New sav, going to put in 6 - 10 inches of dirt today BUT

[VaranidLover]

Hey guys

well i just got my sav today! Hes in a 75 gallon tank, sitting at 115F basking spot (i know, i gotta get it up, im sure it will rise when i put in 10 inches of dirtwhich will make the basking spot closer to the lights)

50 - 60% Humidity, and cool side of 85 - 88F

I was wondering though... can i just take dirt from my garden (no fertilizer is in it, its just natural soil) and just put it straight into his enclosure?

Or do i have to bake it like you would with sand?

And should i do a mix of sand and soil? And if so do i have to bake the sand before i mix it into the soil and put it into his enclosure?

Thanks, any and all help is appreciated.

[infernalis]

I'm in a bit of a hurry, but there is no need to bake your dirt.

If it is free of fertilizers and contaminants (like pollution contaminants) there is no reason to bake it. (not that baking would remove pollution anyhow)

I just shovel up dirt from my creek bank.

[Jenn_06]

outside dirt is ok and yes mix it up with sand.

[VaranidLover]

Originally Posted by infernalis

I'm in a bit of a hurry, but there is no need to bake your dirt.

If it is free of fertilizers and contaminants (like pollution contaminants) there is no reason to bake it. (not that baking would remove pollution anyhow)

I just shovel up dirt from my creek bank.

Im not too convinced that there isnt any fertilizer or contaminants in the garden. Even though pesticides are illegal i still hear of people finding them and using them and i know they can float with the wind and end up in soil for a long time

Would 5 - 10 inches of aspen be okay? I can pick up two huge bags today and go with that. I heard it holds burrows well and it would let him dig too.

What do you think of aspen? I would love to go with dirt but i dont feel confident that my lawn or the garden that i planned on taking the dirt out of, is clean.

I also cant find anywhere near me that sells dirt without fertilizer :l

I called three plant shops, home depot, and walmart and all of their dirt has fertilizer in it

[infernalis]

then I would suggest the following product..



you will never change it, so it's a one time investment.

once you set up the cage, leave it alone and simply pick out the poop.

[VaranidLover]

Originally Posted by infernalis

then I would suggest the following product..



you will never change it, so it's a one time investment.

once you set up the cage, leave it alone and simply pick out the poop.

Thanks! Ill pick that stuff up if i can find it for sure!

Thanks! ill get some pics up as soon as possible

EDIT:

Wewt found it.

Well, itll last until christmas, then i am building him a 7 x 3 x 4 (hes really small, i think hes only going to be MAX 3 - 3 and a half feet)

hes like 1 and a half feet long at two years of age so i dont think hes going to get to be 4 foot.

Anyway, so yeah this clay will be used until christmas when i build his new home, then ill buy more and use the clay from his current aquarium. so that works out

[Ch^4]

Originally Posted by infernalis

then I would suggest the following product..



you will never change it, so it's a one time investment.

once you set up the cage, leave it alone and simply pick out the poop.

This is likely an ignorant and naive question, but why won't you ever have to change this stuff? Is it different for lizards and snakes? Because, over the years, I've found that spot cleaning should only be done for a couple months. After that, change out the substrate, clean all contents, and add fresh substrate. Sorry for the digression, but this "one time investment" substrate sparked my curiosity.

[VaranidLover]

Originally Posted by Ch^4

This is likely an ignorant and naive question, but why won't you ever have to change this stuff? Is it different for lizards and snakes? Because, over the years, I've found that spot cleaning should only be done for a couple months. After that, change out the substrate, clean all contents, and add fresh substrate. Sorry for the digression, but this "one time investment" substrate sparked my curiosity.

I think its because when you spot clean with clay you can get ALL of the waste, unlike aspen or something where some pee will always make it to the bottom or whatever

I have no clue though, thats just a random thought LOL

[infernalis]

Firstly, Your Savannah will get really stressed out if you tear down his home (changing it will destroy the burrows)

secondly, essential bacteria form in there that will be stripped away with a changeover.

Savannah's have better memory capacity than snakes, so once they get acclimated to a certain environment, changing that will cause stress.

[Freebody]

Grats on the sav, they are so cool

[VaranidLover]

Originally Posted by Freebody

Grats on the sav, they are so cool

Thanks! Yeah i love him to pieces already

[Ch^4]

Originally Posted by infernalis

Firstly, Your Savannah will get really stressed out if you tear down his home (changing it will destroy the burrows)

secondly, essential bacteria form in there that will be stripped away with a changeover.

Savannah's have better memory capacity than snakes, so once they get acclimated to a certain environment, changing that will cause stress.

Thanks infernalis! And thanks for trying VaranidLover!

This is an excellent place to learn new things and everyone is very friendly....everyday, I leave the forum with a new bit of knowledge. Thanks again everyone.

[VaranidLover]

Hey guys

well, it turns out they only have 10 pound bags and id need to buy a lot of bags to fill the 75 gallon tank up even 6 inches

So instead i am going to go with dirt from my garden. nobody has used fertilizer in it and i dont really think it is contaminated.

Or, if possible i was wondering if i could use Pine or Aspen? It would be easy to go to the tore and buy 2 huge bags for 30 bucks and that will give me 6 - 10 inches of substrate and it will let him dig

What do you guys think? garden soil or aspen/pine?

[infernalis]

garden soil. Aspen is a waste of time and money.

plus your monitor will slosh his water bowl constantly.

aspen gets mouldy.

[Damion930]

Pines an aromatic wood in short its toxic it won't kill ur rep right out but will cause health probs in the future