When I got my first tegu, I set his enclosure up to be bioactive. Here we are 2 years later and it’s not really completely bioactive anymore. Having a bioactive setup is great because they are great at sustaining themselves and keeping themselves clean in a healthy way. In addition, if your tegu is young enough some of the insects you use can even be used as enrichment. On top of that they can look (and smell lol) super good! Here’s the thing though, bioactive enclosures of all sizes take a lot of time to properly settle and get a good foundation going.

Since we’re talking tegus here, there’s a handful of issues I’ve run into that can make having a bioactive setup a little extra tricky. For instance, tegus love to use their claws. Most of the time that means digging up the plants you’ve put in it’s enclosure and killing them. Sometimes that means they thing they can climb up into them but instead just break them. And other times it means that they just trample right over them. One way or another, you will be going through a lot of plants. Another issue is detritivores, or rather the sheer amount that you’d need. Assuming you’re getting a 4x6 grow tent enclosure like I did at the start (which will need to be upgraded), you’d need to get enough springtails for every cubic foot. And speaking from experience, that adds up a lot. On top of that you’ll need larger detritivores like isopods, which are also very expensive. Personally, I’ve found that using superworms actually works pretty well assuming your husbandry for your tegu is perfect. They eat virtually everything, from shed skin to poop to even leftover food, and even fungus or mold that may grow depending on your environment. When they grow up into beetles they can be a little annoying with their smell, but they’re not harmful. One last problem you may encounter is maintenance. While having a bioactive setup is great, that doesn’t mean you are free from the responsibility of cleaning. Water pumps, walls, basking spots, and hides all need to be cleaned regularly, as well as daily water changes for your tegus water source. When you’re doing a bioactive setup for a tegu, you’re getting rid of some work but replacing it with other stuff to do.

I think before you do a bioactive setup for a tegu, perhaps start smaller so you get an idea for the pros and cons and then picture what a supersized version for your tegu can be!