Need help making my own soil

[Lucas00-]

I wanted to reach out to anyone for some knowledge. I’ve read a few threads about people maxing their own soil for plants in the enclosure. Is play sand and coconut husk fiber a good direction to go? I’ve seen back and forth articles of people saying yes and no. If it is a good idea then what ratio to mix together?

 

[MissSkittles]

Neither of those contain any/many nutrients for your plants. A much better idea is to get a quality organic potting soil. Something like Fox Farms brand will work very well. Then periodically adding a natural fertilizer will help keep your plants happy. I use the frass (poop) from my insect feeders - adding a light sprinkle every few months.

 

[Lucas00-]

Neither of those contain any/many nutrients for your plants. A much better idea is to get a quality organic potting soil. Something like Fox Farms brand will work very well. Then periodically adding a natural fertilizer will help keep your plants happy. I use the frass (poop) from my insect feeders - adding a light sprinkle every few months.

Never thought about the frass that’s a great idea lol, I bought a bag of organic soil but accidentally got it with chunks of vermiculite and didn’t wanna spend time on to pick it out.

 

[MissSkittles]

Never thought about the frass that’s a great idea lol, I bought a bag of organic soil but accidentally got it with chunks of vermiculite and didn’t wanna spend time on to pick it out.

It’s next to impossible to find any potting soil that doesn’t have vermiculite. If your chameleon has the tendency to eat soil, you can put some large river stones to cover it. Stones larger than about 2” are too big for your cham to eat and work well.

 

[BigSkyCham]

I’ve priced this out…I think it’s better just to buy the premade mix of how much you need. By mixing your own you will probably need to purchase more than you actually need.

If you want to go with a bioactive planted Viv you want to create a substrate that drains well and does not hang on to moisture. Your plants roots will rot with potting soils. In the Cham Viv you want a mixture that dries and out very well and also does not hold moisture.

Mixing your own requires purchasing materials in fairly large quantities (orchid bark, hydroton/leca, leaf litter, sphagnum moss, coco fiber) For a planted Viv ABG Mix is what you want to create (developed by Atlanta Botanical Gardens) though ABG will also hang onto moisture.

There are vendors that sell mixed substrates so you can purchase what you need and not be left with unused portions of material.

I purchased a substrate package from NEHERP, which they make a chameleon Viv specific mix called NEHERP Version 2 Substrate mix. It is designed for lower humidity environments than ABG mix. NEHERP has kits that include drainage material and screen material cut for your tank size.

The BioDude also has a Viv substrate mix called Terra Firma. They claim it does not need a drainage layer.

You can also make mixes that are suitable for your clean up isopod cultures too.

 

[nightanole]

My goto is sphagnum moss/outdoor leaves/firstsand. Just watch out what sand you buy. It needs to be first, or maybe play sand. If you get "normal" sand, its going to be sand that has already been used in manufacturing and will have lots of silicon dust. Aka the stuff that gives humans silicosis inside if it gets dry.