Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just wondering if anyone has tried the new ZooMed Excavator substrate yet. There was some talk a while ago...
If you;ve tried, please share your results
Thanks!

http://www.zoomed.com/html/cage_substrates_home.php

I played around with it. Its pretty messy, its not much more than clay and for 13 buck per ten lbs, its def. not worth the trouble. I put it in a ten gal. tank and ten lbs filled about a third of the tank at 3in deep.

Congratulations on your Saharan clutch! You rock!!!!
D&L

While I don't use it for substrate we have perfect clay here about two miles from Lake Houston. I would ship it to anyone interested but I'm sure it would cost much more to ship than the overpriced bagged stuff. However, if anyone ever rolls through Houston with a truck I can point you at where to dig. I buried my sprinklers early this spring while the clay was wet in the morning and a couple of weeks later on a dry day I could easily convince someone they were set up in concrete.
HH

I've used it in the nest boxes this year with good success but not as the straight stuff. I cut it with 1 part and and 1 part peatmoss to 1 part Excavator clay. It works well like that. It packs well, hold moisture well yet with the sand and peat, still breaths well. The straight stuff really is like concrete when dampened and allowed to dry.

Remember the goal with that stuff is to simulate their natural environment which really is part clay. What they seemed to forget is that it is also mixed with gravelly soil. This is more for desert monitors which really need that dense soil to nest in. Too bad the price is so high - it takes a full bag for each nest box even cutting it with sand and peat moss. That gets spendy fast. We can't even really get a break by buying it wholesale as the shipping is terrible due to the weight.

Doug

Deer Fern Farms