Setup and decoration
Now let's put your ideas about a habitat into practice. The process will comprise five steps: the technical equipment, the side walls, the constructions, the substrate and the plants. And these need to be dealt with in exactly this order, since the technical items determine where cables or hoses need to be laid. Then follows the panelling of the side walls, as they strongly characterise the overall impression of your terrarium. You have an incredible number of options for the design of the side walls: cork panels, stones, stone replicas, styrofoam, styrodur, tree fern (Xaxim) - coconut fibre plates, or halved bamboo canes. Always use a non-toxic glue like JBL PROHARU UNIVERSAL or JBL AquaSil transparent and avoid spaces that are inaccessible.
Further stone or wood constructions need to be stacked on each other securely enough that they cannot slip. Turtles or lizards can be very forceful! It is always safer to glue stone groups together so that you have a higher, immovable weight per group. However, if necessary, you should be able to lift the stone groups from each other to reach a hiding animal etc. Here again you should use a suitable adhesive, such as JBL PROHARU UNIVERSAL or JBL AquaSil black to let it dry for 24 hours.
Water section in the terrarium
If a water basin is to be installed it's best to do it before inserting the construction of stones or wood. For large basins, a drain tap with a hole at the bottom is a great help when it comes to maintenance. Ask a glazier to drill a hole (this can even be done later if necessary). This way you can drain and replenish the water through the drain tap without reaching into the terrarium. Likewise, a filter connection via TWO holes is possible.
Positioning of the lighting
Timely planning saves trouble at a later date.
The position of the spotlight also impacts the setup. Once you have attached the lighting and e.g. a JBL UV-Spot plus (Special lamp for use in reptile keeping! Not suitable for other applications! No EEK label required. Exemption according to (EU) 2019/2015 Annex IV 3. c) UV radiation > 2mW/klm) you can adjust the decoration and build climbing opportunities (as an example), so that your animals can retain their ideal distance to the UV spotlight ( JBL UV-Spot plus (Special lamp for use in reptile keeping! Not suitable for other applications! No EEK label required. Exemption according to (EU) 2019/2015 Annex IV 3. c) UV radiation > 2mW/klm) ) or the LUW spotlight ( JBL ReptilDesert L-U-W Light alu (Special lamp for use in reptile keeping! Not suitable for other applications! No EEK label required. Exemption according to (EU) 2019/2015 Annex IV 3. c) UV radiation > 2mW/klm) ).
The substrate
Last of all come the substrate and the planting. If you want to install caves which are easy to lift and clean, you can always use prefabricated plastic ones ( JBL ReptilCava SAND ). These are available in various sizes and colours.
Substrates for terrariums
An outline of all JBL substrates
The ground on which our terrarium animals move can vary hugely. Most animals have adapted perfectly to their natural habitat. That’s why the choice of the substrate is really crucial for the well-being of the animals. A "genuine" natural substrate is not always suitable for a terrarium. And anyway we don’t want to clear the rainforest out. So we often take a material that comes very close to the original, but is easily available and doesn’t rot.
Caves and hiding places
Most animals need caves and hiding places. You can build them yourself from stones and wood, or you can use ready-made caves ( JBL ReptilCava SAND ). These caves have the advantage that they can easily be lifted if you are looking for an animal or want to clean the cave.
