How to choose reptile vivarium accessories
A vivarium is comprised of the outer shell or housing and is made into a complete system by the addition of a number of key components. These key components will include items such as base substrates, lighting and heating elements. Decoration is added to naturalistic systems to replicate the look of the animal’s natural habitat. Other accessories are available to enable further customisation of the kit or to improve facilities for your reptile, for example, provision of a hide. Also in this section you will find items, which are not easily fitted into any of the main sales area categories.

A few examples of popular accessories are detailed below:

Hides.
Hides are useful additions to provide sleeping quarters or a simple refuge. They also allow a reptile to retreat from the hot area of the vivarium and are, therefore, best placed towards the cool end. They can be lined with moss to provide a moist, humid temporary microenvironment or even with crinkled up brown paper to assist with shedding. In vivariums with a number of reptiles they provide a safe haven for the more timid or subordinate inhabitants.

Water bowls.
Water bowls need to be chosen with care as not all are suitable for all types of reptiles. For example vivariums containing Tortoises should have a small, very shallow water bowl so that if the Tortoise up-ends, there is no chance of it drowning. Conversely, a water-loving lizard such as a Water Dragon requires a very large water bowl in order to allow it to frolic and bathe. Snakes also are usually in need of a large water bowl, as they will often sit in it after eating in order to aid digestion, or when shedding to soften their skin. For both water dragons and snakes a large, heavy bowl should be chosen so that it is not easily turned over. Ceramic dog bowls are ideal for this purpose. Resin bowls are made in a rock effect design and look particularly good in the vivarium. Dispensing water bowls are also available. These have a reservoir, which automatically tops up a water dish below. They are especially useful for holiday periods.

Backgrounds.
The most popular backgrounds are a decorative picture sheet that can be attached to the back or back and sides of the vivarium. Available in a number of habitat scenes they provide an attractive backdrop to the interior and as many are 3D, the landscape within is seemingly extended towards a virtual horizon. These picture scenes should be attached to the outside, not inside the vivarium, using ordinary or double-sided sellotape. Interior backdrops are also available with perhaps the best of these being produced by Pet-Tech, although they are more expensive than picture backgrounds. Affix these with aquarium silicone glue. As well as adding a decorative dimension, backgrounds will also help to insulate the vivarium against heat loss. Zoo-Med do in fact produce a corrugated “Insulator Background” which is specifically designed to provide insulation.

Other accessories.
Many other useful accessories are available including lizard climbing ladders, water reservoirs for arboreal lizards and hammock like slings to name but a few.

The addition of one or more accessories provides the final element to complete your vivarium display and can also offer practical benefits, such as insulation. Some can fine tune elements of the reptile’s habitat to make it a safer, happier environment and provide fun and interest for them.