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RE: HELP
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by theemojohnm on September 19, 2008
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I here ya Celeste!
With so many enclosures here, as messy as most of my animals seem to be, I find that a pix of potting soil/peat moss works fine, and doesnt cost a whole lot.
I like the "natural look" of it too. Throw in some leaf litter, and It works fine for me.
It is always best it seems, to buy from the plant nurseries in the large "bulk" bags of potting mix or topsoil, and thankfully, the ones that are "natural" without any of the added fertilizers, are the mixes that are cheapest.
Take Care.
~John.
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RE: HELP
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by LadyBloodRose on September 20, 2008
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the only thing i hate about the ground peat is that when its dry lord the dust if you ahve a fan on etc can choke ya! even dumpin it into somethin an make ya gag alil.
Dollar General an Family dollar have their fll decore out, an have some veines with beautiful fall leaves on them, rather then get the real things from outside, i grabed a cupple of those have to admit pullin the leaves off an tossin them in realy added a nice touch. My coppers love it ^_^.
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RE: HELP
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by Cro on September 20, 2008
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Those of you who use all of those garden products as cage substrates, should not forget that those can often harbor critters like mites, that can wipe out your reptile collections.
Be sure to spray the bottom of the cage with a permanon / pyretherin/ prevent a mite/ product, before you add those substrates. That way, if there are mite eggs in the substrate, they might not live long once they hatch out. ( they are fairly immune until they hatch out )
Best Regards John Z
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RE: HELP
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by theemojohnm on September 21, 2008
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John,
Most people dont believe me when I say I NEVER have mite problems. Well, of course I do, but VERY rarely, maybe once every 2 years.
Almost ALL of the soil, rocks, dry plant material, etc, I take "right out of the wild", I am a stickler for "as natural as it can be".
I have my own preventative measures that seem to work just fine for me.
I quite often times dig or collect my own soil and carpet moss from natural locations I field-herp in.
It is a HUGE hassle, but does the trick for my natural enclosure setups.
I have "trays" in which I will spread soil from the ground, or moss taken right off rocks from the woods.
I use preventamite diluted in a bit of water a "rinse" the soil or moss first.
Then, let it thoroughly dry on these "trays". The substrate/accessory is then sprayed VERY well with preventamite and rinsed again, dried once more, and rinsed a third time with a diluted solution.
The fourth rinse is done with pure distilled water, and dried for an extended period of time.
If this seems like a ridiculous amount of work, it is... =( But during the summer months I make large batches at a time, and stock up for the winter. I honestly have a bit extra most times, and I obsess over cleaning cages, and have alot of them to clean.
I almost NEVER have any parasite problem. Most people think I'm completely nuts still, but I think its all how the substrate is spread to dry (very thin) for better coverage of the preventamite solution. (The bottom of the cage is also given a very light spray before ANY animal goes into ANY enclosure of mine).
Take Care.
~John.
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RE: HELP
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by theemojohnm on September 21, 2008
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Celeste,
I think it really depends on the soil used to mix the peat with. Ussually, a good potting mix be be very rich, high quality soil that will retain a little bit of moisture which seems to cut the dust the peat produces when it is dry. I do still, use a bit less peat than soil.
Even VERY slightly misting the peat/soil mixture and "stirring" the entire substrate bed will help alot.
This will raise the humidity, but only slightly. Stil, this of course depends on the species housed, but works well for most of the larger enclosure I keep of Eastern American Pitviper, and a few non-vens.
Take Care.
~John.
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RE: HELP
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by LadyBloodRose on September 23, 2008
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John,
i haven;t tired mixin it with potting soil, though i might do that evently depending on what my next addition is an see how it works out. I would rather use teh ground peat, an potting soil then that bed a beast brick stuff :S lord it gets on my nerves especialy if you use it with a snake that likes to burrow.
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