substrate questions

[mdfic]

how often should i change the substrate. i have a rosie who likes his enclosure nice and dry and an a. avic. who gets a good deal of spritzing every couple of days. i dont see any fungus or mites or any crap like that. i give them fresh water every three days. and they are both well ventilated. just curious since these are my first t's and alot of the scientific folk have differing oppions. :?

 

[arachnopunks]

Well it depends on how "trashy" the enclosure gets. We change substrate once every six months or so. If your dilligent about removing prey waste it isn't so much a problem. About the spritzing for the avic. We are lucky to live in Florida when it comes to temp and humidity. Spritzing is overkill. The relative humidity is more than adequate and with a water dish you are giving the T plenty of humidity. No need to mist at all really.

 

[Steve Nunn]

The only time we ever change substrate is if there is a problem, such as fungus. The less the better really. If your substrate lasts 4 years, good for you.

Cheers,
Steve

 

[Code Monkey]

With adult Ts I change them out about once a year, but that's more for my own anal retentiveness than any other reason. As Steve says, unless there's a good reason to change it, and being overrun with fungus or mites are the only two good reasons I can think of, it's purely aesthetic.