Substrate

[Jon-Paul]

What substrate do you prefer also do you micro it? ive used alsorts of natural substrates but always micro'd it (discounting vermiculite) but I then met a friend of John Hancock who used leaf litter from the woodland at the back of his house, never micro'd it and had great sucsess with it in keeping and breeding, point im making is no one micro's the jungle floor before a T makes its home there right? so why do some pay close attention to microwaving substrate when mites can infultrate your enclosure from the food you feed? just a sunday afternoon thought

[Guy Tansley]

I've always used either peat or (more environmentally friendly), the cheapest compost mix I can find - grow bags for example. Never microwaved any of it though. If mites numbers get too high, I just clean out that particular tank.

[Michael Kingwell]

I use different substrates depending on species...
I like to use vermiculite for arboreals as personally I find it easier to control humidity and to clean out (and the tanks keep lighter=more to a shelf!!).
For terestrials I use a mixture of peat (the renewable stuff) and vermiculite. Obviously allowing burrowing as vermiculite on its own is not nice for the T. Again I suspect the vermiculite helps to retain needed moisture without getting too messy.

**But I'm no expert and only have my views through personal exp**

[lee smith]

i personally use the coconut peat mixed with a hand full or 2 of pearlite, which seems to work well for me.

[Ray Gabriel]

I use coir, ground cocnut husk, the closest stuff i have found to real jungle dirt, and much better for trying to control wet/dry periods.

Ray

[Daniel]

I use fertiliser free compost. This keeps the humidity nice and high and allows natural burrowing behaviour, which I'm not sure vermiculite does.

I do microwave it just to sterlise it in case there are any nasties there. 9 times out of 10 it would probably be OK, but you never know if a small nematode population of the right (or wrong) species is there waiting for warmth and humidity. Microwaving / baking doesn't take much time anyway, so my advice would be that it's worth doing.

[Larry Shone]

Well when I started out on this fascinating hobby back in August I just used some fine vermiculite that I bought with my sling. But recently I got a coir block sent to me and I used it for my new batch of Ts. I also changed my first T over to it too-looks so much better!I did nuke it but only to dry it out as it was soaking wet. Mind you the nuking would have taken care of any nasties prevalent in the tank!

[Warren Beattie]

I use compressed coir myself, sometimes with a little vermiculite for slings. Recently I've tried out a suggestion of mixing a little sand with compost/peat/coir, for a better burrowing medium. It's only been a couple of days,though, and with a couple of spiders, so I can't comment on it much. :P A little Selenotholus sp. sling didn't have too many complaints, though, when it dug itself an impressive bolthole within the first few hours I had it.

Disadvantages I can see include extra weight and possibly greater moisture loss. On the other hand, I think sand would allow water to soak in faster, rather than sit on top of dry coir like it was made of wax or something...

[Jon-Paul]

I also sometimes mix sand with pead it aids the capillary movement of the water and helps spread evenly through out the tank, sphagnum moss coursley chopped and mixed with substrate is also good for asthetics and humidity.

[Richard Gallon]

A 2 cm layer of glass shards, mixed in with asbestos insulation wool and uranium yellow cake

Seriously though, I only use coir (I've tried most of the others but found coir to be the best for me).

Richard

[Jon-Paul]

LOL I know your Joking Rich you would be able to eat for a month on the amount A 2 cm layer of glass shards, mixed in with asbestos insulation wool would cost you let alone the uranium yellow cake

[Michael Kingwell]

A 2 cm layer of glass shards, mixed in with asbestos insulation wool and uranium yellow cake

Seriously though, I only use coir (I've tried most of the others but found coir to be the best for me).

Richard

Just tried your above mix. Within 3 hrs all of my T's were dead.....oh and 6 houses of neighbours each side. Do you have any other suggestions???? Ops, got to go, men in silver suits are knocking on my door.........

[Phil Rea]

Peat/vermiculite for me. I've got a couple of blocks of compressed coir that I picked up for a couple of quid each in a reptile shop, and I keep meaning to use it, but as yet I haven't got around to it.

I've a few rehousings on the immediate horizon, so I may just try that for a change.