Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My first and tamest fire skink, Dr. Phil, is dead. I had just got him a mate (Oprah) and so moved him into a larger enclosure. I didn't quite have enough of his normal substrate (that coconut fiber stuff) and so I added a little potting soil. BAD idea. Within a day he swelled up so I soaked him. He passed a stool chock full of those little white pieces (vermiculite?) in the soil. There was so much of this in his feces that I wonder if he was intentionally eating them. I only fed him on this once. He seemed fine after the soak but I found him dead this morning. What a huge bummer. I've got over two dozen herps and countless other animals and I don't think any of them could have upset me more than this. Compared to my other fire skinks he was a puppy dog. Always complacent about being handled (except when he removed and swallowed a chunk out of my vet's finger, ahh memories). He would even sit on my lap and eat super worms out of hand. So anyway, I'm feeling really stupid for this but at least it's a lesson to others that improper substrate, even for a few days, can and will kill. What a bummer.
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Martin Whalin
My Email

Quotes from guys named Carl:

"Science stops at the frontier of logic. Nature does not, she thrives on ground as yet untrodden by theory."
-Carl Jung

"It is foolish to let singleness of purpose deprive one of the joy and delectation of the many wonderful sights and sounds incidental to the quest."
-Carl Kauffeld

n/p
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Edward
Carpe diem

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Stacey

Several months ago i put some soil inside my tortoises cage and all of them got parasites!They didnt die but it was very dificult to de-worm them.And dangerous too because some of them were tiny babies!
Several weeks ago i put some soil inside my salamanders cages and one of them, a gorgeous Mandarin Salamander, had her feet infected with fungus.She lost one finger (what is not a problem because the finger will probably regrow)but it was very difficult to cure her!

Soil? Never more!

Sorry to here about the loss of your buddy, fire skinks are one of my favoritestoo. Its true that perlite can present a genuine hazard to most herps, but I feel I must support the use of soil in general.

My Riopa have been kept on soil (with no synthetic fillers) their entire lives with no adverse effects. In fact, almost all of my 30 cages have soil as the primary substrate. It may be more labor intensive than shavings or carpet for instance, but its the closest thing I we can provide to natural conditions for our critters.

Flavia, I don't believe that your tortoises contracted any parasite infestations from the soil unless it came from the garden. Most likely they were already carrying the worms and it only became apparent after the switch to soil.

With the salamander, it seems that moist soil would be their natural preference for habitat. If the moisture levels were excessive, this may have caused problems. If the soil either originated from an unsterile source or was allowed to accumulate bacteria without being changed, the same thing will happen.

Again, I'm sorry to hear about Dr. Phil, but I hope incidents like this don't result in soil being abandoned as a suitable choice. In most cases, its not the soil that's the problem, but the type we choose.

E
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That's it, screw you guys!
I'm goin' home

-Eric Cartman

Yes, it came from the garden.Which soil do you use?Its very difficult to keep the soil without fungus and bacteria living where i live, in a very hot and humid country!I prefer not to use soil anymore! I m keeping around 30 reptiles in my house now, too!

I just get a jumbo bag of sterilized potting soil from the local garden supplier. Most of them have a mix available that doesn't contain perlite or vermiculite and has been heat treated to kill most organisms. I just create my own custom substrates by adding peatmoss, sand, or Cocopeat in different ratios to suit the needs of the particular animals or plants.

If you don't have commercially available soil alternatives, I have heard of people sterilizing garden soil either by steaming or baking it to kill pathogens and parasites. I've also heard that this can create quite a stink so its best done outside if possible.

E
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That's it, screw you guys!
I'm goin' home

-Eric Cartman

/

No, i cant find have such a soil where i live!
I was thinking about puting the soil i want to use for my babies in the microwave.But yesterday i saw some tiny ants walking inside my microwave and even when i turned it on the ants didnt die! So i think that perhaps a good solution is to put the soil in a bag inside the freezer.What do you think?

>>My first and tamest fire skink, Dr. Phil, is dead. I had just got him a mate (Oprah) and so moved him into a larger enclosure. I didn't quite have enough of his normal substrate (that coconut fiber stuff) and so I added a little potting soil. BAD idea. Within a day he swelled up so I soaked him. He passed a stool chock full of those little white pieces (vermiculite?) in the soil. There was so much of this in his feces that I wonder if he was intentionally eating them. I only fed him on this once. He seemed fine after the soak but I found him dead this morning. What a huge bummer. I've got over two dozen herps and countless other animals and I don't think any of them could have upset me more than this. Compared to my other fire skinks he was a puppy dog. Always complacent about being handled (except when he removed and swallowed a chunk out of my vet's finger, ahh memories). He would even sit on my lap and eat super worms out of hand. So anyway, I'm feeling really stupid for this but at least it's a lesson to others that improper substrate, even for a few days, can and will kill. What a bummer.
>>-----
>>Martin Whalin
>>My Email
>>
>>Quotes from guys named Carl:
>>
>>"Science stops at the frontier of logic. Nature does not, she thrives on ground as yet untrodden by theory."
>> -Carl Jung
>>
>>"It is foolish to let singleness of purpose deprive one of the joy and delectation of the many wonderful sights and sounds incidental to the quest."
>> -Carl Kauffeld
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Rob Talkington

>>My first and tamest fire skink, Dr. Phil, is dead. I had just got him a mate (Oprah) and so moved him into a larger enclosure. I didn't quite have enough of his normal substrate (that coconut fiber stuff) and so I added a little potting soil. BAD idea. Within a day he swelled up so I soaked him. He passed a stool chock full of those little white pieces (vermiculite?) in the soil. There was so much of this in his feces that I wonder if he was intentionally eating them. I only fed him on this once. He seemed fine after the soak but I found him dead this morning. What a huge bummer. I've got over two dozen herps and countless other animals and I don't think any of them could have upset me more than this. Compared to my other fire skinks he was a puppy dog. Always complacent about being handled (except when he removed and swallowed a chunk out of my vet's finger, ahh memories). He would even sit on my lap and eat super worms out of hand. So anyway, I'm feeling really stupid for this but at least it's a lesson to others that improper substrate, even for a few days, can and will kill. What a bummer.
>>-----
>>Martin Whalin
>>My Email
>>
>>Quotes from guys named Carl:
>>
>>"Science stops at the frontier of logic. Nature does not, she thrives on ground as yet untrodden by theory."
>> -Carl Jung
>>
>>"It is foolish to let singleness of purpose deprive one of the joy and delectation of the many wonderful sights and sounds incidental to the quest."
>> -Carl Kauffeld
-----
Martin Whalin
My Email

Quotes from guys named Carl:

"Science stops at the frontier of logic. Nature does not, she thrives on ground as yet untrodden by theory."
-Carl Jung

"It is foolish to let singleness of purpose deprive one of the joy and delectation of the many wonderful sights and sounds incidental to the quest."
-Carl Kauffeld