T. blondi and drainage layer

[quirinus]

Hi,
my 0.1 T. blondi needs a rehouse very soon and I'm planning her new enclosure.
I made good experiences with drainage layers for my moisture dependent arboreals and i am asking myself if this would be a good idea for the blondi as well.
The advantage would be that the water flowing down the sides of the enclosure spreads at the bottom, moistening the substrate evenly.
But i am afraid she would burrow down to the layer and destroy it or be disturbed by it.
What is your opinion?
Thanks in advance.

 

[viper69]

Not needed

 

[Wolfram1]

Personally i just used an L-shaped layer of ceramics for my Lasiodora, and left the corner were her hide is free of them. Not necessary but doesn't hurt.

 

[KillBoxSpider]

i do drainage but im growing plants in thre too so might as well not let it be swampy probly keeps things a bit cleaner

 

[quirinus]

i do drainage but im growing plants in thre too so might as well not let it be swampy probly keeps things a bit cleaner

has she burrowed down to the drainage layer? How much sub do you have on there?

 

[Wolfram1]

I just rehomed her about 2 weeks ago, she is currently in the process of expanding the burrow i provided

 

[JonnyTorch]

Not needed..and yes, it's very possible that the T can dig down to the drainage layer and bring up the rocks/pebbles/clay balls and place them around the tank. People I've talked to in the past have stated this. They will even go as far as tearing apart the screen or fabric to get to the clay balls/rocks in the drainage layer. A mess if you ask me.

 

[Dorifto]

Absolutely not needed, if you need to spread the moisture just use a nice blend of topsoil and sand. It will help you spreading the moisture but without all the drawbacks that clay balls have.

Clay balls aren't intended to provide/spread moisture, they are intended to drain any excess of moisture to prevent the substrate from soaking. They only are helpfull in heavily misted enclosures where a high humidity and moisture are necessary, like with dart frogs, paludariums, rainforest vivariums etc.

If your intentions are to keep the substrate moist, with clay balls you will obtain just the opposite, as it will drain that moisture, so you will find yourself adding water more frequently, if you use the draining system as it should be used, with a drain plug. Soaked clay balls are not the solution, simply use a nice blend of topsoil (clay+peat+sand) and you will achieve that desired effect. Clay holds a lot of water, but it releases it slowly, peat also holds a lot of water but it releases it faster, having both you will achieve more gradual moisture release. Adding sand you simply increase the draining properties of it, so the bottom will be more "sarurated", but it will spread that moisture as soon as the top layers start to dry.

Full of plants, and still I'm not capable to soak the bottom.

 

[JonnyTorch]

@Dorifto still jealous of that thing.

 

[Dorifto]

@Dorifto still jealous of that thing.

Easily doable, with topsoil hahahahahaha

 

[JonnyTorch]

I

Easily doable, with topsoil hahahahahaha

Lol I don't know if I'm a fan of topsoil anymore LOL. I use a mixture now. I like it more. The topsoil balls up and turns into little pebbles when it dries. I don't like it lol

 

[Dorifto]

I


Lol I don't know if I'm a fan of topsoil anymore LOL. I use a mixture now. I like it more. The topsoil balls up and turns into little pebbles when it dries. I don't like it lol

Booooo xD.

Making your own blends it's what really works. Not every topsoil is the same, some may lack clay, others organic matter etc so making your own blend you fix those issues, making it "perfect" for your aplications or conditions. I had the luck that the one I found was spot on, simply had to add a bit of sand at the bottom to drain more, and clay in some areas to make it more compact.

 

[liquidfluidity]

I use drainage layers but usually vermiculite to hold moisture for all of my needy species. I then add charcoal, and then weed barrier. Finally, I use this cross stitch plastic canvas. Then mixed sub and plants. Has worked very well for me. I'm sure the bigger more powerful species could chew through it....

 

[JonnyTorch]

I'm sure the bigger more powerful species could chew through it....

Any burrowing T can and will chew through it when they decide if they want to dig. They might, they might not. But that setup you use I'm sure works great. Sounds nice.

 

[liquidfluidity]

My female Stirmi....after a big meal