Topsoil problem?

[cold blood]

1 bucket, half gallon of water, throw the brick in. wait 20 min, stir, wait another 10 and its done. practically zero work.

Considering you scoop dirt and youre done, its more work AND a lot more hassle....buckets if water and a half hour...lol...sounds like clean up will take just as long....lol

 

[BobBarley]

Topsoil FTW!


Random sidenote, Happy New Years everyone!!

 

[Python]

I use topsoil a lot as well and it's not hard to dry it out. I would suggest spread some out on a cookie sheet and put it in the oven. Cooking it will kill any parasites that might be in it and dry it out all at the same time. a quick ride through the microwave will have the same result. I like topsoil myself but I also use coco fiber.

 

[Venom1080]

Considering you scoop dirt and youre done, its more work AND a lot more hassle....buckets if water and a half hour...lol...sounds like clean up will take just as long....lol

yeah, but $7...
i usually keep it in the bucket and just use it from there. i keep 2 gallons of water in my room for the critters so there is pretty much no clean up.

 

[BobBarley]

Oh, and quick note about topsoil, make sure to test it before you put the t on it. This is because topsoil is region specific and even the same brand uses different sources in different places. Test it by putting about a handful into some sort of container and letting some crickets loose in it. If they are dead in 1-2 days, don't use the topsoil and try a different brand in your area.

 

[cold blood]

Sterilization of substrate is a great way to set yourself up for mold. As soon as its exposed to air, it will be colonized by something...on a sterilized surface the first thing to colonize will have it all to themselves, resulting in a population explosion....molds and such are generally the first or one of the first things.

 

[cold blood]

yeah, but $7...
i usually keep it in the bucket and just use it from there. i keep 2 gallons of water in my room for the critters so there is pretty much no clean up.

$7 is still 6 times more expensive, and thats only if youre getting 40lb or the usage equivilent.

So you fill a bucket of water you keep in the t room (i do the same) with substrate bricks and manage to get all the excess sub out of the water without cleaning anything? Youre either a magician or you have one helluva filtration system set up in that bucket of water.

 

[Venom1080]

$7 is still 6 times more expensive, and thats only if youre getting 40lb or the usage equivilent.

So you fill a bucket of water you keep in the t room (i do the same) with substrate bricks and manage to get all the excess sub out of the water without cleaning anything? Youre either a magician or you have one helluva filtration system set up in that bucket of water.

not sure what you mean with that first part..

i use one brick at a time, i found the perfect amount of water so its not too wet but nearly all expanded, i take what i need from there..?

 

[cold blood]

not sure what you mean with that first part..

i use one brick at a time, i found the perfect amount of water so its not too wet but nearly all expanded, i take what i need from there..?

Ahhh, those were pricing numbers given by you for the brick and the dirt...i didnt mean anything, just pointing out that dirt is way cheaper than even the next cheapest option, a brick.

I do the exact same thing you do, take what i need when i need it.

 

[shadowjimmy107]

I guess my last question would be what substrate do you prefer. I

Cost is a good reason for buying topsoil, regardless of the size bag or number of ts one has. Its not like its gonna 1) go bad, or 2) not going to have other uses...heck use it to fill a hole by the driveway...either way its more natural AND cost effective....comparitively, those bricks you have to re constitute are crap, i wouldt use that even if it were cheaper than topsoil....but its not, its still more than topsoil.

Seriously though, ive never once, for any species (and never will) dry out topsoil prior to use. Its moist when out if the bag, not wet, and being that its soil and not an absorbant substance like cocofiber or eco earth, it dries out pretty quickly.

Just put the t in, your over-complicating the keeping of spiders.

Reptiles and ts really have no comparison with regards to care. As bobbarley said, ts do NOT require any number specific humidity. Ive got hundreds and have been keeping ts for 16 years and ive never once measured or concerned myself with humidity numbers.

Ts requiring moisture simply mean you need to sprinkle or pour water onto the sub as it dries out. If you bought a hygrometer, return it or toss it in the trash, its useless and pointless and can only lead you down a wrong path to your ts detriment.

Thank you so much. Idk how bad it was for tarantulas humidity to go up or down but thank you. I am doing a lot or research before hand. You have been very helpful and I have to say this forum is a lot more quck to respond then a lot of reptile fourms. If i have any question i will definitely come here.

P.S. I am not able to just go out and get this stuff like the dry eco earth and things like that because I can't drive. I'm 14 XD

 

[shadowjimmy107]

All of you really helped and I was going to do the cricket test. I learned that by EulersK. Thank you, i have never gotten this much help on 1 forum I have learned a lot

 

[cold blood]

Again, theres really no good reason to dry it out first. The t can go right in.

This is a great and responsive forum, theres no doubt about that.

 

[Python]

Again, theres really no good reason to dry it out first. The t can go right in.

This is a great and responsive forum, theres no doubt about that.

I'd like to add that under normal circumstances there is no need to dry topsoil. Sometimes it might be necessary though. Some places keep their soil or other substrates outside. Where I work for example. We keep several pallets of topsoil, potting soil, manure and other such things outside because we have no plave to keep it inside. The bags, for some reason, have rows of tiny holes in them and so after a rain those 40 lb bags weigh more like 75 lbs. They soak up quite a bit of water but they dehydrate rather slowly by comparison. Just thought I'd pitch in that caveat. All the extra water doesn't hurt anything, just takes it forever to dry out.

One other thing to note about commercial topsoil, it contains quite a bit of added sand. In my experience, it makes it that much harder for it to pack down meaning burrows might not be as stable as they could otherwise be. I sift all of the soil I use to remove the big clumps and it becomes very apparent when it sifts out. It's a very fine sand but there is an awful lot of it.

 

[viper69]

I throw my topsoil in the clothes dryer.

 

[Abyss]

I guess my last question would be what substrate do you prefer. I

Thank you so much. Idk how bad it was for tarantulas humidity to go up or down but thank you. I am doing a lot or research before hand. You have been very helpful and I have to say this forum is a lot more quck to respond then a lot of reptile fourms. If i have any question i will definitely come here.

P.S. I am not able to just go out and get this stuff like the dry eco earth and things like that because I can't drive. I'm 14 XD

To directly answer you, i prefer sphagnum moss. Its the most mold resistant i have found and i have rarely (if ever) had any issues with it.
To be fair, pretty much any of the various options have their advantages an disadvantages. You pretty much have to decide for yourself which you prefer to use. Your T isint gonna die because you chose coco fiber over top soil. The decision has minimal consequences and no substrate is really expensive IMO.
One of the most funny thing i have found about tarantula keeps is that we will easly spend hundreads (or thousands) of dollars to buy these creatires yet we bicker about $5 for sub vs $2 for sub (just a random example) lmao. Its just funny that we can afford the arachnids but act like $5-$10 for the sub is breaking the bank lol

Ya'll crack me up but i would have it no other way!!!!!!!!

 

[cold blood]

To directly answer you, i prefer sphagnum moss. Its the most mold resistant i have found and i have rarely (if ever) had any issues with it.
To be fair, pretty much any of the various options have their advantages an disadvantages. You pretty much have to decide for yourself which you prefer to use. Your T isint gonna die because you chose coco fiber over top soil. The decision has minimal consequences and no substrate is really expensive IMO.
One of the most funny thing i have found about tarantula keeps is that we will easly spend hundreads (or thousands) of dollars to buy these creatires yet we bicker about $5 for sub vs $2 for sub (just a random example) lmao. Its just funny that we can afford the arachnids but act like $5-$10 for the sub is breaking the bank lol

Ya'll crack me up but i would have it no other way!!!!!!!!

When you have a large collection the price differrence isnt some minimal number. I save hundreds, if not thousands by buying dirt...allowing me to spend my $ on ts instead of sub.

$7-8 for 2 quarts of say, jungle mix, is in fact ridicolously ecpensive compared to dirt. Just using that $7 brick comparison....for that price i can get 200 pounds of dirt and have change leftover.

 

[Abyss]

When you have a large collection the price differrence isnt some minimal number. I save hundreds, if not thousands by buying dirt...allowing me to spend my $ on ts instead of sub.

$7-8 for 2 quarts of say, jungle mix, is in fact ridicolously ecpensive compared to dirt. Just using that $7 brick comparison....for that price i can get 200 pounds of dirt and have change leftover.

Oh i know, i was just teasing you guys hahaha

 

[cold blood]

Oh i know, i was just teasing you guys hahaha

Instigator

 

[Chris LXXIX]

In Italy that .... is pure garbage in a good 80% of the brands easily available for the sale.
Once I bought 5 huge packs of those for my Mother and Grandmother "flower" stuff and everything jumped out, including snails lol. Def. I wouldn't use that crap in one of my enclosures: only coco fiber and high quality Irish peat moss.

 

[vancwa]

To directly answer you, i prefer sphagnum moss. Its the most mold resistant i have found and i have rarely (if ever) had any issues with it.
To be fair, pretty much any of the various options have their advantages an disadvantages. You pretty much have to decide for yourself which you prefer to use. Your T isint gonna die because you chose coco fiber over top soil. The decision has minimal consequences and no substrate is really expensive IMO.
One of the most funny thing i have found about tarantula keeps is that we will easly spend hundreads (or thousands) of dollars to buy these creatires yet we bicker about $5 for sub vs $2 for sub (just a random example) lmao. Its just funny that we can afford the arachnids but act like $5-$10 for the sub is breaking the bank lol

Ya'll crack me up but i would have it no other way!!!!!!!!

I agree, One fellow snarked at me for wasting money by tossing unused crickets outside in the flower bed. Really? I think of it as True Spider food.