Burrowing Substrate Ideas Wanted - Desert Hairy's.

[Gaboon]

What burrowing substrate/s works well?

Thanks.

[joeyboy]

I know this one!

I found pure playsand doesn't work, even if you let the bottom few inches be a little damp(I assume it would be even in the desert since their burrows can go 1m down).

What I did is mix peat with playsand. Probably around 1:3 to 1:4. I used dry sand but the peat was straight out of a 100ltr sack(bout £5 from most garden centres). Not all that damp, but not dry. So yeah just did that, mixed it up well as I went along, then padding it down firm when I put it in the enclosure. It made a stable tunnel to the bottom. Had to move it as the enclosure had like no ventilation so there was a build up of condensation, not it's in a faunarium it's great!

[The Sandman]

i use burrowing clay. absolutely perfect for desert hairy's. They've dug tunnels all over the place. its like a viet con hill

[Gaboon]

Originally Posted by joeyboy

I know this one!

I found pure playsand doesn't work, even if you let the bottom few inches be a little damp(I assume it would be even in the desert since their burrows can go 1m down).

What I did is mix peat with playsand. Probably around 1:3 to 1:4. I used dry sand but the peat was straight out of a 100ltr sack(bout £5 from most garden centres). Not all that damp, but not dry. So yeah just did that, mixed it up well as I went along, then padding it down firm when I put it in the enclosure. It made a stable tunnel to the bottom. Had to move it as the enclosure had like no ventilation so there was a build up of condensation, not it's in a faunarium it's great!

Cool. That was the sort of thing I had in mind. How deep have you got it? Does it dry well and keep its shape?

Originally Posted by The Sandman

i use burrowing clay. absolutely perfect for desert hairy's. They've dug tunnels all over the place. its like a viet con hill

Is this the excavator Zoo Med stuff?

[AshMashMash]

For my Scorpio maurus' I use a mixture of about: 1:4:5 (ish!) of Bentonite : Eco Earth : Sand

It works well. The bentonite, once it gets damp and then dry's again, set's almost solid. However, the scorpions have no trouble making nice deep burrows in it for them, as it's crumbly. Hard to describe, but it works really well. The bentonite is a bit like clay I guess, it's grey and powdery. You can get it off Ebay

[joeyboy]

Originally Posted by Gaboon

Cool. That was the sort of thing I had in mind. How deep have you got it? Does it dry well and keep its shape?

In this faunarium I only have it 4" deep, before it was on a slight incline, going to about 7" deep at the back.

This time I've put in a sheeps skull(real one) I've found it hasn't made a burrow. It seems to hide under the skull instead, in the mouth of the sheep as there's a small entrance(as you can imagine) between the front teeth, it kind of snuggles up in there.

[Gaboon]

Originally Posted by AshMashMash

For my Scorpio maurus' I use a mixture of about: 1:4:5 (ish!) of Bentonite : Eco Earth : Sand

It works well. The bentonite, once it gets damp and then dry's again, set's almost solid. However, the scorpions have no trouble making nice deep burrows in it for them, as it's crumbly. Hard to describe, but it works really well. The bentonite is a bit like clay I guess, it's grey and powdery. You can get it off Ebay

Thanks! That sounds like a good idea!

Originally Posted by joeyboy

In this faunarium I only have it 4" deep, before it was on a slight incline, going to about 7" deep at the back.

This time I've put in a sheeps skull(real one) I've found it hasn't made a burrow. It seems to hide under the skull instead, in the mouth of the sheep as there's a small entrance(as you can imagine) between the front teeth, it kind of snuggles up in there.

I have my sheep skulls hanging in my living room!

[The Sandman]

Originally Posted by Gaboon

Cool. That was the sort of thing I had in mind. How deep have you got it? Does it dry well and keep its shape?



Is this the excavator Zoo Med stuff?

Thats the one. works brilliantly. stays pretty clean too. just spot clean.

[Gaboon]

Originally Posted by The Sandman

Thats the one. works brilliantly. stays pretty clean too. just spot clean.

Sounds good! I will try something else first as the Zoo Med stuff is pretty pricey.

I want at least a foot or two depth for them.

[The Sandman]

Originally Posted by Gaboon

Sounds good! I will try something else first as the Zoo Med stuff is pretty pricey.

I want at least a foot or two depth for them.

yea is quite pricey, over £10 for 4kg. i used 8kg for my desert hairies