How to set up an African Fat Tail Gecko BioActive Enclosure with The Dude

Hello everyone, welcome back or welcome to The Bio Dude Inc KZbin Channel. Today we're creating an African Fat Tail Gecko 75g tank for four new babies we just acquired here at our Point of Sale. Hailing from the seasonal savannas of Western Africa, where they excavate burrows to hide from predators and to escape the harsh dry season, African Fat Tail Geckos are a staple of the reptile hobby. Our Terra Firma recreates the loamy, fertile soil that they inhabit, and provides an excellent substrate for the plants to grow in, the roots of which provide structure for the gecko’s tunnels. We're in the process of trying to breed this group and will definitely keep you all posted on how they're doing. I hope you enjoy this build, and feel free to check out the links below with the products used in this video. Y'all are awesome, thank you for the continued support!
- The Dude Abides
- Website: www.theBioDude.com
- Facebook: / thatbiodude
- KZbin: / @thebiodudejoshhalter
- Instagram: @TheBioDude
- TheBioDude Location: The Bio Dude Inc Houston 15116 Highway 3 Bldg 4 Webster, TX 77598 Phone: [phone] Email: [e-mail]
:: African Fat Tail Gecko BioActive Kit: www.thebiodude.com/products/f...
Substrate
.:: Terra Firma 36 qt bag: www.thebiodude.com/products/t...
Biodegradables
.:: BioShot (per 6 qt bag): www.thebiodude.com/products/b...
.:: Small Oak Leaf Litter 6 qt: www.thebiodude.com/products/l...
.:: AAA New Zealand Spag Moss 6 qt: www.thebiodude.com/products/a...
Lighting
.:: The Bio Dude Solar Grow T5 HO Single Bulb Light Strip 36": www.thebiodude.com/products/t...
.:: The Bio Dude Solar Grow T5 HO Single Bulb Light Strip 12": www.thebiodude.com/products/t...
.:: Arcadia Shade Dweller D3 7% UVB T5 Bulb + Fixture 12": www.thebiodude.com/products/a...
.:: Exo Terra Reptile Deep Dome Fixture Small: www.thebiodude.com/products/e...
.:: Arcadia Halogen Heat Lamp 50 watt: www.thebiodude.com/products/a...
.:: Zoo Med Basking Spot Lamp 75 Watt: www.thebiodude.com/collection...
.:: Solar Grow Daisy Chain 8": www.thebiodude.com/products/s...
Wood
.:: 1 lb Cork Bark Flats 1-2 pieces: www.thebiodude.com/products/1...
.:: Natural Sandblasted Grapevine Large (18"-24"): www.thebiodude.com/products/n...
.:: 1.5 lb Cork Bark Tubes 2 pieces: www.thebiodude.com/products/1...
Plants
.:: 5" Pot Cryptanthus Elaine Earth Star: www.thebiodude.com/products/5...
.:: 4" Pot Marble Queen Pothos: www.thebiodude.com/products/4...
.:: 4" Pot Neon Pothos: www.thebiodude.com/products/4...
.:: 4" Pot Sansevieria Hahnii Green Snake Plant: www.thebiodude.com/products/4...
.:: 4" Pot Dieffenbachia Star Bright: www.thebiodude.com/products/d...
.:: 4" Pot Aglaonema Mondo Bay: www.thebiodude.com/products/4...
.:: 4" Pot Ripple Peperomia Green: www.thebiodude.com/products/4...
Rock
Thousand Layer Rock: Sold at Point of Sale only

[@KC6111]

This is a absolute favorite design... I love the burrows and hides... this is definitely the style I am going to mimic in a Sahara version with lower humidity levels that the leopard gecko needs. I definitely recommend others to watch a bunch of Josh's videos... you really learn new stuff in each and helps to really make the crucial husbandry knowledge sink in. This is maybe the 7th video I seen. Thanks Bio Dude!

[@GlitteryBugs]

It’s so neat seeing the evolution and growth of these how-to videos, from the first one to now!!!

[@stargage13]

This is an awesome build! Love how it turned out

[@Cliffhanger_MFC]

Same

[@PardoNdSchuman]

Looking forward to the update video on how they’re doing! Great build as always. I want to get some fat tails soon, have lots of Leo’s lol

[@eviehankins8223]

Love the video and build! Also watching the cute lil ones explore a bit. :)

[@brentpalmer8001]

Thanks for the ideas!! I definitely need to re do some things in my enclosure!

[@marytwinflamessoulfamunite7102]

My favorite build yet I'm getting my first African Fat Tail Gecko in March she has a slight spinal deformity and is like 6 grams bellow average weight but over all has no special needs I'm so excited to give her a great home she's 5 months old now and 4 inches long and 9 grams as of Last Friday .

[@OtherwisePanic]

Got my kit coming in the mail today, just getting everything ready for my AFT gecko, I'm so excited!

[@TheBioDudeJoshHalter]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@OtherwisePanic]

@@TheBioDudeJoshHalter Thank you very much! My AFT gecko is settled in nicely. 😀

[@aliciadishman]

Those are beautiful Geckos! Love the tank set up too!

[@TheBioDudeJoshHalter]

Thank you!

[@kbs36]

Awesome setup with detail explanations.

[@TheBioDudeJoshHalter]

Glad you liked it

[@daniellereyes9154]

Good job , I have two fat tailed geckos and they would love that setup

[@Miduuza]

Such a beautiful species.

[@jjc5840]

Great video

[@Cliffhanger_MFC]

This is sooo awesome. Great video. I have always wanted a leopard Gecko then saw the Chinese Gecko but this one I am loving too.

[@TheBioDudeJoshHalter]

Thanks so much! They are all great!

[@shoshannahhenderson7125]

I absolutely love the videos on how to set up the babies homes. Please do one for a brachypelma hamorii.

[@Spaceey_]

Love watching your videos and your products. You've been so helpful in transitioning into bioactive with my reptiles! I do have a question regarding the breeding group, but I am in no way shape, or form a breeding expert. I am curious as to the decision to pair a white-out male with a white-out female? I have heard the super form is not viable?

[@rachelkunz611]

Loved this video. The Fat Tailed Gecko's cage is absolutely awesome!!! And those Gecko's were stunning!!!

[@TodaysRemedy]

Big fan Josh, you always provide the best for your reptiles, sadly it is not a common practice.

[@Runswithfathog]

This is a very expensive and very temporary setup. Good yes. Long term absolutely not. Pothos and spider plants root systems alone with completely dominant that substrate somewhat quickly. The other plants then don’t stand a chance. The pothos and spider plants also grow pretty large and will constantly need trimmed back so that you can even see inside the enclosure. Then in order to keep in looking good you’re constantly working at it and in a year maybe 2 if you’re really lucky you’re redoing the whole thing.

[@youzelin1199]

sick

[@KimberleyHope2000]

I was wondering why you didn't install the temperature probes. I was curious as to where and how you would attach them.

[@odaa2618]

Awesome!! Wondering if international shipping will be available soon? Would love to buy some stuff

[@stevennelms3870]

Let's see that update video!!!

[@TheBioDudeJoshHalter]

We'll add it to the list, dude! :)

[@shizzay39]

Won’t the whiteout and whiteout breed, and have infertile or dead babies since whiteout is a co-dominant? Let me know if I’m wrong thanks! 😊 @The Bio Dude Josh Halter

[@patrikback739]

It's not because it's co-dominant, but yes, the babies will most likely die.

[@slithering_snailz5315]

Wow, your bioactive tank is truly gorgeous and so are your geckos! Thank you for the tips by the way! Also, I have a question. If you had to chose between the two, Leopard geckos and African fat tailed geckos, which one would you prefer? I'm getting a gecko soon and I'm debating between these two. I've wanted a leopard gecko for I don't even know how long, but I've recently been interested in Fat tailed geckos due to their absolutely beautiful morphs. Thanks for your time! Anyone else can answer my question too, I'd like to receive opinions from everybody!

[@TheBioDudeJoshHalter]

honestly it comes down to what you want, theyre both great options.

[@diggydo4954]

Hi! I was wondering if you could do a veiled chameleon enclosure? If you do, can you put the price of the total in the description? If you can't that's totally fine I just need to know how to set up my chameleons enclosure. Thanks!

[@14.ghoullz]

I wanted to ask what substrate should I use for a Jeweled Lacerta?

[@weemattyy186]

Hey bud, any chance international shipping will be available soon? I’m from the UK and want to purchase this.

[@733rapid3]

You should try to do a uromastyx enclosure.

[@monsterkajiu1912]

How tall is the substrate dam on the terra fauna 75 gallon enclosure?

[@fastvincent1]

Hey, how often would you have to clean this tank, or at all?

[@TheBioDudeJoshHalter]

Hey there! Not often, if and when we do it is typically spot cleaning excess poop the clean up crew hasnt gotten to, or cleaning the glass. Hope this helps! The Dude Abides

[@abcderica444]

Do the geckos eat the isopods and spring tails? Is feeding on top of this necessary? How do you clean this tank? This is really cool and if I was a gecko, I'd love to live here! Thank youuu!

[@TheBioDudeJoshHalter]

Hey there! yes they CAN, we do recommend dwarf species for some of the reptiles that can use them as a food source. Tong feeding is recommended, or the use of a bowl for them to eat out of. You can spot clean the tank but the cleanup crew is gonna do the feces removal for you. hope that helps!

[@stevethegeck0]

Is the plan for when they lay their eggs to take the whole thing apart? I assume they will most likely lay their eggs in one of the hides?

[@patrikback739]

Another issue is he wont necessarily know who laid the eggs. Whiteout×whiteout=dead babies. You never breed a whiteout to a whiteout.

[@2ksecondsonhunt595]

Can we get an update on this too

[@mgtowdadYouTubeSucksCoxks]

Eager for some kind of update!

[@TheBioDudeJoshHalter]

We shall add that to the list!

[@mgtowdadYouTubeSucksCoxks]

@@TheBioDudeJoshHalter thank you, because I'm sure you have lots of spare time, and nothing to do. Haha. This week I'm going to be ordering some materials from your site. I'm looking forward to getting it and starting a bioactive setup for my Stripe, a rescued AFT.

[@that.onekid725]

Do you have a awesome intro

[@entity107]

Where do you get earwigs?

[@inmydarkesthour2278]

Feets 😂❤️

[@thanosfkz5350]

can i put a plant of african violet?

[@carlosarizcun_97]

they were a little bit stressed out and scared, probably because they were a lot in that small container, you can see that because they normally are even more chill and shy than leopard geckos, but with that enclosure they are going to thrive god damn this dude is good

[@frankdughtank8327]

:)

[@Emmzx0x]

Damn I want him to decorate my setups

[@mosasaurenjoyer4883]

ikr he is awesome

[@KaiahAurora]

Would similar substrate be good for a Chinese cave gecko? I would love to have a bioactive enclosure but I'm so paranoid about impaction

[@TheBioDudeJoshHalter]

hey there, impaction is a husbandry issue, as long as the temperatures are proper the animal will be able to digest and pass anything it accidentally gets in the mouth. there is a lot of unecessary fear mongering going on over impaction due to misinformation. go ahead and send customer care an email and they can list whats needed for a cave gecko and set up a invoice. [e-mail]

[@kevinwilson8449]

Hi Josh know this is totally off subject but I have been trying to go about getting my licensing for reptiles so I could go and set up booths and really get my business the reptilian ranch going but I don't know how or where to go to go about getting my licensing to do so I was told I needed a class c reptile license can u please give me some guidance on what I need to do and what licenses I need to get I just know what or how to go about this I am located in oklahoma this has been my dream and my life's goal since I was a little kid watching Steve Erwin

[@blobmanyaa9350]

what about heat is the one heat lamp really enough

[@TheBioDudeJoshHalter]

it depends on the size of the enclosure but yes with the temperatures we have the one is fine.

[@blobmanyaa9350]

@@TheBioDudeJoshHalter yea I read that it had to be lows 80e one side the other low 90s how did you achieve that with one lamp

[@2ksecondsonhunt595]

Do you think we can get an update video in the future?

[@2ksecondsonhunt595]

Also can we get an video of your creature just traveling around the cage

[@Yourlocalvamp13]

Idk if this is a silly question, But I'm in the process of having more bio active tanks for my fat tails. Would it be totally normal to have a bio active set up, but not have all the bugs roaming? Like I want them to have a bio active tank but to still just feed them outside of their tanks, If that makes sense

[@lawrencehamilton7021]

The bugs inside are not for food (even though your reptile may snack on them here and there) they are their to clean and break down waste and any dead plant matter or mold which is probably the main purpose of a bioactive set up

[@kazimirakrause5865]

The springtails and isopods are to eat the poo and plant debris (though they may still eat them once in awhile) but you'd still feed uour lizard bugs as usual

[@UCAxxAvatar]

Song?

[@thischannelisdead7952]

where do u get the 75 gal cage cause want one for my leopard gecko

[@thischannelisdead7952]

I mean bearded dragon

[@sonchild2881]

@@thischannelisdead7952 Bruh

[@isabellacisneros2829]

How young can they be in a bioactive set up?

[@TheBioDudeJoshHalter]

Hey hey! any age, we do recommend a two week quarantine with new animals before adding them in, but if the animal is otherwise healthy it willbe fine :) hope this helps! let us know if you have any further questions! The DudeAbides!

[@theslysamura1531]

Is it safe to cohab with my leopard geckos too?

[@TheBioDudeJoshHalter]

Hey there! no, we would not recommend co housing in general. Some do it well but most in confined spaces dont. They are also separate species, hope that helps!

[@mgtowdadYouTubeSucksCoxks]

also, will AFTs eat earwigs?

[@TheBioDudeJoshHalter]

Hey hey! they are probably too small to be on the AFTs radar for a snack honestly!

[@mgtowdadYouTubeSucksCoxks]

@@TheBioDudeJoshHalter maybe it's just that, growing up I had a bad incident in a tent with earwigs. But I remember them being roughly the size of small or medium crickets. It's kind of funny that I often think back to when I was a kid, how things like homes and driveways, bedrooms and the such, seemed so much larger when I was small compared to today. I hope one of my AFT gets an earwig, to avenge me for my childhood! Haha.

[@kevbone8061]

Jesus loves you

[@patrikback739]

Naw he dead Kev.

[@33Irishpride]

Can you post a follow up? I am waiting for your AFT kit to arrive and I’d like to do this setup for my juvenile female and possibly a male. Wondering if they will get along or not.

[@zoeyreptiliusowner]

no dont cohab leos and or afts...they are solitary reptiles and will fight also the male will stress out the female

[@GrizzlyDave85]

The intro music should stop after the intro when you start talking about the build. It’s really loud and distracting. Just my opinion, other than that I love the video

[@jerrydease1459]

Pickerel Frogs, Leopard Frog, Southern Leopard, Green Frogs & American Bullfrogs paludariums! Please, Oh Please! 😁 I’m only into Native species! (Marylander) They’re really fun hyper-active frogs full of personality! Get some, please?

[@devynthecatwithsocks9010]

hi i have 2 aft's im housing together. What size tank would be best for them? They are opposite sex

[@soulheights823]

Um.. is this really a normal setup for fat tails? Do they really need three kinds of insects, real plants, dirt, moss, bacteria, rocks & driftwood? That's fine it's just a lot to think about🤔

[@alparchment]

Is it just me or is the intro music too long?

[@inmydarkesthour2278]

Omg who cares

[@alparchment]

@@inmydarkesthour2278 you don’t have to be so rude, it was only a suggestion to shorten the intro music.

[@Miduuza]

Its just you. I've seen intros much longer

[@stephankrause9943]

Looks nice. But there is absolutely no need for uvb lighting. I have seen these georgeous creatures in their natural habitation. They come out when the Sun sun has set. And in nature they avoid leaves. Nice video though, but no natural set up, sorry

[@eddieesch8805]

Why the mask just asking?? ...makes for terrible audio!

[@TheBioDudeJoshHalter]

We are in the Houston, TX area, which unfortunately is a red zone for Covid. Our governor mandated that we all must where masks in public, and as a business, we can get fined and have our doors shut if we don’t comply.

[@PeacheIIe]

"which allows them to drop it in the event of a danger" "EVENT OF A DANGER" Are all americans illiterate? Because it seems like a running theme at this point.

[@TheBioDudeJoshHalter]

It is typically not recommended to generalize or amend an entire culture of people into one general demographic, its 2022....dude!

[@mgtowdadYouTubeSucksCoxks]

@@TheBioDudeJoshHalter additionally, danger can be a noun if you look in this thing called a dictionary. For example. A nail sticking up from the floor, can pose a danger to someone. You're welcome!

[@salm6443]

Guy you don’t have to wear the mask

[@goose502]

I’m in no way an anti-masker, but please drop the masks for the videos. I’m assuming there are no customers involved in the filming. Just seems distracting, but if you feel uncomfortable without it, please keep it on.

[@14.ghoullz]

So there is a magician moving the camera.

[@KumoGoesFast]

we all gotta make some sacrifices, it'll be okay. also if you've seen other videos by Josh, customers regularly walk thru the store in the background of them.

[@Gavrilo-ww6nd]

Masks will stop him breathing all his possible virus carrying particles all over his shop surfaces, cages, animals etc. and of course the camera person. Also it’s just professional...

[@Miduuza]

Masks need to be worn at all times in shops and businesses. Weather you're a customer, employee or even the owner. He's just being responsible.

[@cosmicape4829]

Do you have any grow lights without any uvb? Im looking for grow lights that do not produce uvb or uva

[@TheBioDudeJoshHalter]

The Glow and Grow does not produce UVB. We will have an LED UVB soon, however you are good with our current offerings if that is what you are looking for. Thank you!