clay substrate

[briarpatch10]

Has anyone ever used Zoo Med Excavator Clay Burrowing Substrate? I found it online but dont know anything about it. If you have used it and know anything good or bad could you let me know? Thanks!

 

[Ictinike]

Has anyone ever used Zoo Med Excavator Clay Burrowing Substrate? I found it online but dont know anything about it. If you have used it and know anything good or bad could you let me know? Thanks!

You know good question as I was looking at the very same stuff tonight at the LPS.. Looks like it *could* be used but you have to wet it and mold it which wouldn't be too bad but I'm thinking it may end up more like clay pottery than something that could be used by the T for making it's own burrow.

I was thinking it was more like do it yourself modeling where you could form one of those fancy false bottoms that would be permanent. Maybe not but any input for both us would be great.

Thanks!


FYI Here is the product: http://www.bigappleherp.com/Zoo-Med-Excavator-Clay-Burrowing-Substrate

 

[briarpatch10]

I was thinking .. make the burrow by hand , mold it the way you wanted it then introduce the T to it. I want to make a two substrate tank half of the zoo mate burrowing clay and half maybe coconut fiber. I think this would keep the mold out and be able to keep the humidity at the right level. I dont think it would be much different to the artificial {foam} burrows that I have seen just easier to hand mold the way you wanted it. We'll see ....

 

[ZergFront]

I was thinking .. make the burrow by hand , mold it the way you wanted it then introduce the T to it. I want to make a two substrate tank half of the zoo mate burrowing clay and half maybe coconut fiber. I think this would keep the mold out and be able to keep the humidity at the right level. I dont think it would be much different to the artificial {foam} burrows that I have seen just easier to hand mold the way you wanted it. We'll see ....

Give us an update when you know more about this clay. If this is something that the T can actually mold to its desires as well, I might get some before I get the OBTs I'm planning on.

 

[Ictinike]

Give us an update when you know more about this clay. If this is something that the T can actually mold to its desires as well, I might get some before I get the OBTs I'm planning on.

Totally.. I may redo my B. smithi after she molts here soon enclosure and might use some of this to test as well. Going to try and find others online who may have used it, even for reptiles, just for usage recommendations, examples, etc.

 

[Anthony Straus]

Stuff turns into cement...would not recommend it for a T.

I mixed it 50/50 with play sand making a setup for a desert scorpion. It was rock hard when everything dried out.

 

[Ictinike]

Stuff turns into cement...would not recommend it for a T.

I mixed it 50/50 with play sand making a setup for a desert scorpion. It was rock hard when everything dried out.

Yea I'm just reading reviews now for reptile use and many say the same as you, basic cement and very solid. One guy put a water dish down while it was still "moist" and pulling out, well trying, he snapped the dish because it was glued to the stuff.

They say it's good to make caves and overhangs, walls, etc but not to be used as "digging" or "burrowing" substrate.

 

[malevolentrobot]

i'm actually testing it in an enclosure right now, mixed with coco-coir. nothing is in it yet, because i'm trying to see if it maintains humidity levels. my biggest concern would be desiccation, so i put a humidity gauge in the enclosure and am going to be monitoring levels for another 3wks before anything goes in. IF anything ends up going in.

i probably wouldn't do it, there are better subs out there, imo.

 

[Ictinike]

i'm actually testing it in an enclosure right now, mixed with coco-coir. nothing is in it yet, because i'm trying to see if it maintains humidity levels. my biggest concern would be desiccation, so i put a humidity gauge in the enclosure and am going to be monitoring levels for another 3wks before anything goes in. IF anything ends up going in.

i probably wouldn't do it, there are better subs out there, imo.

Report back! I still may "try" something as your thinking for sake of doing so but definitely would not wish to harm any T with this. I was thinking Dessication too reading these reviews. Someone, somewhere is using it for something since they still have it and I've read reviews back at least 2 years old but I've never seen it until tonight. Makes me wonder if it's just newbie hobbyists buying it on recommendation from the LPS finding out it's not all it's cracked up to be.

 

[AbraCadaver]

This sounds very exciting. I'm sure some T's are native to places with clay grounds, so I don't see why it shouldn't work with clay. The question would be if we can keep clay at the same condtions as in the wild, make it moldable for the spider.

 

[ZergFront]

That's too bad. If there's a molding clay that doesn't cement, I'd love to hear about it. Be some interesting results with burrowers.

Now, if I could find a place that sells a long digiscoping lens cheap.

 

[malevolentrobot]

Report back! I still may "try" something as your thinking for sake of doing so but definitely would not wish to harm any T with this. I was thinking Dessication too reading these reviews. Someone, somewhere is using it for something since they still have it and I've read reviews back at least 2 years old but I've never seen it until tonight. Makes me wonder if it's just newbie hobbyists buying it on recommendation from the LPS finding out it's not all it's cracked up to be.

This sounds very exciting. I'm sure some T's are native to places with clay grounds, so I don't see why it shouldn't work with clay. The question would be if we can keep clay at the same condtions as in the wild, make it moldable for the spider.

first i want to reiterate, i do not reccomend to any T keeper use excavator clay as a substrate alone. this was a test, mainly for my own curiousity i decided to do. coco coir alone is a perfectly fine sub for most arid Ts.

however, i wanted to update with my findings. for this 2.5gal (i think? its not a standard size terrarium) i put 100% coco coir as a 2" layer underneath, before covering with the 50/50 mix 1" deep. as of now the excavator clay/coco coir mix has kept 60-65% humidity for a month now with spraying the corner and i swapped out the snapple cap with a 1" round 1" deep dish (filled with pebbles for safety of the T).

here is a pic:

(dont worry, the drop is only about 2 1/2" it just looks like more from aerial view)

unfortunately, i am on the fence as what to put into it now. my 3" boehemi i think might be a bit too small for the drop, especially given how i set it up with rockwork, and my rosea decided in the meantime to become a deep burrower so i do not want to move her out of her current tank anymore. i might buy the other rosea at work and use her as the test subject, god knows she's been in worse tanks where she came from

 

[smallara98]

Wouldn't this stuff get very messy and sloppy and bad for the ts ? I always heard sand or some kind of clay stuff isnt the best for them .

 

[super-pede]

I swear by this stuff.I use it for all my scorps and most of my T's