Do you clean Urates from your Viv?

[Musashi Sushi]

I have had my Vivarium set up and running great for over 3 years and I've never had to clean it. My question is should I be occasionally scooping out the dries Urates? The fecal matter gets eaten every night but they do not eat the Urates, but who can blame them.

Thanks,
Jeff

 

[Carlton]

I would. Whether it's fecal matter or not, not sure I'd want any loose feeders feasting on my cham's poop at night. Sounds like a great way to complete an intestinal parasite's life cycle to me. Chances are both your feeders AND your cham are carrying a few, possibly multiple species. If this is a bio-active setup, urates are going to alter the substrate pH/chemistry too, and probably not for the better. I also don't like a smelly setup and a buildup of multiple damp, dry or fresh urates aren't going to help that either. There will always be one or two I don't notice that may feed the substrate critters.

 

[Musashi Sushi]

Thanks for responding, it is a bio-active enclosure. Next time I have him out I'll do a little topsoil cleanup of the urates.