Hello everyone, I’m very geeked out about the project we will be embarking on today. I’m so creatively charged, that I drew a Mockup for two potential ideas behind today’s theme. But before I get too carried away, let’s start with this Dinosaur terrarium!

If you’re new to the concept of a Bantamarium, I highly recommend checking out the detailed guide I’ve created. In essence, a Bantamarium is a versatile vivarium designed to bring miniature ecosystems to life. It’s a concept I’ve developed to make it easier for anyone—regardless of experience level—to create a thriving, visually stunning vivarium that blends art with nature.

A Jurassic Park Terrarium

This terrarium will have a theme that revolves around the Jurassic Park franchise. We’ll sort of, I think it will be more of a Dinosuar-themed tank, it’s just that movie is always the first to come to mind when I think of anything prehistoric!

Making A Dinosaur Terrarium

This dinosaur terrarium will focus on the premise of a jungle scene. I’m calling this one Jurassic Jungle! It will come complete with its custom terrain as well as a pack of dinosaur terrarium models that I’m very excited to add to our current decor lineup. Let’s run down the list of what you’ll need to make your very own “Jurassic Park” themed terrarium:

Materials:

• Mega Bantamarium Jar 10″ x 6″
• Classic Prehistoric Cliffs | Inner Terrain Decor
• Dinosaur Pack 4x
• Sheet Moss
• Black Gravel
• Mixed Brown Gravel (Pebble)
• Natural Granular Sand
• Coco Fiber Peat Soil
• Miniature Ferns

Tools:

• Aquascaping Tool Kit

The Classic Prehistoric Cliffs Terrain Decor:

This terrain is specifically tailored to the tank we will be making today. I wanted to escape something that had a very prehistoric feel to it. The colors… the volcanic aesthetics… the scale… all strategically formed to help enhance the fossilized theme I was hoping to produce.

Creating The Ultimate Jurassic Jungle:

Don’t mind the choice of the jar too much for this one, there wasn’t any real intent behind the use of a constellation jar. It was more of a curiosity thing for me personally. I do however think our Mega Bantamarium Jar was a good pick scale-wise for what I have in mind with this build.

We will be using a layering format for the substrate section here. I think adding a variety of textures and colors to the initial drainage layer adds an element of artistic touch that illustrates the primitive formation earth would have had at the time. I’m starting with black gravel for this.

The next part of the drainage layer will be coarse-grained sand. This will help separate the color between this layer and the base substrate layer.

For the base substrate layer, I’m adding coco fiber peat. This is the layer most of the plants we will be using can root through.

Once our substrate is neatly down, the terrain can be placed. I’m placing this one as far back as I can to have room upfront for the dinosaur decor.

Now that the terrain is in place, I’m going to add one more layer of the substrate. This time using this new assorted grey gravel we just got in.

This gravel will serve two purposes: for one, it’s a gorgeous aesthetic that will add to the prehistoric theme I’m aiming for. It also acts as a barrier to keep mold from forming over the constantly moist substrate in our tropical jungle.

Best Plants For A Dinosaur Terrarium

We are now ready to move on to the plant portion of the build. Since ferns and mosses were some of the first plants to roam the prehistoric timeline, I felt it would be very fitting to use an assortment of miniatures for this project.

I don’t try to press very hard into the substrate layer with these plants. They still have most of the soil they came with intact so roots will eventually find their way to the soil. Moss is then placed around the plants over the gravel to help retain moisture.

Additional plant clippings can be pressed in between the moss in various areas as well to finish things off. Remember, less is more when it comes to foliage. Things will grow over time!

With all of the plants in place, our dinosaur decoration can be arranged. Tell the story you want to be told by positioning Dino’s in various ways.

A really neat touch I wanted my tank to have was an actual flying pterodactyl. Since I couldn’t find any online, I opted to use a small dab of UV resin on the corner of the terrain to make it look like it was in motion.

Best Animals For A Dinosaur Terrarium

With a terrarium this size, I wouldn’t get too crazy with live animals. My usual cleanup crew will be enough to add movement to things as well as keep the tank tidy. For those that don’t know, that’s isopods and springtails.

Jurassic Jungle Terrarium Care

The care requirements for this enclosure will be relatively simple… Prune the larger fern back as it starts to restrict the view and remove any dead leaves. I will check the drainage layer once every few weeks to make sure there is some degree of water still in it and top it off from the back as needed. That’s it, the cleanup crew will pretty much handle the rest.

Final Thoughts

I truly hope you enjoyed this Dinosaur terrarium as much as I did. This is by far my favorite tank to date. Well, that might change once I reveal the plans for part two of Dino Terrarium: Prehistoric Desert!

If you’re interested in seeing updates on how this as well as other enclosures progress follow me on social media. If you’d like to get your tall tweezers on one of these limited edition vivarium decors yourself, check them out in our shop.