Would Excavator Clay Be A Good Idea?

Recently I have been planning out my Ball Python enclosure setup. I have not gotten one yet but I like to be well prepared. I plan to house it as a baby in a plastic tub. I will then begin building a large bioactive enclosure for when it grows out of the tub. I recently came across a product called excavator clay. I love how you can really customize your enclosure with it. I would love to be able to use it in my large bioactive enclosure along with Eco-Earth as my substrate. I know many people don't like the clay because it doesn't hold humidity well but I plan to have a dry enclosure with a humid hide. I think those are very beneficial. Do you think the plan to use excavator clay is ok?

Also, can springtails and isopods live in dry eco-earth? Can plants live in dry eco-earth? (Of course, I will water the plants.)

I unfortunately can't give advice on the clay since I'm not familiar with the product.

Great job going in prepared!!! :gj:
That will save both you and your pet a lot of stress.

Last thing, I think bioactive enclosures are tough with adult BPs. They are complete bulldozers. Just something to think about...

Good luck, please keep us posted.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Craiga 01453

I unfortunately can't give advice on the clay since I'm not familiar with the product.

Great job going in prepared!!! :gj:
That will save both you and your pet a lot of stress.

Last thing, I think bioactive enclosures are tough with adult BPs. They are complete bulldozers. Just something to think about...

Good luck, please keep us posted.

---

I heard that they are known to knock over and crush live plants. Maybe I could only put plants in cork logs and planters? Let me know what you think, I really appreciate it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Animallover8

I heard that they are known to knock over and crush live plants. Maybe I could only put plants in cork logs and planters? Let me know what you think, I really appreciate it.

---

I barely scratched the surface of research on bio enclosures, so I'm not the best source. I just decided pretty quickly that I wasn't going to go bioactive with any larger species of snake.

That's just me though. I know it can be done, but the amount of work outweighs the benefit for me personally.

I'm sure someone with more bio experience will chime in.
You may actually want to start a seperate thread with more specific bioactive questions. Put "bioactive help" in the title line so people with bio experience will be more inclined to open the thread and offer advice.

Good luck!!

I think it's unlikely that dry substrate will work for bio-active, but I'm not any sort of expert on bio-active enclosures either...it just doesn't sound "right".

Not familiar with that clay either, to know whether it's at all safe for snakes or bio-active? What is it normally used for? (ie. -what might it contain?) And
it's not completely clear how you want to use it? You made it sound like substrate but then talked about using another substrate with it? Confused...:confusd:

So this clay is typically used for breaded dragons and leopard geckos. It comes as loose dirt that you then moisten. You can mold anything you want with it and it will dry. I was thinking that maybe I could mold the cold hide out of it the make a 3D background too. I could make hides in the background with sticks and slopes leading to it. I'm not sure if a ball python would even use them though.

I went ahead and made a separate thread titled "Bioactive Help" so I can get more opinions. Thank you for all the help.

Here is a YouTube video that shows how the clay really works.
https://youtu.be/WC3NNkwQiVs