Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Does the grain size of the soil seem to make a difference in how much the animal likes it? I ask because I have tried several mixes of dirt, sand, and at one point vermiculite, and the animals didn't use them, even if they held moisture and burrows well. They just didn't seem to recognize it as usable. I suspect this to be because the playsand I have used has been too coarse for their liking (in comparison to other sands I have seen). Does this sound plausible (Sp)?

Anyway, what brand of playsand have you guys (those who use or have used store bought mixes) used and found to be the finest and/or work the best?

Thanks,
Ryan

Some monitors love to dig, others don't. Some soils work better than others so I just sort of "eye" it for what works best. I'll use a combination of top soil, sand, peat, leaf mulch and even dead leaves to get a nice mix for the animals to dig in. The key, in my opinion, is to give them a good depth of substrate. Most cages only allow for a few inches and this may not be sufficient for those that enjoy digging.
What type of monitor are you keeping?

Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center
Lake Forest, IL

>>Does the grain size of the soil seem to make a difference in how much the animal likes it? I ask because I have tried several mixes of dirt, sand, and at one point vermiculite, and the animals didn't use them, even if they held moisture and burrows well. They just didn't seem to recognize it as usable. I suspect this to be because the playsand I have used has been too coarse for their liking (in comparison to other sands I have seen). Does this sound plausible (Sp)?
>>
>>Anyway, what brand of playsand have you guys (those who use or have used store bought mixes) used and found to be the finest and/or work the best?
>>
>>
>>Thanks,
>>Ryan
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Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL

It is a pair of acanthurus, so they are definitely burrowing animals (I actually think that most monitors will burrow when given the chance, even tree monitors). Anyway, I have tried loads of mixes that I forgot to mention. I have tried various mixes of topsoil, sand, peat, and as mentioned, vermiculite. Some of them yeilded some burrowing, while others yeilded none. But none of them really seemed to fulfill the animals' burrowing potential.

Whenever the animals were younger, they did burrow on a mixture of peat and sand. But they didn't seem to like it very much as sub-adults. I guess they just grow more picky about burrowing substrates with age, as well as the mix feeling sort of spongey and not supporting their body weight as well as they like. For me (and I guess the animals too), it was very stinky and seemed to encourage the growth of mold. It was also highly organic, which contradicts with what they would typically encounter and use in the wild. The same results went when I mixed peat with my topsoil mixtures. It just made them too "fluffy."

I have also tried a pure topsoil. It seemed to do the best in comparison to the others. I also tried this mixed with Quickrete All Purpose Sand. While they did dig a couple of extensive burrows in this in the month or two I used it (still not as much as I would like), it dried out very quickly to the consistency of sand in the first couple inches. Then, I tried Robyn's "Home Depot" mixture of topsoil, sand, and vermiculite in a 50/25/25 ratio (this time, I used a different brand of sand, and a playsand). While there were some trench type burrows in this under rocks or bark slabs, there were no true burrows.

At this moment, I am using the pure topsoil again. There is no burrowing as of yet, but the soil still seems way to moist for this purpose. Going back to the origial topic, I went and got some Quickrete Playsand today. It seems finer than the other playsand, but without all the dust from the all purpose stuff. It also is more of a "natural" color than the other playsand, which looks like it is bleached. Still, I am hesitant on mixing it in yet with the topsoil. I want to make sure that the topsoil absolutely won't work on its own before fiddling with it. If only the topsoil didn't take so dang long to dry out...

Just braistorming reasons for the lack of the use of substrate. I don't really know what I am talking about. Oh, and sorry for that novel of a post.

Cheers,
Ryan

My advice would be dig some dirt from a riverbank or something like that. Of course everything may currently be frozen and snow-covered where you live. Relatively fine dirt would be appropriate for small monitors.

Cheers

I have gone to look along the river banks in our area. Although we didn't look extensively, all we could find was pretty much pure, coarse grained sand. I am sure there is something there around the river, but I want to find what I am looking for before hauling out a few hundred pounds. Also, most of the exposed area of the river is in a city. Then, there is the fact of it being frozen and possibly covered in snow/ice. Perhaps this spring I can go looking. But for now, I will have to go with a store bought mix.

By the way, after seeing your storri pictures, what is your soil source? Since you suggested a river bank, that is what I am going to guess. Just wondering...

Thanks,
Ryan

The dirt you saw in my pics of storri eggs is a mix of some dirt that I dug from a riverbank and some that I dug from a wash.

Cheers

I will definitely try again at the river when it warms up a bit. But, as mentioned, I will have to go with store bought for right now. When I mix the topsoil and sand together, it seems to do what it is supposed to. It forms that nice, dry, thin crust layer on top, and underneath remains fairly moist. It also seems to hold good, strong burrows. Now, the real test will be on the animals themselves using it...

By the way, is there a way to change your user name? The one I have right now seems really childish. It was the only available one I could think of that had to do with monitors.

Thanks,
Ryan