Reptile & Amphibian Forums

get your mind off the same old boring forums.

1. Question about "leaf litter". Can you use dried rose petals if you break them down and mix them with some other leaves and moisten them up?

2. If not, where can you get some real leaf litter?

3. If you use leaves that you've collected from outside, should you soak them and try to "clean" them off before using them? (of course not using any cleaners)

I've never used leaf litter before. I bought some "jungle litter" and it was little wood splinters. That was not what I was looking for and I just get a strange look when I ask for Leaf Litter.

I'm sure this has all been posted before, but what the heck.
Thanks for your time.
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TFFF
(Tootie Freakin' Fruity Feenie)

I use any leaf litter that is not from overtly toxic plants (ie: oleander, Castor bean pods, mistletoe etc...). I have used rose flower and leaf little as well as oak, mulberry, and Camellia leaf litter. I don't clean it if I'm fully certain that no pesticide or herbicide has been used there or nearby. I prefer to keep the natural flora and fauna (bacterial, fungal, and entomological) intact to do as it will in my vivariums. I especially like the action of arthropods like "pill bugs/wood lice and spring tales. Also, as anything as they are in the rest of my house, I have had ants set up colonies in my gecko vivs, and I can clearly see them cleaning up dead/uneaten feeder insects.

Go, and be dirty.

Jared
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With great power, comes great responsibility.
-Ben Parker

right now is one of the best times of year to collect your leaves. one of the best way to get "cleaner" leaves is to simply pluck the newly grown leaves off of trees. give them a little soaking to wash off pollen and whatever else. then set them aside to dry for a few weeks (best to do that somewhere inside the house, and not inside a plastic bag or anything, otherwise they'll likely mold out). then, just to kill off what may linger, you can stick them in the freezer for a while. this way you dont have to pick up the leaves that have been sitting around on the ground forever, picking up god knows what.
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-Mike Martin
North Carolina