CROSSING THE POND

Zen Habitats launches in the UK

Zen Habitats has gained a huge amount of media attention since its inception in 2017. Now, with the brand growing in popularity and thousands of US hobbyists testifying to the brand’s innovative approach to vivaria, ‘Zen’ is quickly becoming the hot topic in herpetoculture. This year, the brand launched in the UK and Exotics Keeper Magazine caught up with CEO Randy Williams to discuss what this means for keepers on this side of the pond.

Zenspiration

“A few years back my wife and I purchased some bearded dragons” explained Randy. “We noticed some behavioural problems, especially from our male. We bought a ‘bearded dragon kit’ and instantly realised that half the stuff in there needed to be replaced. What I found was an article about how the UK does it. There was really nothing like that here in the US at the time and nothing less than about $800 so I thought “I can make that!”. We went through a few designs, and it turned into a real business interest, not just a hobby. That’s when we started pursuing Zen.”

Zen Habitats has been available in the USA since 2017. During that time, their primary design has been upgraded three times. The UK launch will see two sizes become available in stores later this month. These are the 4 x 2 x 2 and the 4 x 2 x 1.5 feet vivariums in both bamboo laminate and PVC. These enclosures come flat-packed alongside a galvanised steel top, interchangeable grommets, door locks and a substrate shield. Three more enclosure sizes will be available later this year. The new range of enclosures will bring several new features to the UK vivarium market.

Zenovation

One of the most exciting aspects of the Zen Habitats range is the introduction of PVC. Randy explained: “Typical PVC is actually very flexible and with heat and humidity can warp a little. We use composite PVC with more elements that make it much more rigid, like plywood. You can soak it in water for a month and pull it out and it will be exactly the same. It will not get damaged by humidity which is one of the reasons we use it. Our entire enclosure can be fine with 100% humidity and the PVC panels can handle it. What we’ve done to help trap humidity is we’ve provided an acrylic sheet that can be laid on top of the enclosure to stop 75% of the humidity from escaping, whilst also making room for heating and lighting. The enclosures aren’t specifically water-tight but if the keeper uses a ‘bio-basin’ which works like a liner, they can certainly keep that humidity in. In fact, one of the very first things I put in my PVC was some azureus dart frogs. I had three of them in a 4x2x2 and it was great to give them that room.”

Another major breakthrough is coming soon in enclosure design is the ability to connect several vivariums with an extension kit. These are available as frames that can simply connect two four-foot vivariums to make an eight-foot vivarium, or as a corner unit, which will connect two vivariums together across a corner to create a 10-foot enclosure. With the FBH "minimum enclosure size guidance" being a huge talking point in UK herpetoculture currently, hobbyists will no longer need to throw out their old vivarium to upgrade their enclosure and instead can simply merge two existing vivariums to provide plenty of space for their animals.

“The great thing is that it’s all modular” added Randy. “Our new design in the UK is a flatpack enclosure that you fold open, screw together and you’re ready to go. To extend it, you simply unscrew it, remove one side, and screw them back together.” Although currently, enclosures can only be extended horizontally, Randy told us they could launch a vertical extension kit too.

The introduction of larger store-bought vivaria could have profound impacts on the species we keep and the way we keep them. Randy continued: “Where I’m seeing a difference is in the animals that are already kept. A while ago I put my bearded dragon in a 4-foot-tall enclosure. In Australia, males would go 10, or 20 feet up in the trees to guard their territory. I have tried to emulate this in my enclosure. We’ve also just finished building an enclosure for royal pythons, so mine’s also in a four-foot-tall enclosure. When I first started, people were keeping them in racks. He’s been in his enclosure now for over a month and I’ve never seen him on the ground, despite having a burrow on the ground near his heat source. He’s always on his top two shelves, so we’re aiming to mimic that now with our new enclosures. I don’t think we’ll have bigger animals like monitor lizards, because currently we only have two-foot depth, but we will have more enriching enclosures for the species we already keep.”

As well as extension kits to benefit the animals, Zen Habitats has developed a range of stands and spacers to create a visually appealing display in the home. Not only are they fully stackable, but the use of a ‘spacer’ gives the keeper access to all the electrical equipment above the vivarium via a set of sliding doors. This means that multiple enclosures can be stacked upon one another despite the keeper’s choice of electricals. The innovation aims to prompt keepers to provide larger enclosures for their animals, whilst still utilising a small amount of floor space within the room.

What’s next?

Although not officially announced on any platforms yet, Zen Habitats is working towards other products to join the market. Randy concluded: “We do have some exciting news actually. The next product we will be launching is an arboreal snake hide. This can also be used on the ground as well. We have team members who are zoologists, vets and animal control etc, so we get a lot of expert input. None of them have found a good arboreal snake hide. So, what this new product is going to do is – it’ll be a fairly big hide that can be attached to our steel screen.

Zen Habitats has already amassed a huge social media following. They have sparked international campaigns to update animal husbandry, particularly in the US and Canada. Currently, they are being used by 15 different zoos, including San Diego Zoo, one of the largest in the Americas. Introducing new brands into the herpetoculture industry often provides healthy competition and accelerates product development. Previously, UVB was thought to be a niche aspect of exotics keeping, reserved only for breeders looking to boost the vitality and egg yield of their animals. Now, almost every lighting brand in the UK provides UVB in at least one of their products. Naturally, this creates competitive price points that make excellent husbandry standards more affordable and more available for new and experienced keepers alike.