Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My ackies is about 6 months and buries himself in at night, anyway i keep him in a glass fronted vivarium - so depth is limited. I keep him on wood chips at the moment, not the best start anyway, i planning on changing to soil with a layer of sand on top. Is there anything i should be aware of or not do. Any info on your set-ups and this post will be greatly appreciated.

the soil would be good, but what's with the sand layer? why not a layer of peanut butter? or pickles?

skip the sand, and just go with a good soil. you don't need the layer of sand. or pickles.
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robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles

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the sand would look better over the soil, and pickles. anyway another idea firstly could i not just use sand, they live on it in the wild. Also another idea how about a buried cat-litter tray full of soil for burying and the rest sand with a thin layer over the soil to make it look nice. thanks in advance.

What ever you put in there will be mixed together in no time. Why not set the cage up for the monitors instead of what looks pleasing to your eye?

I mix sand and dirt together to make a burrowable substrate that looks good.

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Ed

that substrate looks good is that soil and sand. Wouldnt either have to be sprayed rto keep moist and hold a burrow.

This mixture is of cheap store bought dirt and play sand from Home Depot. I think it was about $4 for a 40 pound bag of dirt. I added a 50 pound bag of the play sand for every 2 bags of dirt. The sand was not leveling sand from the garden center. It was play smallest grain play sand sold to mix with cement.

I made the mixture wet when mixing and the bottom of the substrate stayed damp enough to burrow for a long time. It may take a few weeks for the dirt/sand to settle enough to hold burrows as well as in the pictures. I poured water in and remixed the substrate from time to time when needed.

This is a 3 foot argus with this mixture that I kept im my house.

Same argus on other side of the cage with the exact same substrait

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Ed

i think you misunderstand their natural habitat : )

"living on sand" would mean, like, sand DUNES. and that is not where they live. "desert" does not automatically mean sand. they live in soil.

and the good Dr. Z Rider is right, whatever you put in there is going to be mixed up and a mess regardless. you are trying to reinvent the wheel. don't worry about it being pretty to your eye.

once you have a good workable, usable, diggable soil, it WILL be pretty to your eye, because you will see it as a natural tool that the animal can use, and you will appreciate it for more than visual looks.

using a good soil is a "simple" approach, one that works well, and the animals can breed in it. it is proven. accomplish that first. once you have put time in, learning about what makes a good soil, at that point you can venture out and experiment (if you still have the desire). but start with the simple way first, not the hard way : )

best of luck.
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robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles

thanks for the help everyone. Another question is bark mulch worth a shot, soil is going to be used but I dont know how much any information on your monitor substrates would help. thanks