substrate question

[jbrd]

heres a silly question for ya, i have had a T blondi for about six weeks now and some bastage of a cricket layed eggs in there and now i keep killing off pin head crickets !
i was wondering if i took it out and baked it on 400 degs for about an hour would i be able to re-use it? its made up of 2 bricks of bed-a-beast and one bag of vemiculite.
any help on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

 

[dOOb]

you can probably get away with baking your substrate... but if you really want to be sure you get rid of your pest problem then I recommend you just replace your substrate entirely. Shouldn't cost more then a few dollars, and prolly worth it for the sake of your T!

 

[Gemein]

It's hard to say if baking it would do what you need it to do; likely it would; but they; why take the chance. You'd be alot safer just buying some new ground rather than running a rick of harming or killing your T; then spending 4 times as much for a new one

 

[Sheri]

It sounds like you might be keeping your substrate far too wet.

If you just use a mix of organic soil and peat moss you will find it far more economic in the future, thereby allowing you to toss any questionable substrate without thinking of the financial impact.

As for baking the current stuff, no worries there... but an irritating use of time, no?

 

[Kid Dragon]

Yes, baking the substrate at 400 degrees for an hour would kill the pinheads. Let the substrate cool and air dry. If you keep the substrate dry you won't get pinheads. If you feed your T roaches, you won't get pinheads either.

 

[firben]

had the sam eproblem with mine... one day i found pinheads in my A avicularia cage....
They dissapeared a few days after that without doing anything....
anyway.. as you can't keep a blondi too dry, i would simply sugest changing the whole thing....

 

[Mike H.]

As for the pin heads let the substrate dry out and they will die off...I have a large female blondie....she is on "dry substrate" and a large water dish....moisture and humidity is way overratted IMO...all my 40 something T.s are kept dry with a water dish...

Regards, Mike

 

[jbrd]

As for the pin heads let the substrate dry out and they will die off...I have a large female blondie....she is on "dry substrate" and a large water dish....moisture and humidity is way overratted IMO...all my 40 something T.s are kept dry with a water dish...

Regards, Mike

that is very interesting on how you keep your blondi? can you give me more details on your set up for your T blondi ?

 

[Mike H.]

She is in a 15 gallon tank...screen lid and a hide made from cork bark..a large open water dish...the substrate is 50 % peat moss and 50 % echo earth....thats about it....the temps in my basement are around 72 to 75 degrees...

Regards, Mike

 

[lta3398]

I think I have to agree with Sheri on this one. I use the same substrate she suggested, and it is really easy to just change out if needed. It is inexpensive to do that, and like she said, a huge time saver! I have no problems with this substrate, and my T's are not climbibg the walls trying to get away from it, so I guess they think it is ok!