suitable soil for tank

[ericcham]

Hi can anyone help please?

It is time to clean out Eric's tank, i live in a small town and there are limited shops, though there is a pet shop but it doesnt have what i need

I was hoping to get some peat for the tank as that is what he has now, i only took ownership of him 2 months ago so i was wondering is topsoil suitable? or would it have chemicals that could harm Eric? any advice would be very helpful!

I live in the UK just to let you know if i need to order anything


Thanks

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

When you clean it out leave it bare on the bottom instead of replacing the substrate that your chameleon doesn't need. See your other thread for reasons. It's much easier to clean that way! How big and what kind of tank does he live in?

Since you're just starting out with your new chameleon you better fill this out as it sounds like his previous owner may not have started you off completely on the right foot. Everybody first starting out has something that needs to be changed or improved in their set up, even the experts did when they first started! By addressing those things now you can prevent and avoid many potential health problems that can get quite serious over time! This is will give us an idea of what you're starting with so we can offer guidance:

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
Location - Where are you geographically located?

Pictures are helpful

 

[ericcham]

When you clean it out leave it bare on the bottom instead of replacing the substrate that your chameleon doesn't need. See your other thread for reasons. It's much easier to clean that way! How big and what kind of tank does he live in?

Since you're just starting out with your new chameleon you better fill this out as it sounds like his previous owner may not have started you off completely on the right foot. Everybody first starting out has something that needs to be changed or improved in their set up, even the experts did when they first started! By addressing those things now you can prevent and avoid many potential health problems that can get quite serious over time! This is will give us an idea of what you're starting with so we can offer guidance:

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
Location - Where are you geographically located?

Pictures are helpful

thanks

ok here goes

he is a veiled, male, 1 and a half years old, i have had him for 2 months

i handle him 2-3 times a day

i feed him worms, and crickets, about 6 worms day and night, and there are roughly 6-8 crickets in the tank a day though he doesnt seem to eat them but they hide at the top (there is a gap)

i only have a rock dish which he does use, i mist 2-3 times a day quite a lot
unsure if he has been tested, sometimes his poo is a tad yellow but mostly white, also like rabbit poo which i find weird, do they have 2 types of poo as daft as it sounds?

dimensions of tank are 1 and a half foot squared, all glass with the mesh at the top

heat lamp is on all the time, light goes on at 7 in the morning and gets turned off at 8 oclock (bulb i mean)

temp is always 25-30 clesius, 70-80 farenhite, there is a gauge to show me

there are 2 plastic plants on either side of the tank and 1 at the back covering a quarter of the tank at the bottom

no live plants

the tank is on drawers in my front room about 3 feet off the ground

i am in the uk half an hour drive from manchester

think that covers it all

 

[ericcham]

also would normal top soil be ok to use in the tank? i know it has to be uncontaminated but would this be suitable? i would like to clean it out over the weekend

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

thanks

ok here goes

he is a veiled, male, 1 and a half years old, i have had him for 2 months

i handle him 2-3 times a day

i feed him worms, and crickets, about 6 worms day and night, and there are roughly 6-8 crickets in the tank a day though he doesnt seem to eat them but they hide at the top (there is a gap) -What do you feed the crickets before feeding them to Eric? What kind of worms? Mealworms are not very nutritious and they have high fat and chitin levels, making them harder to digest. Better worm options would be butterworms, gutloaded superworms, silkworms, etc.

i only have a rock dish which he does use, i mist 2-3 times a day quite a lot -If we uses a dish make sure you clean that water out daily at least. It's easy for bacteria to grow in small pools of water, especially with dumb crickets drowning themselves or if Eric decides it's also a toilet. It would be better to have a dripper from the top of the cage that drips water onto leaves for him to drink from.

unsure if he has been tested, sometimes his poo is a tad yellow but mostly white, also like rabbit poo which i find weird, do they have 2 types of poo as daft as it sounds? -I'm not sure that they have multiple types, it probably just depends on what he ate and how much he drank recently. Yellow urates means that he's not getting enough water.

dimensions of tank are 1 and a half foot squared, all glass with the mesh at the top -Unfortunately that is much too small for an adult veiled chameleon. He should be in a cage at least 3 feet tall! Minimum dimensions are 18x18x36" tall, but even better would be 24x24x48" tall. Most US keepers use screen cages, but being in England it may be better for temperature and humidity to have a glass cage. There's nothing wrong with glass cages but they have to be the appropriate size, which can be hard to find or expensive. There are ways to make a screen cage, which are readily available in the appropriate dimensions, suitable for cold, dry environments.

heat lamp is on all the time, light goes on at 7 in the morning and gets turned off at 8 oclock (bulb i mean) -unless your cage temperatures drop below 55 at night you don't need the heat lamp. A drop in temperature at night is actually good for their metabolism

temp is always 25-30 clesius, 70-80 farenhite, there is a gauge to show me -Does he have a basking spot? One place that stays a little warmer than the rest of the cage? Gradients are important to let them regulate their body temperature since they can't make their own heat and a basking spot helps with digestion.

there are 2 plastic plants on either side of the tank and 1 at the back covering a quarter of the tank at the bottom

no live plants

the tank is on drawers in my front room about 3 feet off the ground

i am in the uk half an hour drive from manchester

think that covers it all

Gutloading (feeding your bigs the nutrients your chameleon needs) is extremely important. Are you familiar with that term? If not we have lots of info for you

also would normal top soil be ok to use in the tank? i know it has to be uncontaminated but would this be suitable? i would like to clean it out over the weekend

No. He will continue to eat it and could become impacted and die from it. Don't use any soil or moss on the bottom at all unless it is absolutely inaccessible to him (covered by big rocks or screen) and stays clean and dry at all times. He doesn't need any substrate so you don't need to mess with the hassle of it.

 

[Hoj]

if you are just looking for a covering for a bare floor, i use a all natural outdoor carpet, that resists mold and fugus, its has a hice grid pattern and i got a huge pc a home depot i cut it to size and have 2 for each cage that way i just take out the dirty one and replace it with the clean one. then i just give the old one a good cleaning..

jmo

hoj

 

[Miss Metal]

I use Cypress Mulch in my terrarium. I love it. It smells just like rain when it is wet, too. which is lovely.

 

[ericcham]

@ miss metal, cool, do you know if there is anywhere i can order that from as im in the uk lol

 

[ericcham]

@ ferrtinmyshoes, info would be helpful thanks, i have been told about it but if you could let me know to thanks

 

[ericcham]

if you are just looking for a covering for a bare floor, i use a all natural outdoor carpet, that resists mold and fugus, its has a hice grid pattern and i got a huge pc a home depot i cut it to size and have 2 for each cage that way i just take out the dirty one and replace it with the clean one. then i just give the old one a good cleaning..

jmo

hoj

haha carpet thats a new one, id rather stick with soils as that is what he is used to!

 

[lisafoster2510]

I use eco earth I watch him hunt for 2 months he has never ingested any but I figure it is not like ingesting mulch. When I move him to his large enclsure I will skip the substrate to much to clen.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

@ ferrtinmyshoes, info would be helpful thanks, i have been told about it but if you could let me know to thanks

Gut loading is the process of working through the food chain to feed the prey animals the nutrition that your insectivore pet needs to replicate what they would eat in nature. Crickets are basically just water and chitin (not very nutritious or digestible) and the pet stores only feed them cardboard, or potato at most, so feeding crickets directly after you get them from the pet store or vendor is not providing much in the way of nutrition to your pet. Supplementing with a calcium and/or multivitamin powder is not sufficient for proper nutrition in any species. Gut loading insects should be done with fresh fruits and vegetables that are higher in calcium than phosphorus. High phosphorus levels in food impedes calcium absorption. Inadequate dietary calcium leads to metabolic bone disease. Commercially available gutloads (such as Fluker Farms Cricket Food) are not balanced or sufficient for good nutrition in any species.

Good wet Gut loading Ingredients:
Wet: dandelion leaves, collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, escarole lettuce, butternut squash, carrots, mango, alfalfa sprouts, oranges, blueberries, raspberries, sweet potato, strawberries, hibiscus leaves and flowers, papaya

Dry gut load ingredients: bee pollen, alfalfa powder, kelp powder, brewer’s yeast, wheat germ, raw uncooked sunflower seeds, raw uncooked pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, small amounts of whole grain cereals, spirulina algae, tortoise pellets

Foods to AVOID: Broccoli, spinach, beets, and parsley, have large amounts of oxalic acids which bind calcium absorption. Lettuces and cabbage do not have any significant nutritional value. Also, avoid things like dog food, cat food, and fish flakes which are high in animal proteins which can cause kidney damage. Feeding such things like pinky-mice, fuzzies, and feeder anoles that are extreamly high in fat and protein content is harmful to your chameleon's health, bones and organs that can lead to serious illnesses like gout, edema, organ failure and fatality.


Sandrachameleon has great blog entries with more info on the topic.

Regarding the mulch: the same problems still apply. If he eats this is could be an immediate impaction due to the size. Two of the purposes of applying mulch to garden beds is to retain moisture and slowly decompose to provide organic matter and nutrients to the soil. Well it's going to do the exact same thing in a terrarium setting. The mulch will be creating a moist, dark environment in a warm environment...the perfect environment for bacterial and mold growth. And the feeder bugs will hide in it.