Best Substrate For Humid Enclosure

[Cas S]

ive been using eco earth and every time i put it in a humid enclosure mushrooms start growing. i know some people like to use vermiculite or top soil. i went to a reptile store that i trust yesterday and they said that for humid species they like to use zoo med reptisoil. they have a lot of tarantulas and i trust what the say but i wanted to make sure that was ok to use.

 

[moricollins]

As a general rule: you don't need a humid enclosure for a tarantula.

 

[Vanisher]

You maybe mean a moist substrate? I usally use pure peatmoss. It retains moisture well

 

[Cas S]

As a general rule: you don't need a humid enclosure for a tarantula.

You maybe mean a moist substrate? I usally use pure peatmoss. It retains moisture well

yes i mean moist substrate, but shouldnt the enclosure also be humid? its for an Ornithoctonus aureotibialis

also regarding the peat moss, what brand do you recommend and how would you sanitize it?

 

[Vanisher]

Humidety is not important. Sure in a moist enclosure, humidety will be present due to the moist substrate, but tarantulas JUST need the moist substrate, not the humidety per se! Only time humidety is important is for very tiny slings and for eggsacks, but for juvenile or adult tarantulas, humidety is irrelevant. Sure, they have their booklunghs very near the sub, and that moisture important, but humidety high up.in the cage or diffrent numbers of humidety is irrelevant. Just keep it miist for moist speicies

 

[Cas S]

Humidety is not important. Sure in a moist enclosure, humidety will be present due to the moist substrate, but tarantulas JUST need the moist substrate, not the humidety per se! Only time humidety is important is for very tiny slings and for eggsacks, but for juvenile or adult tarantulas, humidety is irrelevant. Sure, they have theur booklunghs very near the sub, and thats impirtant, but humisety high up.in the cage or duffrent numbers of humidety is irrelevant. Just keep it miist for moust speicies

ok thanks, so would the reptisoil be a good substrate?

 

[Vanisher]

I dont know what that is exactly?. I have always used peat ir topsoil, with leafs or barkchips mixed in. Pretty cheap stuff

 

[Cas S]

I dont know what that is exactly?. I have always used peat ir topsoil, with leaf or barkchip mixed in. Oretty cheap stuff

what brands? i want to make sure the stuff im using is safe

 

[Vanisher]

I buy, (or bought when i had lots of tarantulas) peat in bulk. I used natural peat, without fertilizers or chalk. What brand doesnt matter, but it shoukd be with so few additives as possible. If it is organic fertilizers it is ok, but you should be able to find natural peat without additives at a horticultair shop or garden shop

The impirtant thing is that ut is without any chemical additives

 

[Cas S]

The impirtant thing is that ut is without any chemical additives

ok thanks. Would reptisoil be an ok alternative, its easier for me to get

 

[Arachnophoric]

ok thanks. Would reptisoil be an ok alternative, its easier for me to get

If it's the stuff I'm thinking about, IME reptisoil doesn't retain moisture too well, is a pain in the rear to actually get moist without getting really dirty in the process, and is dusty as heck getting it out the bag. And very heavy. I won't personally ever use the stuff again. Eco earth/cocofibre work just fine as substrate for more moisture-dependent species, if you're growing mushrooms it's because your keeping your enclosure far too wet/humid and without enough ventilation. I had the same issue with mushrooms growing in my P. muticus enclosure, and after I added more ventilation they stopped growing. Another option would be to look at plain topsoil without additives at the gardening section of your local walmart - the kind of stuff advertised for filling holes and landscaping. I haven't used it myself, but it's dirt (hah!) cheap for a decent sized bag and probably holds moisture better than the reptisoil.

Hopefully that helps. Best of luck - I have an O. aureotibialis myself and she's lovely. Awesome species.

 

[Cas S]

If it's the stuff I'm thinking about, IME reptisoil doesn't retain moisture too well, is a pain in the rear to actually get moist without getting really dirty in the process, and is dusty as heck getting it out the bag. And very heavy. I won't personally ever use the stuff again. Eco earth/cocofibre work just fine as substrate for more moisture-dependent species, if you're growing mushrooms it's because your keeping your enclosure far too wet/humid and without enough ventilation. I had the same issue with mushrooms growing in my P. muticus enclosure, and after I added more ventilation they stopped growing. Another option would be to look at plain topsoil without additives at the gardening section of your local walmart - the kind of stuff advertised for filling holes and landscaping. I haven't used it myself, but it's dirt (hah!) cheap for a decent sized bag and probably holds moisture better than the reptisoil.

Hopefully that helps. Best of luck - I have an O. aureotibialis myself and she's lovely. Awesome species.

ok thanks

 

[Vanisher]

I go by price here. Sure coco fibre is fine (not perfect) but ok, but it is expensive! I have often seen it in expos in Sweden (it comes in bricks here) and it is expensive. I have bought it ones or twice and used in mix with other soils.
But peat is around 10 times more cheap if bought in a garden or horticulture store, it works just as good as cocofibre. It works even better in my experience

 

[Arachnophoric]

I go by price here. Sure coco fibre is fine (not perfect) but ok, but it is expensive! I have often seen it in expos in Sweden (it comes in bricks here) and it is expensive. I have bought it ones or twice and used in mix with other soils.
But peat is around 10 times more cheap if bought in a garden or horticulture store, it works just as good as cocofibre. It works even better in my experience

I've seen double-posts, but this is my first time seeing a triple-post.

I thought about price as well, which is why I threw in the suggestion on topsoil. I like cocofibre though because i purchase the dry bricks, which are cheaper than the bags and far easier to store.

 

[Vanisher]

Aha, something went wrong. Yes, cocofibre, peat, topsoil and pottingsoil are all fine to use. Use what you like the best

 

[The Grym Reaper]

yes i mean moist substrate, but shouldnt the enclosure also be humid? its for an Ornithoctonus aureotibialis

No, just moist substrate, humidity is irrelevant (tarantulas cannot obtain moisture from the air).

I use a mix of topsoil (get the cheapest stuff you can find, swerve anything labelled "organic"), sedge peat and fine vermiculite.

 

[Vanisher]

I think the whole thing about humidety ( i still see it on caresheets) derives from the reptile hobny, especially for keeping frogs. Frogs obtains moisture from the air. So my guess is that this whoke humidety thing is applued to tarantulas aswell. But those are totally diffrent animals than frogs

 

[Moebius]

I've been liking packed-down sphagnum peat moss myself for moist species; stays moist longer than coco-fibre and makes for great burrowing opportunities when tamped down into the enclosure while moist. It's been a better burrowing medium overall, but its easy to mix it with topsoil or coco-fibre too (I haven't found a big need, got a great brand locally that is additive and mostly debris free out of the bag). It's still lighter than plain topsoil and quite inexpensive here at least too for the amounts you get compared to a lot of alternatives.

You can get that yellow "potters fungus" rather easily with it even with adequate ventilation (in which case, you just add more, gotta love easy solutions!), but it tends to go through cycles of die off and isn't too difficult to manually pluck out if getting silly. I don't tend to have it come back very fast whatsoever once it's initial round is over with and some tidying, it's just a bit stubborn while it is around, but most of the moist enclosures I have also have dwarf purple isopods kicking around and springtails regardless which may help dent that (I'd consider the latter, not a necessity, but nice and inexpensive for what they do). I like a cleanup crew being present, and while I've had no issues with dwarf purple isopods for years, there has been a fair bit of discussion regarding potential problems with dwarf whites with some hobbyists, so it helps to be aware before jumping into that.

 

[Cas S]

ok thanks for everyones input, ill use peat. however what if i do abg mix, that way i could add springtails and isopods so i wouldnt have to worry about mushrooms or fungi.

 

[Cas S]

ok so i havnt gotten a chance to get the peat yet, could i just redo his substrate with wet coco fibre until i get the peatmoss?