🦎 Enclosure Upgrades, Summer Shenanigans, and One Very Busy Gecko

Over the past few weeks, the Kiley’s Kritters crew has been in full swing—balancing summertime fun with a whole lot of reptile room chaos. Between designing brand-new 3D-printed reptile supplies (story coming soon 👀), filming music videos, and refreshing our bioactive enclosures, it’s been a wild, wonderful July!

And first things first…
🎉 THANK YOU for over 1,000 views on our “Soar Eagle Soar” 4th of July video!
We’re so grateful to everyone who watched, liked, and shared it—it’s always exciting to see a project soar. (Pun fully intended.)

🌿 Bioactive Refresh: Bilbo Draggins Gets a Summer Makeover

During one of our regular critter check-ins, we noticed some of our bioactive enclosures were starting to look a little... tired. In particular, Bilbo Draggins, our bearded dragon with the heart of a hobbit and the appetite of a small dinosaur, had completely trashed his previously majestic setup.

What once was lush and thriving last summer had become a plant graveyard by this July. So we hit the road and headed to our local Home Depot for some desert-friendly greenery—grabbing a few types of cactus, a hearty aloe plant, and an “elephant feed” plant for variety.

Each plant got a gentle rinse in a Mosquito Bits tea bath (our go-to for killing off potential fungus gnat larvae), and then we got to planting! We also added a few dramatic chunks of Dragon Stone—no, not the one from Game of Thrones, but it does look like it belongs in Westeros. These rocks hold heat well and make a perfect basking perch.

A few fresh pieces of cork bark completed the setup. And how did Bilbo respond? That very first night, before the lights had even turned off, he was already curled up under the new cork log, fast asleep. Every night since, he’s gone to bed early like a well-fed, sun-soaked king.

🦎 Grogu Levels Up: From Tub Life to Reptile Royalty

Meanwhile, Grogu—or as Kiley calls him, “Dairy King”—was getting a long-overdue upgrade. This chunky Leachianus gecko had officially outgrown his simple tub setup. So, Dad got to work.

We ordered a 2x2x2 Black PVC enclosure from Dubia.com, and restocked our supplies at The BioDude. When everything arrived, we assembled the enclosure, sealed the seams with silicone for bioactive use, and let it cure in the garage for 48 hours.

Once cured, the new enclosure was stationed right in our entertainment room, next to the Uromastyx Nursery, where the fun began.

Now… if you know anything about Leachies, you’ll understand this part: plants don’t stand a chance. These hefty muppets are expert climbers with absolutely no regard for the leafy decor beneath their feet. But still—we had to try.

🌱 The Dairy King’s New Domain

Instead of going all-out with Gorilla Glue, spray foam, and elaborate sculpting, we took a simpler (but still stylish) approach. We packed in some beautiful flat cork bark panels, added a few birch branches, and filled in the gaps with damp sphagnum moss.

To add a splash of greenery, we tucked in a few Bromeliad pups and semi-air plants into the back wall—knowing full well they were living on borrowed time. For a centerpiece, we finally used a massive cork bark log Dad picked up at a 2024 reptile expo. It’s been sitting on standby for over a year, just waiting for its moment to shine.

A few cork bark rounds from The BioDude, a household snake plant, and a thousand or so springtails and isopods later… the Dairy King’s throne was ready.

💩 First Impressions: Classic Grogu

We placed Grogu inside, and within seconds, the chaos began.

First, he jumped right onto the background, casually smashing one of the new Bromeliad pups. Then, with Olympic-level grace, he leaped to the smooth black PVC wall—and promptly lifted his tail and pooped. 💩

Welcome home, buddy.

Good thing we pre-loaded the soil with a booming cleanup crew of springtails and isopods! Perks of breeding them in-house: they’re always on standby, ready for action. And thanks to Momma’s new 3D-printed darkling beetle farm, we should have a fresh supply of superworms coming soon. Fingers crossed Grogu doesn’t eat them all in one go.

🛠️ What’s Next?

We’re super proud of how this enclosure turned out—no crazy foam backgrounds or elaborate sculpting, just good materials, smart layering, and a lot of love (and poop).

Stay tuned for our 3D-printed reptile supply post, where we’ll be sharing the behind-the-scenes of some fun new designs—including items for leos, beardies, and even some stuff for feeders.

Until then, keep those cork logs stocked, keep the plants coming (even if they won’t last), and remember—every enclosure tells a story. Sometimes that story includes a midair poop.

From our critters to yours,
The Kiley’s Kritters Crew 🦎💚