Exo Terra Bamboo Forest Kit 30 x 30 x 45cm

• Natural Terrarium Mini Tall (PT2602) – 30 x 30 x 45 cm glass terrarium with dual front-opening doors and a locking mechanism
• Removable stainless steel screen top – full mesh, lifts out completely
• Rock terrarium background – fitted to the terrarium, with cut-outs for wires and tubing
• Bamboo background – the themed panel that gives the kit its name
• Bamboo ornament – integrated hide, water dish and food station in one piece
• Moss Mat Mini (PT2480) – 30 x 30 cm floor covering
• Analog thermometer (PT2465)
• Hygrometer (PT2466)
• Compact Top Mini (PT2225) – lamp fixture only, 30 cm, one screw-in ceramic socket
• Exo Terra catalogue

The Compact Top is supplied as an empty fixture. This is the part of the kit most often misread, so it is worth being blunt: out of the box there is no light, no UVB and no heat.

• A UVB bulb. The fixture takes one screw-based compact bulb up to 26 W. The Reptile UVB200 13 W Compact and UVB200 25 W Compact both sit inside that ceiling, as does the Reptile UVB100 Tropical Compact 5.0 for lower-UV forest species.
• A heat source. An Intense Basking Spot Lamp for species that bask, or a mat for species that do not. The single Compact Top socket takes one bulb, so lighting and heating from above means a second fixture.
• A thermostat. Every heat source needs one. The Eco Tech Dimming Day/Night Reptile Thermostat suits a basking lamp; an on/off unit is wrong for one and will strobe it.
• A substrate. The moss mat is a surface covering, not a bedding you can dig or plant into. For a planted or bioactive build add a drainage layer such as Exo Terra Bio Drain Substrate underneath a tropical bedding.
• The animal, and its food. No livestock is included.

Height is the number that decides what this enclosure can house, so it is worth working through rather than taking on trust.

Exo Terra publishes 45 cm as the external height. It does not publish an internal clear height, and the usable space is less than 45 cm once the base and the screen frame are accounted for.

The Compact Top sits on top of the mesh, which puts the bulb above the screen rather than inside the enclosure. The distance that matters is from the bulb to wherever the animal actually sits – the top of a branch, not the floor. On a 45 cm enclosure with a raised perch, that distance can be a good deal shorter than the enclosure height suggests.

Every Exo Terra UVB bulb and basking lamp publishes its own chart: UV index by distance for the UVB lamps, temperature by distance for the heat lamps, plus a minimum safe mounting distance. Measure from your bulb to your highest perch, then read that measured distance off the chart on the specific bulb you are buying. Do not assume a bulb is safe because it fits the fixture.

Mesh costs you some of it. A screen top passes UVB – that is why Exo Terra uses one – but it absorbs a share of what passes through. Published UV index figures are open-air readings unless a manufacturer states otherwise, so the reading under your mesh at the animal's level will be lower than the chart.

If the bamboo theme is not the draw, the Rainforest Habitat Kit 30 x 30 x 45 cm is the same terrarium furnished differently. If you already own decor, the Mini Tall Terrarium 30 x 30 x 45 cm is the same glass enclosure on its own.

Suitable for

• Small arboreal geckos and similar climbing species suited to a 30 x 30 x 45 cm footprint
• A first tropical terrarium, where having the background, hide, gauges and fixture already matched saves a lot of guesswork
• Planted and bioactive nano builds, once a drainage layer and bedding go in
• Keepers who will read the bulb charts and buy lighting and heating to suit their species

Not suitable for

• Housing an animal straight out of the box. There is no bulb, no heat and no thermostat in it
• Bearded dragons, blue-tongues, larger monitors or any species needing a long floor run
• Species needing high UVB at distance – 45 cm of height limits how far a lamp can sit from the animal
• Adult snakes of any size beyond the very smallest species
• Aquatic or semi-aquatic turtles
• Running two overhead fixtures at once without buying a second fixture. The supplied Compact Top has one socket
• Outdoor or unheated rooms

Fit the background and the bamboo ornament before any substrate goes in, so you are not working around a filled floor.

Site the thermometer at the animal's level, not at the top of the glass where the air is warmest and least relevant. Put the hygrometer away from the water dish, which will otherwise read the dish rather than the enclosure.

Run the enclosure empty for a few days with the lighting and heating you have chosen, and check that the warm end, the cool end and the humidity all hold where your species needs them, before the animal moves in.

UVB output falls long before the bulb stops lighting up. Replace UVB bulbs on the interval the bulb manufacturer states, not when they fail.

The moss mat lifts out for rinsing and drying. Spot-clean it between full cleans.

Clean the glass with a reptile-safe cleaner or diluted white vinegar, never an ammonia-based household spray. Check the door lock every time you clean – it is the part that stops an escape.

The Compact Top fixture is not water resistant. Keep misting away from it and keep it clear of condensation.

• Exo Terra Reptile UVB200 13 W Compact – a compact UVB bulb inside the fixture's 26 W ceiling.
• Exo Terra Intense Basking Spot Lamp – the heat side of the setup, for species that bask.
• Eco Tech Dimming Day/Night Reptile Thermostat – the control a basking lamp must have.
• Exo Terra Bio Drain Substrate – the drainage layer for a planted or bioactive floor.
• Exo Terra Forest Moss Mat Mini 30 x 30 cm – a spare of the mat supplied, so one can dry while the other is in.
• Exo Terra Bendable Moss Vine – adds climbing routes and raises the animal closer to the light, which changes its basking distance.

Exo Terra does not publish a single warranty term covering the kit as a whole. Your rights under the Australian Consumer Law apply regardless, and any manufacturer warranty sits in addition to them – the kit must be of acceptable quality and fit for the purpose it is sold for.

The Compact Top fixture is a mains appliance and runs from a standard 240 V / 50 Hz outlet. It is not water resistant and is for indoor use only.

The kit ships as an oversize carton containing a glass terrarium. It is not dangerous goods and needs no cold chain, but it is bulky and fragile, so check the carton on arrival.

Does the Exo Terra Bamboo Forest Kit come with a light bulb?

No. The kit includes the Compact Top Mini fixture but no bulb of any kind. You need to add at least a UVB bulb, and for most species a separate heat source as well, before the terrarium can house an animal.

Does it include heating or a thermostat?

No to both. There is no heat lamp, no heat mat and no thermostat in the kit. Any heat source you add must be run through a thermostat.

What size bulb fits the supplied fixture?

One screw-based bulb up to 26 W if compact fluorescent, or up to 25 W if incandescent. The Compact Top Mini has a single ceramic socket, so lighting and heating from above means adding a second fixture.

What can I keep in a 30 x 30 x 45 cm terrarium?

Small arboreal species that use vertical space rather than floor space, kept singly. It is too small for bearded dragons, blue-tongues and adult snakes, and the 45 cm height limits how far a UVB or basking lamp can sit above the animal.

Is the moss mat a substrate?

It is a floor covering rather than a bedding. It cannot be dug into or planted, so a bioactive or planted build needs a drainage layer and a tropical bedding added underneath and around it.

Can I mount a UVB lamp on the mesh top?

Yes, that is how the supplied fixture is designed to sit. Measure from the bulb down to your highest perch and check that distance against the UV index chart for the specific bulb, remembering that mesh absorbs part of the UVB passing through it and that published figures are open-air readings.

Is the terrarium background already fitted?

The Natural Terrarium ships with its rock background in place, and it is designed to be cut for wires and tubing. The bamboo background and the bamboo ornament are supplied as part of the kit for you to position.