Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well after some experimenting and a rather odd situation with stuff suddenly growing all over, i got my dirt mix right.I had originally tried to keep it as close to 50% topsoil, 25% sand, 25% vermiculite as i could but that particular mix wasn't quite right.Close, but still off enough that "Tank" wouldn't dig.

I added another 35kgs of topsoil and 10kgs of vermiculite last night and tonight i just noticed he's dug a burrow.I didn't see it at first as i expected there to be excess dirt or a pile laying about, and he also dug it in an odd spot and towards the front of the cage so you don't really see it unless you look from above.

The changes were a result of talks with Robyn about tinkerimg with it, and i went with my gut thinking maybe it was a bit too sandy yet and it seems that was the problem.

Robyn is right, you just need to play with it some to get the right mix for the conditions of your enclosure, and the conditions of where you live.

It's only the first day of him having his own burrow, and maybe a week total of the dirt substrate, but all seems well and he was out and about and even seemed a little more confident.It certainly could just be him getting more used to being himself after coming out of brumation, but we'll see how this effects him long term.I can only really imagine it's going to be positive, and it seems he's enjoying it.

Well to start off congrats. I have a question about the burrow itself. Im sure your a little bit afraid to mess with the burrow right now, but do you feel that with the mixture and the way he dug the burrow that it will stand in good condition. Does it look like it could crumble in on top of him or is it structured and seem supported.

Shawn

Thanks first off, and i'm still a bit leery and keeping an eye out but at the same time confident that it'll be fine.There's a fair amount of weight over where he dug but it looks like it's deep enough that it'll hold just fine.Plus the more he uses it the more packed anf firmer the tunnel will become.

My main source of paranoia is in the soil moisture conditions.I don't want it too moist as to have respiratory problems, or have infections, or rot happening, but i also don't want it too dry that it becomes dusty.It's not so loose that i'm too afraid of it crumbling, just the mix alone has some decent weight to it that keeps it from being too loose..

He still seems to love it, and my one fear of him spending so much time underground that i don't see him isn't happening.He's still a basking fiend and cruises his cage at times too.