Substrate Help

[HelicopterPilot]

Today is cleaning day and I have to replace the substrate again. I am kind of getting tired of replacing paper towels and newspaper.

I am thinking of going back to dirt substrate like I had in my older tank. I have a couple of questions though.

Also the substrate in mind is ESU Reptiles Jungle Mix Lizard Litter.

Here are some facts from the bag:
"Jungle Mix provides a natural living environment for terrarium animals and plants. It is a unique blend of sterilized virgin organic soil, fine grain sand, vermiculite, peat moss, orchid bark and green tree moss. Jungle Mix is organic, natural and perfect for burrowing reptiles and plants. It promotes breeding, nesting and egg incubation. " (Copyed and pasted from Website)



Questions.

Bio-Active Dirt or Newspaper/Paper Towels
1.Whats easier (including replacing substrate and finding eggs)?
2.Looks



Here are some seperate questions on just the Dirt
1.Does this substrate tend to dry eggs out quickly
2.Can you even Bio-Activate it?
3. Does anyone else use it.
4. When a female crested gecko digs a hole to bury her eggs, can you notice if the ground/substrate/laying matter has been disrupted (for lack of better word).

Thanks for the Help and Happy New Year!

[zarozinia]

Well Ive lost two eggs recently as I missed when they had been produced. Im going back to kitchen towel with a nesting box. I feel its cleaner too.
Yes you can notice when females start digging - i checked the areas they were digging in - but obviously missed one,which is disappointing. The eggs did dry up and collapse.

[HelicopterPilot]

So the eggs you didn't find dried up and collapsed correct. Did the eggs that you found seem dry by the time you found them?

Also are there any objections to the materials that they use in their substrate?

[Andrew Gilpin]

i use and usually suggest to others to use eco-earth, or bed-a-beast.
i've found eggs that have been laid for over a week, and they still hatch out, you just have to keep the substrate moist enough. i find that it is about 50X easier to use than paper towels because you can just scoop the poop and turn the substrate rather than having to remove everything from the cage to take out the paper towels.
using the substrate also helps keep the humidity up which is nice.

[zarozinia]

i use eco earth on about a third of the bottom and orchid bark on the rest

[HelicopterPilot]

I notice that sometimes right after I spray and the geckos go down to eat , they get some dirt on the fingers and belly. It comes off when they go up to higher ground ,but is this anything I should be concerned with.

Also Geico had a little speck of fine dirt on his nose ( very small amount) and he licked it off! Will he be okay?

Also (again) I think he will live becuase when I first fed them crickets in the cage (which I no longer do) both the the geckos swallowed alittle dirt everytime they caught a cricket. Should I be worried even though they have survived before.

[Bryan]

I use shredded coconut fiber...

After it's been expanded in water, I crumble it into the bottom of the enclosure, then lightly tamp it down to firm up the surface... this avoids most of the loose particles that stick to feet...
The fist day or so after putting it in, I see a little bit tracked into the water dish, but after that, it's very little...

As a side note; I only feed CGD, so ingestion hasn't been an issue...

[HelicopterPilot]

ingestion shouldn't be a problem normally for me aswell as I mainly feed CGD and I feed them crickets in a seperate cage.

Thanks so far for the help.

[AnthonyCaponetto]

Hey guys,

Be careful with shredded coconut fiber. Some brands have a lot of salt, which kills eggs pretty fast. I had a batch of the Bed-a-Beast brand and a batch of a different brand that were both killing off the eggs in no more than 24-48 hours...and they were both kept moist. Philippe has had the same problem, as have several others.

I've heard of many people having good luck with coconut fiber, but a lot of people have lost a lot of eggs with it, so be careful if that's what you're going to use.

[BigJon]

Originally Posted by HelicopterPilot

I notice that sometimes right after I spray and the geckos go down to eat , they get some dirt on the fingers and belly. It comes off when they go up to higher ground ,but is this anything I should be concerned with.

Also Geico had a little speck of fine dirt on his nose ( very small amount) and he licked it off! Will he be okay?

Also (again) I think he will live becuase when I first fed them crickets in the cage (which I no longer do) both the the geckos swallowed alittle dirt everytime they caught a cricket. Should I be worried even though they have survived before.

as long as you're using a substrate that is commercially produced for reptiles, you should be okay with occassional minor ingestion. in the wild, i'm sure reptiles occassionally ingest dirt, etc. while lunging for prey.

haven't you ever dropped food on the floor, grabbed it quickly, and thought to yourself, "five second rule," before eating it?