Posted by:
robyn@ProExotics
at Fri Dec 12 18:46:33 2003 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by robyn@ProExotics ]
for Rik's setup, and others who "can only" do a thin substrate...
even an inch of a good soil is better than these super dry substrates like aspen or playsand. even a thin layer of good soil addresses more needs for the Uros than something completely foreign to them like playsand or aspen (or carefresh, or astroturf, or newspaper, whatever).
better sheds, better moisture content overall, etc, consider trying the "baby step" of just a thin layer of nice soil. use the same soil mix or a good burrowable soil for your thin layer. everything still applies except for the depth. not just any ole dirt will do, you still want good moisture content, you still want fantastic temperatures, you may still need to restrict venting and airflow to prevent aggressive moisture loss, all the goals of a deep diggable substrate apply except for the actual depth. (meaning you can't just throw your Grandma's plant dirt in the bottom of your cage and say "There! Now be happy Uro!" invariably followed by "Robyn, you are a booger headed dimwit, and your substrate idea sucks!"
not every dirt will do! (and two booger references in one thread, nice! : )
another possibility is to consider a substrate dam (for those with a front loading cage, with only a short lip, like a Vision cage).
an 8 inch high piece of wood, or plastic, that goes completely across the front, will allow you to run a deeper substrate. it is messier, because the animals will often kick dirt around, and it may fall in the narrow gap in front of the dam. but it is an adaptation you can make that does allow you to experiment with SOME substrate depth.
for Rik, you have a large cage, which is nice, so if it is front opening, perhaps that is an option...
oh, and another note for Rik, on the PVC box option, i forgot to mention one other hangup for that. as azteclizard was pushing towards, the setup works together as a package. the temps and gradients are just as important as everything else (probably most important, i would rather have great temps and poor substrate, than poor temps and great substrate), so simply having a box on the side with some dirt (even good dirt) is not the same because the animal doesn't have the same access to the temp gradient in the little box. in our setups, there are burrows in the basking area, burrows in the cooler area, burrows that are dug (by the Uros themselves) according to specific temperature need, and that ability is severely limited by placing a small amount of dirt on the side away from the actual temperature controlled areas.
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robyn@proexotics.com
Pro Exotics Reptiles
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and more follow up, along those lines... - robyn@ProExotics, Fri Dec 12 18:46:33 2003