The above information will help paint us a picture of what type of plants you'd like to see used in your environment. Most vivariums we build use the standard or semi-biotopic option.

Biotope is defined as "an area of uniform environmental conditions providing a living place for a specific assemblage of plants and animals". In the vivarium hobby, biotope often means using plants specifically found in the same locale as the inhabitant animal, for a "location correct" slice of the jungle.

If your specified species is one which requires UVB, we'll automatically include it in the quote.

The above information will point us in the right general direction when quoting an order. With your input, we'll take the inhabitant species & enclosure size into account when we make our initial suggestion. For information on what to expect as far as price & recommendations are concerned for your specific enclosure, visit vivariumlighting.com.

One important point... Illuminating enclosures over 24" tall becomes increasingly difficult & expensive. For detailed info as to why, visit vivariumlighting.com#inversesquarelaw. To make a long story short, if you'd like to keep costs down, try to keep the enclosure height 24" or less. At 36" & higher, custom lighting systems may be required.

Note: Businesses, museums, and other locations where the vivarium will be on immediate display may benefit from having the vivarium pre-acclimated prior to delivery/pickup. A grown-in vivarium looks much nicer & more true to nature, and is more forgiving to a slight lack of maintenance. The process of plants & microfauna establishing themselves generally takes 3-4 weeks. Learn more about subject of acclimation in our Vivarium Construction 102 article (vivariumbuilding.com).

IMPORTANT: We do not deliver completed vivariums outside of Connecticut. All out-of-state clients are advised to select "Pickup".