Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok i've always kind of thought that dirt would probably be best as a substrate.Makes perfect sense to me as that's what we have in nature, right? I've been using sand though for my little Uro but with all the soil talk going around, and info from Robyn it sounds like a very good plan if done right.I'd tries a peat mix before for my California King but it didn't work so well and i just ended up with a dirty snake due to me not going about it the right way.

A question i had was is it recommended to sterilize any "outside" dirt one collects? What i mean by that would be to put it in the oven for several hours at around 350-400 to kill any nasty stuff in the dirt.I haven't seen anyone posting about that in particular so i'm kinda curious.Other than taht it seems pretty straightforward.

Unfortunately with the build of my cages i don't think i'll be able to supply enough depth though, and this is a concern for me as well.I might just slope some dirt or make a larger substrate dam to keep it from falling out when i open the door.

So from what i can read here 8" should be a decent minimum depth?

If using outside dirt, I would *definitely* sterilize it. There's all kinds of nematodes, fungi, and cooties in there. As far as I know, the oven thing is the best way to do it.

I've gotta say, my significant other must like me a lot to put up with dirt and wood in the oven, crickets in the bedroom, and high-as-the-sky electric bills...
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Torey
1.1 Uromastyx Geyri (Joe and Arthur)
0.1 Anolis Carolinensis (Leeloo)
1.0 Betta Splendens (Mr. Miagi)
1.1 Felis Domesticus (Roscolux and Jenny)

8 inches is a minimum that allows for an animal to actually dig DOWN and make a burrow, at least it should. maybe it can work with a bit less, certainly a lot more is better. and 6-8 inches is 100 times better than newspaper...

as for sterilization, we have never done anything at all to our dirt. i suppose you could get if from a dirty source, perhaps you dig it up from under a dead rotting raccoon or something, but for most applications, it should be fine as is. even a small amount is going to be pretty heavy (proportionately) and i couldn't imagine trying to maneuver that in my kitchen oven. i don't know of any monitor breeders that cook or sterilize their dirt. you shouldn't have to either.

try and do a sample setup, i don't remember if i have mentioned that or not here. once again, not all dirt will work, so get a couple of five gallon buckets of your dirt of the day, a couple of tanks or rubbemaid bins, and "setup" a cage. add water, mix it around, dig in it, burrow in it, play in it, see how it "works". get it real nice, with some good long burrows up to your elbow, and leave it sit until tomorrow. or next week.

see if it crusts up, see if it dries up, see how much water you have to add, adjust or play with your venting. give it a week, see if anything sprouts. just LEARN about dirt and burrowing with your little dirt laboratory, and try different soils and mixes to see what works for you (and in your mind, for your Uros).

we tried some decomposed granite intially that dug and mixed really nicely when moist. when it dried overnight though, under the basking lights, it was like concrete, and just about inpenetrable. whoops, no good. we went with a lighter, smoother decomposed granite (and our current choice) and it worked great. digs and holds great at all stages. i would still like to get some of the 1/4 to 1/2 inch rocks out, but we have too many cages, and too much dirt, to realistically screen it. if i had only six setups, i would screen it for sure and make it even better.

but i would never cook it
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robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles

Thanks for the tips, this will be most helpful.I also replied already to the Dirt Lab thread, so now it's off to test test test!

Spanky