Reptile & Amphibian Forums

The question is basically in the post. I'm setting up a vivarium and I have heard that potting soil isn't good to use. Anyone have a suggestion as to what would work?

I ust a homemade mixture in mine. Potting soil is bad for several reasons: firstly, it's often full of pesticides, and fertilizers. Most of the time, hose are toxic to your animals, and even if they're not directly toxic to the animals, a lot of time they're toxic to the prey items that will be in close contact with it. Secondly, potting soil usually contains perlite, which is bad, because it causes impaction when animals eat it.

So, there's "organic potting soil" at Lowes, Home Depot, Wal-Mart sometimes, etc... However, I always see it for $12 for a 20 lb bag. Read the fine print, and see that it's generally organic topsoil, organic peat sphagnum, and sand. Each of those are generally available for $1.50 or less each for 20 lb bags. Buy it, and mix your own as needed. If you're only planning on setting up one vivarium, take the rest of what's left and throw i out in the woods. It's organic, so it's not like it would be a problem. It'll all decompose & work down into the soil, anyway. I generally use about 2/3 topsoil, and the remaining 1/3 a mix of peat sphagnum and sand. Depending on your setup, that ratio will vary. The sphagnum will hold water, and decay, thus providing nutrients & moisture for plant roots. The sand helps provide drainage, so your plants don't rot because they're too wet. Depending on what you're putting in the vivarium, you may want more or less of any of those. I set one up last week where I only used a handful of sand in it at all. More for texture & color appeal than anything else. But, that vivarium is growing pothos and mosses, both of which do great with really wet substrates.