Peat substrate?

[leanne]

Hello, I was wondering if the bags of peat you can get at the plant store would be a good substrate for a tiger sally----it is much less expensive than the jungle mix and more accessible, and I don't trust the soil around the house, since I had more sallies who died of something that appeared to be eating at their bellies and hands (and I didn't have any crickets in the tank with them). Thanks for any info!

 

[jennifer]

The problem with peat is that it tends to be too acidic. A better bet would be bags of top soil or cypress mulch from the garden store. Regarding the death of the sallies, perhaps the soil was too wet? Outdoor soil is normally a good substrate, but there may be something peculiar about yours.

 

[leanne]

Jennifer, thanks so much for the help----also, this peat I bought is "activated", whatever that means, sounds like some sort of scary sci-fi plot(?!), so I will use the peat for my plants instead. Another person on the kingsnake forum also suggested cypress mulch, can I get that at a plant shop?

 

[mark]

hi,
while we are talking about substrates on here, would it be ok to use wood-chips from a garden store/center in a terrestrial setup.

Thanks Mark

 

[mike]

Wood chips are not a particularly good substrate, nor are bark chips. What is good however is composted bark soil improver, a recycled product available from garden centres (and cheap). Straight out of the bag it has a slight resinous smell (like fresh bark), so I wash it by placing it in a dustbin with a mesh bottom, pouring boiling water over it and letting it drain thoroughly before using.

 

[jennifer]

Some garden stores carry cypress mulch. It's better if you can find a finely-shredded brand. It doesn't work too well if the pieces are big. Mixing the mulch with soil may work well.