assortment of small plants without having to make any outside purchases other than a few small orchids. Most herpetoculturists will not be so lucky, so it may be a good idea to start the procurement process for plants on your “want list” a couple of months in advance. Note that some of the rarer and more desirable orchids of western Indian Ocean origin are often fresh imports and can be a bit rough around the edges on arrival and will require up to a year of rehab prior to looking picture perfect.
Miniature plastic baskets with snap-top lids for timed-release prilled fertilizers. These baskets are available in several sizes and are an inexpensive and practical solution to remote feed epiphytic plants utilized in planted vivaria. They are also unobtrusive and effectively isolate delicate vivarium animals from chemical fertilizers. Author’s image.
Since it is very likely that all nursery-propagated plants will have been exposed to some form of chemical pest or fungal control, it is also always a good idea to purchase them at least 30 days prior to installation in an enclosure housing delicate live animals to permit any toxic compounds to degrade or wash off. Plant purchases, especially orchids, may carry undesirable hitchhikers as well, often in the form of bush or garlic snails (Oxichilus alliarius) or small slugs that can be problematic to eradicate once established in a vivarium.
To deal with the nutritional needs of epiphytic plants, small fertilizer baskets supplied with 180-day time release nutricote (Florikan NOT osmocote) were inserted into the mounts. These snap-top baskets are useful in keeping animals out of contact with these ostensibly low tox prilled fertilizers that might prove harmful if ingested.
Plants were firmly attached to the various mounts with either light test monofilament fishing line or “U” pins made with coated green floral wire.
Detail of several orchid species used in the Phelsuma klemmeri build. Upper left to lower right, Bulbophyllum occultum, a pair of Angraecum aloifolium seedlings , a trio of young A. leonis and an A. sp. aff. drouhardii. Author’s image.
Flora choices native to the Northwest Madagascan lowlands – Phelsuma klemmeri biotope
Aerangis punctata – miniature epiphytic orchid
Angraecum aloifolium (2) – miniature epiphytic orchid
Angraecum sp. aff. drouhardii – miniature epiphytic orchid
Angraecum leonis (3) – compact epiphytic orchid
Angraecum praestans - epiphytic orchid
Bulbophyllum occultum – compact epiphytic orchid
Platycerium quadridichotomum – epiphytic fern
Microgramma lycopodioides – pendent epiphytic fern
Flora choices native to the Mauritian lowlands – Phelsuma cepediana biotope
Angraecum mauritianum - epiphytic orchid
Angraecum sp. - epiphytic orchid
Oenia volucris – compact epiphytic orchid
Jumellea fragrans - compact epiphytic orchid
Platycerium stemaria (2) - Mascarene form – epiphytic fern
Pyrrosia lanceolata - epiphytic fern
Medinilla cf. loranthoides (2) - hemiepiphytic melastome
Dracaena reflexa stems - small tree
Other plant options suitable for eastern Madagascan wet forest herptile enclosures
Angraecum didieri – compact epiphytic orchid
Aerides spp. - epiphytic orchid
Aerangis spp. - epiphytic orchid
Jumellea spp. - epiphytic orchid
Rhipsalis baccifera subsp. horrida – epiphytic cactus
Pandanus stems and dried leaves – terrestrial or mangrove screwpines
Asplenium nidus – large epiphytic fern
Platycerium ellisii – medium-sized epiphytic fern
Platycerium madagascariense – medium-sized epiphytic fern
Colletogyne perrieri – compact terrestrial aroid
Pothos scandens – large hemiepiphytic aroid
Medinilla sedifolia – compact epiphytic melastome
Begonia bogneri – small terrestrial begonia
Dracaena marginata, green form – small tree
Other plant options suitable for lowland and intermediate elevation Mauritian wet forest herptile species
Angraecum spp. - epiphytic orchids
Aerangis spp. – epiphytic orchids
Nesocodon mauritianus – compact lithophytic/rheophytic bellflower
Cocos nucifera – large palm (sections of dried fronds or floral “boats”)
Floral detail of a Mauritian bellflower (Nesocodon mauritianus), showing its flashy and sweet red nectar. This Critically Endangered plant is known to be pollinated by the Mauritian ornate day gecko (Phelsuma ornata). While it is still very rare in cultivation and a cool grower, small cutting grown plants do occur on the market from time to time and are suitably sized plants for vivaria. Anonymous grower in California, author’s image.
Some Thoughts on Contemporary Enclosures for Herpetofauna
What are considered to be appropriate cage sizes for reptiles and amphibia by many herpetoculturists haven’t really changed that much in over a century. For those who scoff at this statement, please refer to images in both Paul Krefft’s vivarium books published from 1907 and 1926, and Raymond Ditmars’ classic reference books on reptiles published from 1910 on into the 1930s, then compare them to current enclosure sizes (and décor) seen at your local zoo, pet store or “online influencer”. Over that same time frame, we have seen a sea change in what is considered an acceptable minimum size enclosure for wild mammals and birds by municipal zoos and aquaria–as well as wealthy private collectors–in the northern countries. While zoological gardens, safari parks and enlightened private breeders have made major strides in improving enclosure spaces and designs for primates, wild felines, hoofed animals and many large birds, the need for more spacious caging for smaller vertebrates seems to have been forgotten or ignored.
Two months after installation, a nicely flowered Mauritian dwarf angraecoid orchid (Angraceum sp. aff. didieri) flowering in the Phelsuma cepediana enclosure. These long-lasting, night-fragrant, 3”/7.5 cm wide star-shaped blooms add a touch of panache to the biotope. As an added dividend, many small angraecoid species will flower several times a year. Properly designed vivarium lighting grows natural-looking plants. Author’s image.
Because many herptiles and most tropical freshwater fish are far more tolerant of being confined to very small spaces devoid of décor for prolonged periods than most wild mammals and birds, both zoos and the pet industry consistently promote the notion that small enclosure sizes are perfectly adequate options to house them. To put it mildly, this is a contemptible 19th century menagerie keepers’ mindset that is disturbingly prevalent even today among some celebrated contemporary herpetoculturists.
Growing environmental awareness and a greater sense of ethical responsibility towards captive animals of all types is a good thing, full stop. Without dipping my toes too deeply into dark waters of the emotionally charged animal rights debate, I think it is fair to say that younger herpetoculturists are generally more sensitive to the needs of their charges and open to alternative points of view on captive management than those of my generation. Some have already gone their own way by investing in very spacious, custom-designed vivaria to house their animals, especially collectors in the EU, the Russian Federation and the PRC.
This is also a good thing.
What constitutes suitably sized caging for herptiles continues to be driven by archaic zoo and museum exhibit models, the most clueless and avaricious elements in the pet trade, ad-driven specialty publications and mass market glass vivaria manufacturers, NOT the needs of the animals we want to keep. As ground-breaking research into the ecologies of the world’s herpetofauna gained speed in the 1980s and 1990s, it rapidly became clear that many terrestrial reptile species formerly believed to be sedentary and “dumb” can move surprisingly long distances while foraging as well as exhibit highly evolved social behaviors and learning abilities. Herpetoculturists regularly express breathless observations marveling on the perception and distinctive personalities of their wards, especially some crocodylians, varanid lizards, Old World elapid snakes, tortoises and certain species of toads. The navigational sense and nest site fidelity of all species of marine turtles has long been recognized to be astonishing.
It is cognitively dissonant that reptile and amphibian keepers declaim to the wide world that these animals are far more brainy and behaviorally complex than the general public can imagine and that they deserve our respect as fellow sentient organisms clearly capable of curiosity and feeling pain, yet often confine them in very small cages or even minuscule transparent food containers (!!) as a matter of course for prolonged periods of time. When challenged on these practices, many hobbyists and herptile dealers are reduced to babbling like halfwits that their animals don’t really suffer under conditions like this, “Because…!”.
What to say?
To these folks, may I suggest a bit of soul-searching?
Young neon day gecko (Phelsuma klemmeri) basking on on a bamboo stem. Despite some online claims to the contrary (made by unimaginative zookeepers, of course), I found that all of my captive-bred examples of this species immediately explored every nook and cranny of their new home on arrival and now occupy the near totality of their enclosure space every day when temperatures are optimal. Poor enclosure design, inadequate enclosure size and archaic captive management practices will often result in wild animals favoring only small parts of their cages due to fear and exposure stress. Author’s animal and image.
Simply put, it is high time that more open-minded herpetoculturists engage in a rational conversation about what constitute adequate enclosure and transport container sizes for reptiles and amphibia. Hobbyists and breeders need to apply pressure on the pet industry, but especially on vivarium manufacturers, to start offering larger and much better designed caging options. It may surprise some coddled reptile and amphibian collectors that–purely from the standpoints of design, innovation, food variety and captive breeding successes–mainstream herpetoculture probably lags mainstream tropical marine aquaculture by at least a decade.
For one obvious example, there is a real need for reasonably priced, modular terraria that exceed a minimum 24 x 24”x 36”/60x60x95 cm for small arboreal herptiles or 48”x24x 18“/125x60x45 cm dimensions for even fairly small terrestrial species of reptiles and amphibians. If the larger manufacturers started by swapping out existing tempered glass floors and back panels for anodized aluminum and advanced scratch-proof, high clarity plastics, even smaller tanks would lose significant weight and be more easily transported by a single, reasonably fit person. Tiny display enclosures that still exist in public institutions need to be eliminated or repurposed to house neonate herptiles or invertebrates. Subjecting live reptiles and amphibia to prolonged stays in deli cups at private facilities as an alternative to housing them in even minimally decorated larger caging needs to become a thing of the past, not an acceptable current and future practice.
By now it is hardly an original observation that many of the hundreds of millions of people who spent much of 2020 and early 2021 locked up in their homes probably feel a great deal more empathy towards other active and intelligent animals facing confinement in tiny spaces for much or all of their lives. Not much fun is it?
Simply put, most of our caging for reptiles and amphibia is far too small.
Always make an effort to match the most spacious vivarium that is practically feasible to house your herptile pet/s and try to make it as stimulating to your captive/s as possible. Every variable that you can provide makes the subject’s surroundings and life just a little more interesting. Captive animals of all kinds can only prosper in the true sense with dedicated care and when housed in the largest and best designed enclosures that we can provide them.
What was old is new again?
Shown above, a whimsical rendering of a somewhat crowded northern European lowland heath-wetland edge paludarium published in a French hunt and field magazine in 1874 and labeled “Modèle d’aquarium d’appartement”. Extrapolating from some of the herptiles’ average adult sizes, this looks to depict about a 35 gl /132 lt tank.
Many well-known and easily recognizable small animals native to much of western Europe are shown here including (mostly left to right): A sand lizard (Lacerta agilis), a European fire-bellied toad (Bombina bombina), a slow worm (Anguis fragilis), European tree frogs (Hyla arborea), a fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra), a grass snake (Natrix natrix) and an edible frog (Pelophylax lessonae). The aquatic portion houses a pair of newts (Triturus spp.) as well as a three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus), a weatherfish (Misgurnus fossilis), a pond snail (Lymnaea sp.), a ramshorn snail (Planorbarius corneus), a trio of diving bell spiders (Argyroneta aquatica), a water scorpion (Nepa cinerea), several Great diving beetles (Dytiscus marginalis - adults and larvae), a common carp (Cyprinus carpio) together with backswimmers (Notonecta spp.). Decorative items include a variety of mollusk shells, dominated by a large murex (Bolinus brandaris - ?) that is shown bottom center. Bits and pieces of native flora were used throughout the display.
Despite a mostly placid portrayal of the inhabitants shown in the illustration, the reality is the grass snake would make fairly short work of the smaller frogs, the sand lizard and slow worm would be terminally miserable marooned on those tiny platform islets, and the large diving beetles would clean out everything else in the water feature within a few weeks before turning on themselves. That leaves the fire salamander and edible frog waiting for this young grass snake to starve to death before settling in to stretch their legs in a more realistically populated “Modèle d’aquarium d’appartement”.
These illustrations of early mixed exhibit aquaria were more idealized models for armchair naturalists in Europe to daydream about than anything else. But the overarching concept of displaying tiny, fanciful renditions of specific native ecosystems proved very popular for more than a century. In his Corfu trilogy, best-selling author and noted wildlife conservationist Gerald Durrell (d. 1995) described building several of these type aquaria as a boy in the mid-1930s. Basic paludaria (albeit at ~25% of the faunal diversity shown here) were still popular with British aquarists and herpetoculturists well into the mid 1970s, as well as in biology classrooms and native fish displays in some well-appointed local aquarium stores at that time (pers. obs.).
In defense of this 150-year-old flight of fancy, it is worth mentioning that–despite the challenges–maintaining a much larger paludarium (4X) with a lot more dry land together with many of these species shown is certainly a feasible project. With a more suitable mix of animals it would be an interesting biorama to try and duplicate for experienced European herpetoculturists or aquarists where holding these species is still legal (e.g. sand lizards are now protected in the UK and much of the EU), such as Turkey and the Russian Federation.
Note the very simple and elegant design of this particular aquarium designed for a fashionable late 19th century French home. Its clean lines are remarkable for the period and, in fact, it is surprisingly similar in appearance to some modern glass enclosures. Victorian era aquaria and Wardian Cases were often massive and extremely elaborate affairs festooned with wrought iron doodads or stamped zinc filigree, stylized piscine figureheads, candleholders and offset decorative plant stands. They are now very rare and expensive antiques when found in good condition, professionally restored or recently manufactured as exact replicas. Some are quite attractive, others notsomuch. This one has an overflow drainage pipe to maintain terra firme for the terrestrial herptiles; many larger Victorian aquaria also sported elaborate fountains!
Some of these early home aquaria were originally illuminated at night by candles or gas lamps, later followed by the adoption of incandescent bulbs as these became widely available to the wealthy in the 1880s. See “The Evolution of Keeping Captive Amphibians and Reptiles” (Murphy & McCloud, 2010) for an excellent overview of the history of these animals in captivity from the late 18th century onwards.
Author’s print and image from La Chasse Illustrée, April 1874, Bureau de L’Administration, Librairie de Firmin-Didot. Paris. ©J. Vannini 2021.
Additional Perspectives
A well-planned tropical vivarium (or three) can be a welcome window on nature to brighten one’s personal space. See final image below of a corner of my study as one example. The best will maintain your interest long after the initial thrill of the animal/s acquisition passes and help to maintain a sense of wonder and perspective of our place in an increasingly threatened natural world. Doing the research necessary to assemble a functional, locality-specific biotope vivarium will provide infinitely more insight into the animals’ environmental needs than any care sheet published online. Healthy, respectful daily interaction with animals and ornamental plants not only reduces the stress inherent in modern living but also reinvigorates our humanity.
An excellent example of a cloud forest biotope enclosure at ZooMAT housing a knob-scaled lizard (Xenosaurus sp. - shown center atop a rock) from ~5,700’/1,750 masl in the Selva Negra region of northwestern Chiapas state. Knob-scaled lizards are a small genus of terrestrial, very territorial lizards restricted to southern México and Guatemala. Many species have very limited known ranges and are threatened by habitat loss. They are primarily rock crevice dwellers and some are known to show extreme site fidelity throughout their lives. Despite this photo having been cropped substantially to better highlight the animal, it gives a good idea of how large ZooMAT’s enclosures are for even small lizards. Note the extensive use of native karst (marine limestone) and a scattering of local understory plants to simulate the habitat of this species. These exhibits have recessed screened skylights that provide superb ventilation and allow natural sunlight to penetrate areas of the display. Image: ©A. Ramírez-Velásquez 2021.
Together with many other people I know, I consider the Zoológico Miguel Álvarez del Toro (ZooMAT) in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas State, México to be conceptually one of the world’s finest zoos. Founded in 1981 but based on an older, much smaller live animal collection held nearby, it showcases a wide variety of noteworthy Chiapan fauna and flora, especially threatened and endangered species. It is housed amidst a humid, maturing secondary wet tropical forest block of 250 acres/100 ha. ZooMAT has always been, first and foremost, a means by which the founder and his collaborators fostered environmental awareness and the need to conserve the incredible biological diversity of southeastern México. Given Chiapas’s exceptionally rich reptile and amphibia fauna (>330 reported species; Johnson et al., 2015) their live collections–which usually have carefully documented accession data–are especially valuable. The imaginative enclosure designs and quality of their care are widely admired by both Mexican and visiting zoo and museum personnel.
The long-time curator of herpetoculture there, Antonio Ramírez, has a deep and comprehensive knowledge of southern Mexican herpetofauna, both in the field and in captivity. He is very much a herpetologist’s herpetologist and is well known and respected among regional reptile and amphibian researchers. Antonio is an exceptionally skilled collections manager who brings knowledge, discipline, imagination and great technical talent to the proper display, care and propagation of his sometimes tricky charges.
Having visited with him on several occasions during the late 1980s, I was very impressed by the size and creative design of ZooMAT’s enclosures. Contemporeanously, I borrowed their model for a build of a 390 sq. ft/36 sq. m open air enclosure for my colony of Motagua Valley beaded lizards (Heloderma charlesbogerti) at the Finca El Faro wildlife breeding project in western Guatemala. As perhaps one of the earliest practitioners of locality specific dioramas incorporating site specific props and live native plants for some of his displays in both the (warm) Tropical and (cool) Montane herpetaria as well as outdoor enclosures at ZooMAT, I believe it is worth including a paragraph articulating Antonio’s vision with regard to caring for captive herpetofauna:
“…For the design and development of exhibitions for amphibians and reptiles, we based them on the naturalistic concepts already a tradition at ZooMAT that incorporate key basic elements of the species’ habitats to enrich them. The creation of a space that expresses visual harmony and landscape compositions where we can observe hard surface relief, changing light conditions, a clean and buoyant atmosphere, functionality, security–in addition to periodic renovation–always leads to a better quality of life for its inhabitants and stimulates their homeostasis. Many of the most secretive habits of distinct species of amphibians and reptiles have been discovered in terraria and aquaria. Because of this, these enclosures can become very valuable tools to develop captive management, investigative and educational techniques as a means by which we become a more environmentally aware culture. Under these criteria a display that always offers optimal environmental conditions in its design offers an interpretive and decorative matrix showcasing the ecology of the species housed. The objective is to develop a well-planned integrated management protocol that, without a doubt, is required for the proper and respectful treatment of wild animals in captivity…” (©A. Ramírez-Velázquez, 2009 and 2021. Translated from Spanish, emphasis mine).
A good example of an older style reptile exhibit in a U.S. zoo that has quite a high opinion of itself. This one is home to a mature twin-spotted rattlesnake (Crotalus pricei). The leaf litter mix, rockwork and conifer slab hide shown far left are good elements, albeit unimaginatively staged. I award demerits for sloppily applied Gunite, small vivarium size and simple lighting. The image shows the full enclosure floor, so basically it is as wide as the snake is long when fully extended, which is an outdated metric for suitable cage size. Author’s image.
And finally, well-known U.S. herpetologist, author and wildlife photographer William Lamar, who has a lifetime’s experience observing, researching, and conserving many types of free-living as well as captive wildlife around the world writes:
“Gothic concepts are a part of our heritage and we tend to unconsciously create structures–from houses to cages–that exist in defiance of rather than in harmony with Nature. While most of us allow sons and daughters the privacy of their rooms as opposed to compelling them to remain seated on the sofa for viewing, we have often done precisely the opposite with captive wildlife. And here's the catch: Many creatures will eke out a way to survive in captivity, but this is not indicative of anything beyond that. The leading edge of aquarium design and herpetoculture lies in providing captives with the elements needed in order to actually thrive. Where the so-called lower animals are concerned, this often involves painstaking recreation of naturalistic habitats; and that entails understanding and embracing concepts that are decidedly not Gothic.
"I thought the most beautiful thing in the world must be shadow…" Sylvia Plath, “The Bell Jar” (1963).
Plath was onto something. Indeed, manipulation of light and shadow are integral not only to the aesthetics of display but also the well-being of the displayed. Mexican jumping vipers (Metlapilcoatlus mexicanus, M. occiduus and M. nummifer) are classic lie-and-wait predators, attuned to epic sessions of remaining coiled and motionless. This behavior often earns them a smallish plastic box in which to exist. Perhaps a specimen gets lucky and enjoys a yielding substrate of wood shavings as opposed to a stiff sheet of newsprint. While convenient for the cage cleaner, the snake finds itself on a pale, contrasting surface with uniform, shadowless light. This is tantamount to standing nude before the crowd at Madison Square Garden during half-time. Merely placing that snake onto something akin to leaf litter, beneath a contrived mixture of light and shadow will result in a different posture, one that is settled into. Ditto that for providing thermal gradients, properly sized and shaped places for concealment, the right kind of illumination, and a host of other things we strive to understand from the animal's viewpoint and the results are impressive. It is complex and should be, and herein lies the arena in which captive maintenance can be vibrant...a continual learning experience for the captor, and an environment that permits the captive to thrive.” (©W. Lamar, 2021, emphasis mine).
Mature Mexican jumping viper (Metlapilcoatlus mexicanus) from ~4,400’/1,435 masl in the Lagos de Montebello area of eastern Chiapas on display at ZooMAT. This image has also been cropped substantially to provide more detail on the pit viper. Image: ©A. Ramírez-Velásquez 2021.
Obviously, I agree with both of these points of view.
Best of luck with your bichos!
JV
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to friends Antonio Ramírez and Bill Lamar for permitting me to pick their brains and use the images shown and texts quoted above. Thanks also to Ron Parsons for the excellent Angraecoid orchid flower shots he provided as well as to Fred Muller for the in situ leaf frog photograph. Another fellow Esotérico, Peter Rockstroh, shared his considerable experience in creative aquaria/vivaria design and management in addition to his thoughts on the need to establish better industry guidelines for the ethical care of tropical fish.
All content ©Esotica Esoterica LLC™ 2021, ©Antonio Ramírez-Velásquez 2021, ©William W. Lamar 2021, Ron Parsons 2021, ©Fred Muller 2021 and ©Jay Vannini 2021.
