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fuzzhc
08-11-13, 08:19 AM
Hello there:blink:

Whilst searching the internet for bulk food for my reptiles I came across this clay substrate and was wondering if it would be safe to add to my monitors enclosure like if he would be able to pass it if ingested. Has anyone used this before?

Lucky Reptile Herp Pottery | Swell Reptiles (http://www.reptiles.swelluk.com/reptile-supplies/reptile-substrates-420/clay-substrate-1533/lucky-reptile-herp-pottery-389875.html)

He has enough substrate but I suppose more wouldnt hurt lol plus it says its much harder so I figure it could entertain him for a while :elvis:
smy_749
08-11-13, 08:22 AM
I wouldn't add it. Moni enclosures need to stay humid. Go with a soil sand mix 50/50 or 60/40 soil. Plus they need a large water bowl. Getting wet and rolling around in this stuff will turn your monitor into this :

http://imgs.mi9.com/uploads/movie-tv/1511/fantastic-four-rise-of-the-silver-surfer-the-thing_1024x768_21086.jpg
Mikoh4792
08-11-13, 08:26 AM
I wouldn't add it. Moni enclosures need to stay humid. Go with a soil sand mix 50/50 or 60/40 soil. Plus they need a large water bowl. Getting wet and rolling around in this stuff will turn your monitor into this :

http://imgs.mi9.com/uploads/movie-tv/1511/fantastic-four-rise-of-the-silver-surfer-the-thing_1024x768_21086.jpg
That would be awesome, time to put clay bedding in my snake enclosures
fuzzhc
08-11-13, 08:33 AM
Im using a 50/50 mix just now but thought I could miby add that on top one side or something. He rarely uses his water bowl anyways so that wouldn't be a problem haha!
infernalis
08-11-13, 10:16 AM
Im using a 50/50 mix just now but thought I could miby add that on top one side or something. He rarely uses his water bowl anyways so that wouldn't be a problem haha!

Yup, mine ignore theirs. Still waiting for that drink to happen.
fuzzhc
08-11-13, 10:53 AM
I've seen him use it once, when I first got him and was kept in incorrect conditions. The bowl doesnt even ever get dirtied up I just leave it in as a precaution.

Think I may get the clay and use it at one small end of the enclosure just to give him something new and different to play around with.
infernalis
08-11-13, 12:34 PM
it will get stirred into the other over time.

All soil has a percentage of clay in it.... clay dissolves in rainwater and moves around.
fuzzhc
08-11-13, 01:50 PM
Would this be a bad thing? I know they can pass sand soil mix but if he were to ingest some clay would it clog up his insides?
infernalis
08-11-13, 09:28 PM
No problem as long as the conditions are right, and your conditions are pretty close.

Like I said, all soil has a percentage of clay.

Impactions come from crap husbandry. ;)
fuzzhc
08-12-13, 01:09 PM
No problem as long as the conditions are right, and your conditions are pretty close.

Like I said, all soil has a percentage of clay.

Impactions come from crap husbandry. ;)

Good point lol.

The stuff has been dispatched so should arrive any day now.

Ill have to stop myself building things with it and just leave it down to the monitor haha!
Pirarucu
08-20-13, 10:25 AM
I would not worry about impactions. I did write my opinion on clay substrates on Varanustalk, here you go.
Soil with a high clay content is great for holding burrows, and gives the monitors a workout when they burrow. However, these soils are poor choices for nesting, as the clay can stick to eggs and suffocate the embryos. Therefore, these soils should only be used for males, and it would be better to provide females with a soil more suited to nesting.
I would also keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't turn to mud. I used a soil that was mainly clay in a uromastyx cage, but it turned rock hard when it dried and when I watered it, it instantly turned into something like sludge.
infernalis
08-20-13, 07:36 PM
I am finding that it's about time to till up the top 1/3 of my dirt to aerate the soil some.
fuzzhc
08-21-13, 04:36 AM
I would not worry about impactions. I did write my opinion on clay substrates on Varanustalk, here you go.

I would also keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't turn to mud. I used a soil that was mainly clay in a uromastyx cage, but it turned rock hard when it dried and when I watered it, it instantly turned into something like sludge.

I actually just came across your post on varanustalk a couple of days ago. :D

It turned out not to be as much as I had suspected anyways so its just at one end of the enclosure in a wee clump lol. Hes dug a tunnel in it then looks like carved some weird trenches in it :crazy2:
Ive been watering round about it to avoid the sludge and just leave it hard