I hear ya Christina, I agree with many things you have to say. What bothered me about the thread a ways down was this response to a person asking what lizards (if any) can be kept with leos..."No other reptiles should EVER be housed with any other species of reptile only herp you van put in with a Leo IS another Leo housing mixed species is a very bad idea, that thought should never even cross a herpers mind."



I have a problem with that kind of response to a basic inquiry about mixing species, especially when it is coming from someone who has probably never tried it before. Rather than discourage someone from something, why not admit to not having any experience with what they are asking and point them in a direction where they might find more info. That's how I feel about it, and that's why I posted the references I did.



By the way, since I know substrates are one of you favorite topics...lol. There is an interesting section in the Rhacodactylus book about "bioactive" substrates...for display cages they suggest a potting soil mix that contains no perlite. To that they add about 5% sand and about 15% fine orchid bark. You can make the soil "bioactive"meaning it readily breaks down fecal matter) by regularly stirring the surface layer towards the bottom. This,the authors say, allows for the development of bacteria and fungi that will breakdown the waste and keep the substrate functional. Interesting stuff in my opinion.
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Bill DiFabio

Garden State Herpetoculture...website to follow...

Email Me

"The poetry that comes from the squaring off between,

And the circling is worth it.

Finding beauty in the dissonance." - Maynard James Keenan

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