Substrate problems

[Dubya]

When I first got my Tegu, I used coconut bedding, which was fine, and my tegu had no problem with it. When I built his 3x6 temporary enclosure, I used cypress mulch, which was OK, but he ingested some big pieces of mulch with his food despite the dish being placed on a tray. He dragged the food into the bedding. I feed in his cage because he does not like eating in a seperate tub. Next I tried chopped straw and he hated it and jumped at the cage top till he hurt his nose and also the straw dried out too fast. I then tried a mix of peat moss (processed-no bugs) and some chopped straw. It held moisture, but my tegu started sneezing from it and my upstairs smelled like a farm. I then switched to 100% peat and my tegu stopped jumping at the cage top, stopped sneezing, and seemed to like the peat better than any previous bedding. The problem now is that the peat will not absorb water. When I spray the cage, it soaks in only like 1/8 inch and is dry under that. I have a fogger that runs for 1/2 hr, then off for 1 hr around the clock. It is hard to keep humidity up even with the cage covered because the water can't soak in. I don't want to use soil from the garden center or landscaping places around here because everyone uses insecticides and using coconut bedding will cost too much considering that he will be moving to a 12x12ft outdoor enclosure when the weather allows. Would playground sand mixed with the peat help the water soak in better? Any ideas?

 

[james.w]

I doubt the play sand will help any. Is there anywhere you can go dig up some dirt?

 

[kim86]

I use a mixture of plantation soil and sand, pretty much 80% soil and 20% sand. When I mist, it holds a good amount of humidity for a few hours and then drops down to about 35-40% after then until I mist again. I heard it's good to allow the humidity to drop every little while during the day so it's not constantly overwhelmingly humid for the tegu... so I find soil and sand works well. Sand also acts as a medium that cuts back on mold... or so I'm told. Hooray!

 

[Dubya]

I doubt the play sand will help any. Is there anywhere you can go dig up some dirt?

No. Here on Long Island, it is a lot like the city in the rest of the country even though it is technically the suburbs of NYC. There was West Nile Virus spraying everywhere and everyone uses fertilizers and insecticides. When you buy clean fill or topsoil, it is the dirt that was excavated from building foundations that is full of all kinds of chemicals. Clean just means no rocks. You cannot trust any dirt that was dug up on Long Island. Damn, I'm just down the road from Brookhaven Labs, who had a big spill some years ago. It took three 3cu ft bags of peat @ $10 each to fill the cage to 8in deep. When I build the 12x12, I don't want to go broke filling it and also I want to make sure my guy doesn't get exposed to poison.

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I use a mixture of plantation soil and sand, pretty much 80% soil and 20% sand. When I mist, it holds a good amount of humidity for a few hours and then drops down to about 35-40% after then until I mist again. I heard it's good to allow the humidity to drop every little while during the day so it's not constantly overwhelmingly humid for the tegu... so I find soil and sand works well. Sand also acts as a medium that cuts back on mold... or so I'm told. Hooray!

I am wondering if the particles of sand will allow the water to pass between the particles of peat, thus allowing the deeper dampening of the substrate. That is my theory. I don't want to change the whole thing AGAIN! Maybe if I add water and mix the whole cage full of substrate around and hope it absorbs into the peat below the surface. I hate to get rid of the peat because the tegu seems very content in it.

 

[james.w]

Cypress mulch will probably be your best bet if you can get large enough bags.

 

[Dubya]

Cypress mulch will probably be your best bet if you can get large enough bags.

As I wrote in my post, I can get cypress mulch, but the chunks are too big. It is chipped very coarsley. Bad for impactions.

 

[Rhetoric]

I have a hard time finding cypress in large ammounts out here.
I've always used fine hemlock mulch for guru. I want to say its less than $25 to fill his enclosure (4" deep). They sell it by the yard at one of our local bark companies. If you choose to go through a company like that I would highly suggest making sure they don't have any extra additives or chemicals. I haven't had issues with bugs or anything like that either. I haven't had many issues with it holding humidity either.

 

[Dubya]

I will look into the fine hemlock mulch. Thanks for that idea.

 

[Little Wise Owl]

I know of someone who uses an Ecoearth and play sand mixture and it holds burrows and moisture very well.

 

[Dubya]

The eco earth was good, but expensive. Even the stuff that is labeled for worm farming and hydroponics. I am building an outdoor 12x12 enclosure in the spring and filling it 2ft deep will cost a fortune with eco earth. I tried mixing in some clay with the peat yesterday and it seems to be soaking in a little more, but I will see if it gets any better.