Substrate

[Sam Heaton]

Hi everybody I'm back. It's that time of year in my house where I have to change the substrate in the tarantula's lair. I normally would go for peat moss/vermiculite mix but is there anything else that I could use?
Regards
Sam

[James Box]

i don't personally tend to change substrate unless i have to, ie mushrooms growing (note to self, change that tank's substrate!) or if i'm rehousing anyways, and the animal was on a substrate i don't like so much anymore, like pure vermiculite.
these days i've been using coir, which is coconut husk fibre. i personally haven't had many issues with things like mould growth, except on leftover bits of prey etc, so it's the best i've personally used so far.
the one issue is it can take ages to dry properly...and other times it dries too quickly! seems to be Murphy's law with that, the dry loving spiders get moist substrate that doesn't dry fast, the wet loving spiders i keep having to water! lol but this is usually down to ventilation.
coir i find is also decent for burrows.
you can usually get it in bricks that make a good-sized bucket full when hydrated, and usually not that expensive.
if you're lucky enough to catch Lee from the Spider Shop early on at a show, he usually has the bricks at a pound each! bargain.

also, alot of people mix substrates, for instance sand and vermiculite, and get good results with that as well.
when i moved, rather than ditch the substrate i had, i poured it all together into a massive tub and so now i'm using a mixture myself. so far so good...it has vermiculite, sand and mostly coir, but a few other types i think got mingled as well.

[Sam Heaton]

Thanks James.
I think I've heard about the coir blocks. They come in a pack but for the life of me I can't remeber what they are called. I'll look it up.

[Phil Rea]

You can get it in pet shops, marketed as Eco Earth

I bought a massive block online from a company called fertile fibre, which expands to 65l of substrate, but it's a bit of a pain hacking bits off it when I need more substrate

Garden centres sometimes sell it too, but make sure it is untreated if you buy it there

[Sam Heaton]

Thanks Phil
When I saw it someone was marketing it as bed-a-beast (wierd and slightly disturbing name if you ask me). I wonder though could I use potting soil? I have tons of the stuff lying around at home. Could I not pop some right in and have the job done in 5 minutes?
Regards
Sam

[Phil Rea]

Potting soil should be just fine (you can mix in vermiculite to hold water if needed), but as with everything, make sure it's untreated

[Steve McIntyre]

Hi Sam, Phil and James, I tend to use an equal mix of potting (top) soil, peat and coir. The soil gives some firmness and (apparently) the acidic properties tend to slow down mould growth. The peat bulks it up and the coir retains moisture better than peat. The only problem I've had is with yellow toadstools, probably from the peat but once removed it seems to be ok. Reading the article by Tabbie Norton, Vol 23, no 3, about these fungi, it may be advisable to just use coir and soil.

[James Box]

i haven't used peat yet, but i've read that article. thankfully the mushrooms i get, vile as they are, are white rather than yellow. they don't seem to have caused harm, apart from existing and thus being revolting!
but the mealworms like them! they eat anything.

anyway, that's interesting about the acidic qualities of soil, hadn't thought of that. perhaps i'll start using that again if i can source it easily.

[Sam Heaton]

Hi everybody
I'd just like to report I've sucessfully changed substrate to coir. I was going to mix in some vermiculite but I though I might as well try it out on it's own. And James you are right it's sod's law with drying the stuff. It's damp at the moment but I think it will eventually dry out and T can start burrowing to his little heart's content. The sides of the lair get really misty during the night and I have to keep wiping it away every morning. Just part of the experience I guess. On a brighter note I have lined up the next spider to join scooby (the tarantula, little brother named it don't ask). I'll probably need to do some housework to earn the cash I need for the equipment and spider but I'm hoping for a G.Pulchra if all goes well. Though I'm still searching on where I could get one. Anyone any ideas?
Regards
Sam