Burrow Substrate Mix

[pixi14369]

To start off with my current substrate is good for burrowing but it isnt very stable...I have a pretty good mix of peat and soil...and it holds up for a while but then it just seems to loosen up and eventually and slowly fall down around my G. rosea.. I try to keep the substrate moist enough for it not to do that, but I have read many conflicting reports on what humidity level is acceptable for this species....I think the main probelm is..nonoe knows the proper humidity for them...as they come from a huge range of climates..she seems comfortable at 50-65% humidity, but the substrate drys out very quickly and sometimes it drie to much and then it disallows me to moisten it, since the water juststay at the top....anyopne have some opinions on what exactly is the better burrowing substrate for any T?? Also have a H. lividum....but she is currently in a holder tank because of a mishap yesterday with her terrerium ..

 

[TheSpiderHouse]

try adding a little vermiculite to the substrate. It will help it retain moisture. Rosies do seem to like it drier, so some vermiculite in the substrate should help a lot in keeping it slightly moist. Get it from a nursery/gardening shop.

 

[defour]

Originally posted by pixi14369
To start off with my current substrate is good for burrowing but it isnt very stable...I have a pretty good mix of peat and soil...and it holds up for a while but then it just seems to loosen up and eventually and slowly fall down around my G. rosea.

I've mostly used a mixture of peat and vermiculite and I haven't had any problems with burrow collapse. Lately it's been about 8:1 peat to vermiculite. Soil likely weighs a bit more than either peat or vermiculite; maybe that's your problem.

Steve

 

[TheWidowsPeak]

I've heard that G. rosea's aren't very good at burrowing to quote "tarantulas and other arachnids" . "They will attempt to dig, but are rarely succesful in constructing a burrow"

 

[RugbyDave]

i'd stick with johnny -- a couple of mine burrow, but... not too well.. i wouldn't neccesarily call them a captive-burrowing-species.. not to say they dont, since i have a couple who do, and i'm sure a bunch of other people do too, but they may not be that good at it in captivity.. you could make a conjecture that possibly because they've been bred in captivity so long without burrows that....

but who knows..

however
for soil, i use the following in pretty much all of my burrowers:

30% jungle mix/eco earth
30% vermiculite (some small and large, but we won't get into that debate =D)
30% soil
10% moss (sphagnum or peat, depening on which side of the fence your on!)

it works freaking great! It keeps the moisture real well, and it keeps form REAL well... obviously we all get a bit worried when the bugs start excavating the whole cage, but this keeps form really well!

good luck and let us know how it turns out...

However, for the rosea, you may want to play with the mixture so its not AS moisture-laden... maybe squeeze the eco earth out ALOT and lower the amount of vermiculite...

everyone's got their own mixture, so play around untill you find something your T likes... Whether you like it or not, it depends on the T!

peace
dave!

 

[luther]

Pixi, any chance of posting a picture of the tank setup? It might shed some light on the problem.