Advice on using regular soil/dirt in enclosures.

[Darth Vehl]

Hello everyone! I was thinking that my collection is getting a little big too fast (I started in the hobby in June, now, 4 months later I own 5 slings), and because of that, I need to save money so I can provide the basic stuff for the T´s I already own. I am thinking of using the dirt of my backyard for future enclosures, I know that I have to "bake it" in the oven so it doesn't have any unwanted stuff that is bad for the spider. Do you have any other advice or knowledge I could use?

Other news: My A. seemani sling just molted and it is starting to get the blueish color. (sorry if the picture is awful, my cellphone camera did not want to focus it).

 

[Benson1990]

You can get large bags of topsoil for next to nothing, depending on where you are in the world I've seen many on here recommend brands.

 

[zoroastrianpulchripes]

Hello everyone! I was thinking that my collection is getting a little big too fast (I started in the hobby in June, now, 4 months later I own 5 slings), and because of that, I need to save money so I can provide the basic stuff for the T´s I already own. I am thinking of using the dirt of my backyard for future enclosures, I know that I have to "bake it" in the oven so it doesn't have any unwanted stuff that is bad for the spider. Do you have any other advice or knowledge I could use?

Other news: My A. seemani sling just molted and it is starting to get the blueish color. (sorry if the picture is awful, my cellphone camera did not want to focus it).

View attachment 402149

strain dirt through boiling water to remove other unwanted objects to make sure its completely safe, otherwise it should be fine to use just make sure its from an area you know is free of pests

 

[Tarantuland]

I don't know about Mx but coco fiber is really cheap for a lot of it. I'm not sure about soil in your area but you want to make sure theres no pesticides sprayed anywhere nearby, not sure about sterilization regarding all of the organisms already living in it

 

[Dorifto]

strain dirt through boiling water to remove other unwanted objects to make sure its completely safe, otherwise it should be fine to use just make sure its from an area you know is free of pests

Boiling it you are killing all the benefical microbes that are preventing issues like mold.

+1 to topsoil, way cheaper than other type of substrates and less prone to having mold issues. Also you can source your one, but it should be free of any harmful chemicals or materials.

 

[zoroastrianpulchripes]

Boiling it you are killing all the benefical microbes that are preventing issues like mold.

an option option is that you can also keep a small amount of oven sterilized dirt to introduce to the enclosure and the bacterias population would begin growing again
boiling is not necessary however it can kill pests that the oven will not

 

[Dorifto]

Killing all the stabished microbes to let them grow again could cause problems or imbalances. A stablished microbe population usually it's self balanced. If you boil or sterilize something even if you add bacterias to it, the first organism to thrive there is going to be mold, because their spores are everywhere and just before boiling it or taking that substrate from the oven it's colonizing it again.

Everyone, me included started in the hobby thinking that sterilizing substrate and things was the best or safest method. I even discussed here with someone about it. The time and the information gave them the reason.

If he is afraid of his substrate, the best would be to buy a bag of topsoil. If he wants to source their own one he only needs to find a well aerated and clean substrate, discarting the first few inches of it.

 

[viper69]

Topsoil without additives is best