Posted by:
Varanids_Rock
at Sun Nov 5 21:23:25 2006 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by Varanids_Rock ]
Congrats on trying a more 'natural' substrate, although pure sand isn't very natural. I tried bringing this up on Repticzone and nearly got banned (now I am banned for bringing it up again, since I supposedly had intentions of upsetting people).
Anyway, how about using pure dirt from outside, or this mixed with sand? It is used exclusively with monitors and (sometimes) uromastyx. And as for the humidity, a quote from Pro Exotics: "No more dry, dehydrated cages, no more dry, dehydrated animals" (or to that effect). Many people have trouble keeping there animals hydrated, and have to soak them. This shouldn't be necessary. This comes from keeping animals in enclosures with exessive amounts of ventilation. Too much ventilation leads to a loss of heat and humidity and a dehydrated cage and animal. Now, you don't want it like a rainforest in there, but a little less than that in a subterranean burrow (where many desert animals spend most of their time). Besides, the soil will be fairly dry on the top, and won't raise the moisture too much. I wouldn't worry too much about the humidity. These animals live in the same area as acanthurus monitors, and people, including me, keep there cages with enough humidity that condensation occurs on the cooler end of the cage (it's good to allow the animals to regulate there humidity needs by offering a gradient, just like temperature).
By the way, if you are going to be using store-bought dirt, use top soil. Potting soil is all organic and man-made. It almost always has fertilizers and perlite in it. Topsoil is just a dark soil bagged up from a source somewhere (I suspect a riverbed).
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RE: Your input on my new substrate - Varanids_Rock, Sun Nov 5 21:23:25 2006