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BioVivara

  1. Deconstructing & Reconstructing the Vivarium: The Deconstruction

    It was important to deconstruct the vivarium so that we could evaluate all the parts of the system individually and gain a better understanding of what was necessary and how all the parts work together – or should work together. There are many elements that make up an entire vivarium habitat. But, when we strip away all the peripherals, we are left with a box. This box, be it glass or acrylic or any other material, must be able to sustain life. After all, by definition vivariums are enclosures ...
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  2. Deconstructing & Reconstructing the Vivarium: Introduction

    The scientific community has made it clear that captive animals thrive best in environments that recreate the animal’s natural habitat. This presents both a challenge and an opportunity in our hobby. We have some of the most complex environmental conditions to recreate while making the enclosure look as natural as possible. And, so far, we do so with very few tools developed specifically for our unique needs.
    It has been encouraging to see the advances made in many aspects of our hobby, ...
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  3. BioVivara Introduction

    Hi my name is Seth. My wife, Rachel, and I run a company called BioVivara (short for biotype vivariums). We’ve been making custom vivaria since 2008.
    I’ve been keeping herps on and off for over 20 years but being in the Army meant putting off a lot of what I wanted to do in the hobby. But being in the Army did have one upside for my love of animal enclosures: I discovered the dart frog hobby in Belgium while stationed with NATO. I had never seen vivariums like these! It looked like ...
  4. The Ideal Vivarium: Air Flow

    The best explanation we've found on why air management is important is from Lance Birk, author of The Paphiopedilum Grower’s Manual. Below is an excerpt:

    Air movement has a critical influence upon the health of our plants. It is a life-and-death factor, ranking only slightly below the effects of over-watering, yet it is often overlooked and seldom understood. It is responsible for maintaining even temperatures and for generating humidity within the growing area, as well as
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  5. The Ideal Vivarium: Active vs Passive Systems

    First, let’s define active and passive systems. A system, in this context, is the collection of fundamentals, like air and water, that make up a vivarium and its ecosystem. These systems can be managed passively or actively.
    The Passive System

    A passive system relies on the natural flow of air or water. For example, in a passive system a vivarium owner would rely on gravity to pull water through the substrate. Most vivariums today employ passive air flow systems that rely on a series ...
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