Sphagnum peat

[viejo]

Has anyone tried sphagnum peat moss mixed with topsoil and/or sand for a substrate?

 

[Jessicak]

I have sphagnum mixed with coco fiber and it's perfect

 

[Lizardess]

That sounds like a good idea to try. I had cypress mulch and cocofiber mixed in Dante's tank, and it would dry out pretty darn fast! I had to mist multiple times per day and dump about a gallon of water into it once or twice per week to keep it from being bone dry.

 

[Jessicak]

Oh wow. Mine stays super moist except right under the light. It helps if the tub doesn't have a lot of places for the moisture to escape out of

 

[Lizardess]

That probably explains my issue. I had her in an open top tank for a good stretch. Good air circulation and high humidity aren't always an easy balance to achieve. I tend to run open top or screen top enclosures for most reptiles for excellent air flow, and hydrate the substrate as needed, plus frequent misting and/or running a fogger. Closing off most of the top leads to mold and sick or dead animals in my experience. Mind you said experience is largely with animals other than tegus. I've only been a tegu mommy since March, and am about to bring home a second one.

 

[Jessicak]

That's so exciting! Congrats! I just got mind this weekend. I do keep my crested geckos in plastic tubs actually and I ended up with so much ventilation that I can't keep any humidity in. So for my tegu he's in plastic until he gets b

 

[Jessicak]

Bigger because I found that using less screening keeps more moisture in and I haven't had any problem with mold, though I will keep an eye on it

 

[Lizardess]

I tried immitating the setup that my LPS used for their dart frogs, because dart frogs require very high humidity (90% in some cases) and it ended in disaster for me. I got to thinking about it, and in the rainforest, it is very himid, but there is constant air flow as well. So I opted to dampen the substrate as needed, mist either manually or via an automated system on a timer, and to utilize a fogger for both humidity and visual while maintaining an open or screen top. Granted, it costs more money to do it this way, but I never had an issue with excessive moisture or air flow again. Working from home allows me to keep a close eye on setups as well. Now, tegus are of course very different from poison arrow frogs, but the humidity that they need brings some elements that I am familiar with to the forefront.

 

[thatoneguy]

My cage has a partial screen top, which I cover part of it depending on the heat and humidity in the cage. My substrate is a mixture of eco earth and wood chips. With my mercury vapor bulb and a 4ft flourescent bulb it dries out the inside of the cage fairly quickly even with my cool mist humidifier pumping humidity into the cage. I added some moss in and around one of the hides to help out.

 

[thatoneguy]

I want to build a dual mister fogger using like a 5 gallon bucket or 10 gallon tub. Using a mist king pump for the mister and a ultrasonic mister head.

 

[Jomatty]

I want to build a dual mister fogger using like a 5 gallon bucket or 10 gallon tub. Using a mist king pump for the mister and a ultrasonic mister head.

I tried a warm mist humidifier and it didn't work too well. The cool mist version with a tube to direct the fog seems to be doing a better job and is keeping the humidity where I want it. I am still making a few changes to get the heat exactly right. Under the lights is still fine but the cool side drops a little more than I would like, so I have been putting some heat cord under that side of the enclosure and am getting close to the right balance.

 

[Justin]

I want to build a dual mister fogger using like a 5 gallon bucket or 10 gallon tub. Using a mist king pump for the mister and a ultrasonic mister head.

The Mistking nozzles spray a very fine mist already, I'm using a 2.5 gallon bucket with my system. I currently have 3 nozzles for my enclosure.

 

[thatoneguy]

Added some moss into my tegus cage