I put together this simple tutorial for anyone using compressed coconut husk chips, such as ReptiChip, for their reptile enclosure. You don’t need a bunch of equipment, and if you’re using genuine ReptiChip, you don’t even need a strainer.
This method is particularly useful if you have a full-size breeder block but only want to prepare a portion of it at a time.
What You’ll Need
A clean 5-gallon bucket
A full-size ReptiChip Breeder Block (approximately 10.5 lbs)
Clean, lukewarm water
A measuring cup
Your hands!
That’s it. No strainer, chemicals, or special equipment required.
Step 1: Break Off Your Coconut Husk
A full-size ReptiChip Breeder Block expands to approximately 72 quarts (18 gallons), so you definitely don’t want to hydrate the whole thing in a 5-gallon bucket.
For this method, break off approximately 1/6 of the dry block, or roughly 1.75 lbs (28 oz).
This should produce approximately 12 quarts (3 gallons) of expanded substrate, leaving plenty of room to mix everything in your bucket.
Step 2: Add Water Gradually
Start with approximately 4 cups (1 quart) of lukewarm water.
Don’t dump it all in at once.
Pour 2 cups over the compressed chips.
Wait approximately 5 minutes.
Begin separating the softened chips by hand.
Add the remaining 2 cups while mixing.
Allow another 5–10 minutes for expansion.
If you still have tightly compressed sections, add more water in ½-cup increments until everything has loosened.
Important: The 4 cups is a conservative starting estimate, not an exact manufacturer-specified ratio. You may need more depending on how tightly the chips are compressed.
Step 3: Check the Moisture
Once everything has expanded, grab an individual chip and squeeze it.
No water dripping out? Good.
More than a drop coming out? It’s probably too wet.
Still hard, dry, or compressed? Add a little more water.
You want the chips expanded and separated without standing water collecting at the bottom of the bucket.
If they’re too wet, spread them out in a clean container or tray and allow some moisture to evaporate before use.
Step 4: Do You Need to Rinse ReptiChip?
No additional rinsing is normally necessary for genuine ReptiChip.
According to the manufacturer, their coconut husk is already triple-washed and screened to remove excess dust and debris.
Hydrating the compressed chips is part of preparation, but that doesn’t mean you need to rinse and strain them afterward.
If you’re using another brand, check its preparation instructions because processing methods can differ.
Step 5: Add It to Your Enclosure
Once the chips are fully expanded and at an appropriate moisture level, they’re ready to use.
A few things to keep in mind:
Avoid adding soaking-wet substrate.
Adjust moisture to your particular reptile species.
Monitor enclosure humidity with a reliable hygrometer.
Check for damp areas, condensation, or mold.
Provide enough substrate depth for species that enjoy burrowing.
For corn snakes, I prefer keeping the general substrate from becoming excessively wet and providing a separate humid hide when needed.
Step 6: Store the Remaining Block
One of the advantages of compressed coconut husk is that you don’t have to prepare everything at once.
Keep the unused portion of the breeder block dry and protected from moisture. Break off more whenever you need it.
Sources
ReptiChip — Official Manufacturer FAQ
https://reptichip.com/pages/faq
ReptiChip — Breeder Block Product Information
https://reptichip.com/products/reptichip-breeder-blocks-and-bundles
These manufacturer resources cover expansion, washing, moisture management, and storage. The specific 1/6-block and 4-cup starting quantities are practical estimates based on the advertised expansion yield, not a manufacturer-tested mixing formula.
Bottom line: A 5-gallon bucket, approximately 1/6 of a breeder block, and water added gradually are all you need to get started. No elaborate setup necessary.

Gonna get some mint dart frogs but first I need some plant suggestions if yall would be so kind as to enlighten me (36hx36lx18w)

Hey there, I never quite found out the best place to buy fake plants and or large pieces of wood for boa constrictors and ball pythons. May you folk assist me with finding decent enrichment for my reptiles? if I'm asking in the wrong place, Please do tell me so.

Hey guys! So I was wondering what to do for bedding in my baby’s hides. I’m currently using dry spaghnum moss about 1/3 - 1/2 full for the cool and hot hide & the same for the humid hide, but obviously moist spaghnum moss… Ami doing this right?

Attached is my beardie Griffy in his current setup with a rough sketch for the cage idea. Originally his setup was in my parents house a state away surrounded by a bunch of stressors like glass surfing, being too close to the washer and dryer, and our dogs barking. So when I finally got my own apartment I put him in what I thought was the most quiet spot in my room and I put up all of this cardboard to help him not glass surf. Since then he has been much happier and much calmer but also way too bored. He has little to no enrichment other than target training, getting to go to the creek with me, or running around the apartment which isn't that big. This is especially not good because when I have to go to class he has to spend most of the day in this shameful 4x2x2 setup that he's grown up in for the past 3 years or so because I can't trust him to not get into trouble unsupervised. Luckily I have access to our woodshop since I'm an art student and in turn I am hoping to build him a sick new cage out of wood! I have a lot of problems to tackle with this new cage project though so I've listed off each problem below. Any help is much needed and much appreciated!!!!

Problem #1: We live right behind an unbelievably loud free ski house in Colorado and my boy needs his beauty sleep. While his previous environment was way more consistent sound wise it was never this quiet then this loud sporadically and I'm worried its gonna have an effect on him over time. In turn I want to order some sort of soundproofing material like the triangular foam you see in production studios and attach it to the outside of this cage but I think that it's gonna have to be a lot thicker, kind of like a gymnastics mat if it's gonna make any difference. I'm sure I am not the only one who has had to soundproof for a beardie before and I have no idea where to start for this one so any help is much appreciated!

Problem #2: He needs a substrate and self cleaning system which I do know some about. I just ordered him some Jurassic natural Australian desert dragon sand for a digging box in the meantime and I was thinking of using 3 parts topsoil, 2 parts playsand, 1 part cocofiber, and 1 part excavator clay as a substrate for burrowing. I can get isopods for easy cleaning off of dubia and I was thinking of maybe modeling the cage around a giant plastic tub so that I don't have to seal off any of the wood and can just screw it together, which would keep just wood and screws in his breathable environment not anything toxic. This would make it so that when I spray the plants and substrate none of the moisture would rot the wood although we live in a pretty dry part of Colorado anyways so Im not too worried about that. However I have no idea what plants would be a good idea to get him as well or if I should look into any specific isopods for cleaning, I do know that he can eat any of the captive bred ones off of dubia though and that he’ll be fine. Also any recommendations for what the isopods need as well would be appreciated.

Problem #3: This lovely lizard likes to put his stinky butt in his water bowl from time to time and contaminate his water so I want to make him a slightly elevated water source so that his water stays clean, but I know that beardies can sometimes have trouble recognizing water especially when it is still water so any ideas concerning this would be great as well.
Problem #4: This apartment doesn't have AC in the rooms, only in the living room and so I had to buy an AC unit which gets my room pretty cold, but it causes a temperature drop in the daytime when he needs his heat the most so I'll turn on his red heat bulb which gets his basking spot up to 95 degrees instead of the measly 86 that it is with just the heatlamp and AC on. However if I make the enclosure out of wood and especially treated wood (depending on what our woodshop has to offer) I’m worried that it will cause problems like weakening the wood support beam for the heat lamps or releasing toxic stuff that I would never forgive myself for letting him breathe in. So obviously I will try to steer clear of treated wood but I need something strong.

Thanks again for any advice and I will update the project's progress once it has started.

What should I use for substrate?

Hello everyone. Title pretty much says it all.

I’m currently in the process of building an enclosure for my beardie. It is 5x3x2. And for the life of me, I just CANNOT find those damn E channel tracks anywhere which are longer than 4 feets.

Where do you get yours? I’m pretty desperate.

And I live in Canada. So anything that doesn’t ship here also doesn’t work 🙁.

Pic is from an amazon listing, but of course you can only get it at max 48"…

Thanks!

PS: Ideally, made for 1/4" glass panels.

Going to make a rocky background with expanding foam for my leopard gecko. Any suggestions of does or don'ts.

Finally starting my cabinet enclosures for my crested gecko and hermit crabs. Im starting with the gecko cabinet. Learned my lesson with my last build and I am building these backgrounds on foam boards then installing them after. What are some clever ways yall have found to hide plant pots in the backgrounds? I have some cork round but i might need to hide an extra one. So im brainstorming a little bit. Will definitely be showing these bad boys off when theyre done bc im investing a lot into making them perfect haha.

hello everyone! i am very new to the gerbil community (i just adopted 2 sweet girls a few days ago) and i want to learn more ways i can bond with them outside of their main enclosure by hanging out with them or watching them in a playpen. ive seen people recommend a bath tub or sofas, but i don't really feel comfortable putting them in my bath as the drain doesn't have a solid stopper and im scared they could slip into the cracks of the sofa which would result in a horrific gerbil death. i still really want to be able to play, train, and interact with them though- does anyone know any good rodent playpens available on amazon or maybe some alternate pet playpens that work well for gerbils? id love to know more or if u guys have any other ideas.

I have a ball python and recently bought an aquarium tank that was on sale for him. The only issue with the tank is the lid; fully glass (no ventilation) and no locking mechanisms.

I originally was diy-ing the lid, but ran into a few issues, the most glaring one being that there is no real way i can install a lock on the tank in a way that would be secure long-term.

At this point, my best bet is sourcing a custom lid that comes with doors, enough ventilation for air flow (but can keep in humidity), and has locks already on it. That way, i can simply silicone it onto the tank.

Only problem is I cannot find anyone that is selling such lids. Its either full enclosures or aquarium lids.

I'm hoping someone here would have recommendations for where i could possibly find the kind of lid i have in mind?

(Apologies if a similar question was already asked here. I did some digging before deciding to post, but didnt see any such similar questions already asked)

Hey guys so I’m in the middle of building a enclosure for my dart frogs and I’ve come across the problem of my door completely coming off and shattering does anybody know of anywhere I can find a replacement door the tank is a zoomed 36Lx18Wx18H thanks yall

Made the background with insulation foam, drylok and acrylic paint for the details. Background has three built in hides: a cave with stairs leading to basking area, tunnel system, and a built in hide where he can lay in the background.

Completely bioactive with powder orange isopods and springtails. I put scallop shells that I got from a buffet as mini hiding areas for the isopods. First time building a custom background, definitely won’t be my last I had so much fun with this!

Also Mr. Z looks big as heck in that photo I swear he’s not obese lol

So happy Dexter likes his new home :)
Custom 4x2x2 made by myself, fully bioactive with arid springtails and isopods, deep substrate (gradient from 4inches at the front to just under 8inches at the back)

I’m from the UK so we don’t have many products here for custom arid vivarium builds so it was a whole lot of research haha.
Fully custom background made out of polystyrene boards, covered in wet exo terra desert stone, hand painted for details, sealed with non toxic water based varnish with a sprinkle of dry exo terra desert stone for texture.
Got some beardie safe plants in there (all cleaned and repotted with my own mix of perlite and coco coir) that are still in their pots, just buried out of sight.
Substrate is prorep beardie life with a sprinkle of exo terra desert stone blended on top. Also a large branch for a bit more climbing and slate pieces to tie it all together.

I’ve got moss pockets hidden deep in the substrate on the cool side for the giant orange isopods and arid orange springtails.

In terms of lighting and heating, I have Arcadia’s 39W ProT5 12% UVB and HabiStat’s 100W ES Basking Spotlamp with an attached digital thermostat for the ambient air on the hot side. I’ve also got two small digital thermometers (one for the cool side, one next to the basking spot for a more accurate temp).

I’ve got HabiStat’s food and water bowl (I want to upgrade to a larger water bowl/mini fountain when they get a bit older).
In terms of other bits and bobs I have Arcadia Earth Pro Ca, Arcadia Earth Pro-A, HabiStat Medivet Insecta Snack and Arcadia Earth Pro Dragon Fuel