Substrate ?

Frostbyte

Arachnobaron
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Where does everyone get substrate ? I have the Green Bottle comming this week along with a Curly and Mexican Red Knee. I wanna get a soil type peat mixture. Im using some type of jungle shredded mulch/peat I got at a local Jacks Pet Store. But it gets expensive and dries out fairly quickly. Where do you get yours and what is it ?
 

TheDon

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Well i used to use that Eco Earth that came in a hard brick and you add water to it and it expanded but I found that it dried out to quickly as well... I changed to Sphagnum Peat Moss, and vermiculate both of which you can get at walmart for cheap. Make sure you get the stuff with no additives such as fertilizer. It is what most people use I believe. Some people use potting soil but i have never tried it. I find that a peat/vermiculate mix works perfectly for holding moisture without it having to be soaking wet.

TheDon
 

pelo

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I use a 60/40 mix of peat/vermiculite.I was using a 50/50 mix but found that some are not real fussy on vermiculite and were doing a lot of wall climbing.Since revising the mix the T's seem to be much happier with the substrate.I also switched the vermiculite from a coarse grade to a fine grade.The peat/verm mix works really well at retaining moisture/humidity levels.Both are cheap substrates and can be found at Wally mart..home depot,lowes or any garden centre.Readily available all year 'round.Looking at your list of T's they all look to be species requiring low humidity levels.60-70% RH is easily achieved/maintained.A water dish occasionally overfilled or occasional light mistings should easily meet the requirement.Low RH values and a drier substrate is a good thing,especially in mite prevention/control....peace..
 
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Code Monkey

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For the most part, I use a roughly 50/50 mix of peat and vermiculite. I have played around with coconut coir, coconut chunks, potting soil, and different mixes of peat/verm and find that a roughly 50/50 mix makes the best general purpose substrate.


Peat moss is available at any garden shop/center or gardening section of any hardware store. Vermiculite can be a bit harder to track down depending on the stores in your area as many places no longer carry it due to a overblown and 99.9% bogus asbestos scare by the media a couple of years ago. You can however find it very cheaply (and in large quantities unfortunately for someone with just a couple of Ts) at any feed store.
 

Alias

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ok, I posted this some time ago on spidertalk.net..

does anybody care at least a LITTLE BIT about ecological aspect of using peat? can you imagine how many rare insects and plants in peat bogs are you helping to kill by buying peat...I always thought that keeping Ts is more about interest in nature (and especially endangered species) and ecology, and not only "look, I have great dangerous spider! and I just dont care!"

sorry if this sounds too hysterical :)...just spend a minute thinking about that, thats all I am asking for
:cool:
 

Code Monkey

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Originally posted by Alias
does anybody care at least a LITTLE BIT about ecological aspect of using peat? can you imagine how many rare insects and plants in peat bogs are you helping to kill by buying peat...I always thought that keeping Ts is more about interest in nature (and especially endangered species) and ecology, and not only "look, I have great dangerous spider! and I just dont care!"
Well, in Canada, where the US's supply of peat comes from, the industry is in the process of turning it into a managed, renewable resource like wood pulp farming, so, no, don't much care. I understand that it's not that way in all parts of the world, but for those of us in North America, it IS hysterical to put the energy in being concerned about such an issue.

Besides, the amount of peat that all the T owners in the world put together doesn't amount to a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a percent of the amount of peat consumed.
 

sunnymarcie

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Alias, that thought has crossed my mind to.
But I think peat/vermiculite is the best mix for my T's.
I also keep some of the plants you speak of, Carnivorous
plants and a few earth bound orchids. So I guess I have found
a "little" balance:)
 

Alias

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for your Ts, peat is a matter of keeping moisture and having something soft to walk on...for peat bogs animals, its a matter of survival.

the balance that are you talking about, would work only if you were able to create a small artificial peat bog with ALL the animals and plants...otherwise its just poor excuse...
 

vulpina

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I'm with Code Monkey, I use a peat/vermiculite mix. For arboreals I pretty much use straight vermiculite and terrestrials the mix.

Andy
 

TheDon

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wow bud... I think you need to lighten up... whether we use peat or not others will continue to use it... I would say that the people that own T's to the people who dont is a very small amount. It isnt the T keepers who are the ones you should be harping on. It is in our best interest to keep our Inverts happy so why not...? If it keeps the T happy and safe then yes I will continue to use it as will others who keep t's. By asking us to stop it isnt going to help anything... Yes T's can live on other substrates but this is found to be the best for what we are doing, so technically by asking us to stop using it you are trying to stop others free will to chose what they want to use. So anyways stop whining and complain about it to the bigger market like gardening.

peace

TheDon
 

Alias

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well...yes. thats exactly the reaction that I expected.

1. its good for my T and I dont care about anything else.
2. I dont feel any guilt, because Im not the only person in the world who is using peat.
3. only stupid enviromental fanatics care about some stupid bugs and flowers, which are not nearly as gorgeous as my tarantulas.


thanks for answers, guys :)
 

Code Monkey

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Originally posted by Alias
well...yes. thats exactly the reaction that I expected.

1. its good for my T and I dont care about anything else.
2. I dont feel any guilt, because Im not the only person in the world who is using peat.
3. only stupid enviromental fanatics care about some stupid bugs and flowers, which are not nearly as gorgeous as my tarantulas.


thanks for answers, guys :)
You left off mine: it's a renewable resource which is well on its way to being a totally managed crop in North America. Of course, it's not surprising you chose to ignore that one, can't have a chest beating issue if it's actually a non-issue.

And no one said jack about #3 - that's purely your own environut bias shining through.
 

vulpina

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Wow...OK Alias what would you suggest for a tarantula substrate? I'm just curious? I agree with TheDon, you do need to lighten up a bit. Like Code said they're trying to make it a renewable resource. Keeping T's is about nature and the endangered species, that's why we have CB T's. You may suggest something like potting or topsoil for burrowing T's but then you will be ignoring soil erosion all over the world. So, to reiterate my question, what do you suggest we use?

Andy
 

Alias

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Im using ground coconut shells (american commercial name is bed-a-beast or what) and it works good. OK, blame me, if the coconuts will be extinct :)

as for potting soil and erosion problem - that was a poor joke. we can discuss without demagogy, cant we?

they make it renewably source - hahaha. good joke made by peat-producting lobby. try to read something about peat bogs - how fragile their ballance is and how long it takes to regrow...it the best case (maybe if the peat production were ten times smaller), the peat moss will heal, but its inhabitants never..
 

Alias

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codemonkey, do you actually know, how quickly peat accumulates? its two centimeters per century. do you really believe in renewability of this? =D =D =D
 

Code Monkey

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Originally posted by Alias
codemonkey, do you actually know, how quickly peat accumulates? its two centimeters per century. do you really believe in renewability of this? =D =D =D
Do you really believe I'm ever going to read another post of yours? 2cm per century in a purely unmanaged, natural accumulation - that has NOTHING to do with what a managed, artificially stimulated system can manage. It's people like you who would have us not wiping our arses because of course we could never have achieved a 100% renewable pulp wood farming method like we did.
 

vulpina

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Hey Code, It might be better if we wipe by dropping trou and skid around in the yard, that way we at least fertilize the grass and don't harm it!! LOL!!!! Hey Alias, Home and GArden has a website that's calling you!!

Andy
 

Alias

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well, I could tell you something about reliability of info provided by canadian peat industry vs. reliability of info gathered by sciencists around the world...but, nevermind, why bother trying to discuss like adult people...
 

vulpina

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Alias,
We can discuss this like adults, and of course the reliability of info from each source is going to be skewed in that particular source's favor. Come on, is Chevrolet going to make an advertisement and say, well you should buy Ford. Not hardly, each source tilts the info in their favor. We can have artlificial peat farms without destroying natural peat bogs, just like Code says. I have spent the last 15 years in the medical field so I do have a scientific point of view.

Andy
 

Frostbyte

Arachnobaron
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And somehow my thread about my Ts Substrate turned into some quest to save the ecology of the planet and what would be best to wipe your butt with. This still leaves me high and dry with a few answers .. but can u get potting soil at a store ? will that work? where do you get yours ? And what is it?
 
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