# best burrowing substrate?



## snappleWhiteTea (Jul 25, 2009)

i got some h.arizonensis and the love burrowing, only thing is there burrow collapse on the them every now and again and they stay stuck  

i heard that that ex. clay was to tough for them too. any one use it?


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## Warren Bautista (Jul 25, 2009)

Mix 70% screened/washed play sand and 30% excavator clay.
Perfect for burrowing.


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## skips (Jul 25, 2009)

Not to say that warren is lieing to you by any means.  Im sure it worked for him.  I tried the same thing and it was hard as a freaken rock.  My only suggestion is, try it (it obviously works sometimes) and if it doesnt work try adding in some sphagnum peat to loosen it up.


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## snappleWhiteTea (Jul 25, 2009)

Warren Bautista said:


> Mix 70% screened/washed play sand and 30% excavator clay.
> Perfect for burrowing.


 i been using just filtered i(i guess u can say) sand. i thought i was doing real good with the substrate cause i got it directly where i found the scorps. and it was holding good for a short while but then it collapsed on him  

so thanks i was jw how good exc. clay would work out.


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## snappleWhiteTea (Jul 25, 2009)

skips said:


> Not to say that warren is lieing to you by any means.  Im sure it worked for him.  I tried the same thing and it was hard as a freaken rock.  My only suggestion is, try it (it obviously works sometimes) and if it doesnt work try adding in some sphagnum peat to loosen it up.


thanks skips, i heard that it gets pretty hard. 

 when i was a kid my damn ant farm never caved smh


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## skips (Jul 25, 2009)

snappleWhiteTea said:


> thanks skips, i heard that it gets pretty hard.
> 
> when i was a kid my damn ant farm never caved smh


Haha, yeah.  Well, I'm not sure what I did wrong but I used the excavator as described and it was an epic failure.  actually, I broke a tank because i was mixing it in the tank i was going to use.  When I dug my hands in and pulled them up to pull up and mix the substrate (it was wet) I created a strong enough vacuum that the tank shattered.  I must just be that strong...:wall: .  

Anyway, i'm in the process of diluting my mix by re wetting it and mixing in with peat.  I keep taking samples of it and sticking it in the microwave to see it dry consistancy (you never can tell when it's wet what it will be like dry).  I'm going to try mixing in some actually sphagnum moss because if you get it wet and let it dry it holds it's shape really well.  If it works ill let you know


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## snappleWhiteTea (Jul 25, 2009)

skips said:


> Haha, yeah.  Well, I'm not sure what I did wrong but I used the excavator as described and it was an epic failure.  actually, I broke a tank because i was mixing it in the tank i was going to use.  When I dug my hands in and pulled them up to pull up and mix the substrate (it was wet) I created a strong enough vacuum that the tank shattered.  I must just be that strong...:wall: .
> 
> Anyway, i'm in the process of diluting my mix by re wetting it and mixing in with peat.  I keep taking samples of it and sticking it in the microwave to see it dry consistancy (you never can tell when it's wet what it will be like dry).  I'm going to try mixing in some actually sphagnum moss because if you get it wet and let it dry it holds it's shape really well.  If it works ill let you know


thanks, i just about broke my "livings thing 5 gal." w/just alot of wet sand. its all warped now :} 
i was almost thinking of using some thing to lighten it put keep it all toghther, liek a loose shaved substrate

do let me kno how the sphagnum moss works!!


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## skips (Aug 20, 2009)

snappleWhiteTea said:


> thanks, i just about broke my "livings thing 5 gal." w/just alot of wet sand. its all warped now :}
> i was almost thinking of using some thing to lighten it put keep it all toghther, liek a loose shaved substrate
> 
> do let me kno how the sphagnum moss works!!


I was really busy and then on vacation.  Now I have all the time in the world until classes start.  I mixed the sphagnum/peat/sand/excavator wall: ) today.  It is drying under heat lamps.  I'll let you know how it works.  I simulated it dry by putting some in a beaker and microwaving it.  It looks good so far.


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## drummindan2007 (Aug 20, 2009)

Excavator clay worked pretty well for me as well. I guess you just have to find the right mix.

Another method that I have heard of but never tried was to wet the sand and pack it down tightly, and then bake it. Like I said, I have personally never done it, but I heard it works pretty well.


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## DireWolf0384 (Aug 20, 2009)

I actually use Peat Moss. :?


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## snappleWhiteTea (Aug 20, 2009)

DireWolf0384 said:


> I actually use Peat Moss. :?


does it work?


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## Sunset (Aug 20, 2009)

get a bag of Zoo Med 5lb Excavator Clay Burrowing Substrate it works well i use it for my desert hairys and they seem to like it a lot. just add more play sand then you do clay if you cant fine it go to LLLreptile.com


I wouldn't use anything but sand for them. I try to make there home just like where there from.


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## skips (Dec 16, 2009)

snappleWhiteTea said:


> thanks, i just about broke my "livings thing 5 gal." w/just alot of wet sand. its all warped now :}
> i was almost thinking of using some thing to lighten it put keep it all toghther, liek a loose shaved substrate
> 
> do let me kno how the sphagnum moss works!!


Just by the way.  I finally got around to mixing in the peat and sphagnum.  Works really well actually.  My arizoniensis has made some burrows now and is MUCH more active.  From my experience I wouldnt consider getting another one without giving it burrowing room.  The sphagnum turned out to be nice because the scorpion can just pull on a peace and it dislodges some sand.  Its like he doesnt really have to dig to make headway, but it holds shape perfectly otherwise.  I'd say it took about half sand/excavator, and another half peat/spagnum to get it like that.  It was a huge pain but it worked.  I just kept mixing in more peat/sphagnum and putting the mix in the microwave to see what consistency it came out as until I got what I wanted.


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## snappleWhiteTea (Dec 16, 2009)

skips said:


> Just by the way.  I finally got around to mixing in the peat and sphagnum.  Works really well actually.  My arizoniensis has made some burrows now and is MUCH more active.  From my experience I wouldnt consider getting another one without giving it burrowing room.  The sphagnum turned out to be nice because the scorpion can just pull on a peace and it dislodges some sand.  Its like he doesnt really have to dig to make headway, but it holds shape perfectly otherwise.  I'd say it took about half sand/excavator, and another half peat/spagnum to get it like that.  It was a huge pain but it worked.  I just kept mixing in more peat/sphagnum and putting the mix in the microwave to see what consistency it came out as until I got what I wanted.


i was wandering how this old thread came up lol. what works for me is sand that i collected (out here) mixed with some coco fiber. works well.


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## H. laoticus (Dec 16, 2009)

any pics you can post Skips? I'd like to see what the substrate looks like after the mixture.


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## Kathy (Dec 16, 2009)

I mix coco with peat moss!


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## skips (Dec 17, 2009)

H. laoticus said:


> any pics you can post Skips? I'd like to see what the substrate looks like after the mixture.


At some point in the future maybe.  Sorry, that scorpion and all that goes with it belongs to the university and is in a room in our bio building.  I have one more final tomorrow and its back to toledo.

It looks the same as when I just used excavator and sand but much darker because of the peat.  It is relatively the same consistency but the peat loosened it up considerably.  I tested how easy it could be dug in by just lighting brushing a pencil tip on it (to simulate a digging scorpion) to see if I could make a hole.  the other part was just that if I pulled a bit on the sphagnum it dislodged some sand, meaning the if the scorpion wanted to it could do the same.

Some one mentioned in a thread before that arid soils tend to be more basic while peat is acidic, so I added some calcium carbonate to the mix as well.  I really dont think it would make much of a difference at all, especially because the substrate is dry as a bone, but I had it on hand.

It seems to have worked well.  The scorpion is much much active, but the process was too much of a pain.  Microwaving the materials was the best idea though.  You can never tell what that excavator is going to be like when it dries.  People use it all the time and love it, but I could have bashed someones skull in with it.


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## Selket (Dec 18, 2009)

I did excavator clay and sand. I did about 1/3 clay to 2/3 sand. I think the trick is not to use too much water. I think I only used like 1 cup or a 2 cups for a 5 gallon KK up 2/3 of the way with the mix. It works great they love to burrow and it holds them great.

It was my first time dealing with excavator clay and I was a bit nervous after reading about people's mixture turning out to be like concrete. But it worked


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