Natural Item, Informational Page

The Natural Breakdown of Unpreserved Items in a Vivarium

When you add unpreserved natural materials — like seed pods, leaves, bark, and wood — to your vivarium, you’re introducing pieces of nature that are 100% real and alive with potential. Because these items aren’t chemically preserved, they’ll go through a completely natural breakdown process over time.

This is a good thing! In a bioactive setup, this natural cycle helps create a living ecosystem that supports healthy plants, thriving microfauna, and a balanced environment for your animals.

Here’s what happens naturally:

• 🌿 Decomposition begins: Microbes, fungi, and beneficial invertebrates (like springtails and isopods) begin to break down organic matter.

• 🌱 Nutrient recycling: As materials decompose, they release essential nutrients back into the soil — helping your plants grow stronger and healthier.

• 🍂 Visual changes: Leaves, bark, and wood may darken, soften, or slowly break apart — this is normal and a sign of a thriving bioactive environment.

• 🦠 Fungi and mould: You might see small patches of white fuzz or mushrooms appear temporarily. Don’t worry — this is part of the natural ecosystem and often disappears once your cleanup crew gets to work. Mould is always temporary and can't persist for long! 

Over time, these pieces will naturally wear down and may need to be replaced — giving you the chance to refresh and redesign your setup with new textures and colours from our ever-changing selection of natural decor.

If you’d rather skip the natural breakdown process, plastic décor is your best bet — though we stay true to nature here! We don’t stock standard plastic items, but we do offer eco-friendly wheat grass “natural plastic” bowls as a sustainable alternative.

Whether you go fully natural or mix and match with preserved decor, each piece you choose adds to the personality and health of your vivarium — helping you build a truly living work of art.