T. blondi - my birthday present!

[Mindibun]

My bf bought me a juvie T. blondi for my birthday today. She's going in a 30 gal tank, and I want to make it as realistic as possible but I am afraid of putting leaf litter in there because of mites and other bugs. What options do I have as far as using stuff from outside? I have always washed all sticks and baked them, but I can't do that with leaf litter... I know I could just go without it, but I really love the way a natural set up looks and I want some leaf litter!

(Pics to come later)

[Boanerges]

Very nice birthday present!!! Did you get a burgandy or a true T-blondi? How big? And sorry but I do not use stuff from outside for my set ups so other then baking and possibly freezing (although I think some bugs can live through this) I personally can't be of help with this

[mainbutter]

http://www.joshsfrogs.com/category/66/Leaf-Litter

I'm not sure if this is 100% safe for Ts, but for reptile vivariums I use commercially available leaf litter and let it soak in boiling water for up to an hour.

[Mindibun]

"commercially available leaf litter?" ... They'll try to turn a profit on ANYTHING nowadays.

[Mindibun]

Very nice birthday present!!! Did you get a burgandy or a true T-blondi? How big? And sorry but I do not use stuff from outside for my set ups so other then baking and possibly freezing (although I think some bugs can live through this) I personally can't be of help with this

I don't know if she is a true blondi or not. I barely had time to look at her and make my post before running off to school. I will try to figure it out later tonight.

As for the leaf litter, I was going to bake it but I thought it would catch fire in the oven. For my hermit crab stuff I spray everything down with salt water before baking it and cleaning it. Supposedly the salt water helps to kill stuff off as well, but I figured the residual salt would harm the T. That's not an issue for hermit crabs. If I put the leaf litter into boiling water would it desintegrate? What if I soaked it in a bleach solution for a few hours and then rinsed and dried it all completely? This is such a hassle. Trying to keep bugs out of the bug tank... Go figure.

[Boanerges]

I don't know if she is a true blondi or not. I barely had time to look at her and make my post before running off to school. I will try to figure it out later tonight.

As for the leaf litter, I was going to bake it but I thought it would catch fire in the oven. For my hermit crab stuff I spray everything down with salt water before baking it and cleaning it. Supposedly the salt water helps to kill stuff off as well, but I figured the residual salt would harm the T. That's not an issue for hermit crabs. If I put the leaf litter into boiling water would it desintegrate? What if I soaked it in a bleach solution for a few hours and then rinsed and dried it all completely? This is such a hassle. Trying to keep bugs out of the bug tank... Go figure.

Hmmmm, I don't know if the leaf litter would desintegrate if you put it in water. It would seem it would fall apart at least a little in the boiling water but I don't know how much I would definitely not soak it in a bleach solution though. It is a bit of a hassle - lol. But it is nice you are going out of your way to make the nicest and safest home for your blondi

[Alexandra V]

I would recommend against using leaf litter from outside as well, because you don't know if it came from a tree in the yard of someone who used pesticides, thus making it possible for the leaves to contain pesticides. Many places ban pesticides now but the ones that used to be used have a verrrryyyyy long half life, so they stick around for a while in significant quantities.

What you could do is use some coconut husk, it kinda looks like leaf litter and it would also help you out in the humidity department during molts.

Congrats on the freaking awesome birthday present btw! I wish I got presents like that lol

[JLC]

How about if you used the coconut husk as already suggested...and get some fall-colored fake leaves...smudge 'em with a little clean potting soil...and scatter them around the the floor of the enclosure?

Nice b-day present! I wish my hubby would buy me critters!

[Muddyredneck]

How about some retibark? Or some cypress multch you can bake boil or freeze that stuff, and like mentioned it all helps with the humidity and molting

[Mindibun]

I have some mulch that was from something else that I can use, but I was afraid of the sharp bits poking her. I had intended to use a bit of it here and there anyway, just the soft pieces. I think I solved the problem. I found some leaf litter from an oak tree that had fallen onto the sidewalk in an area where I know they dont use pesticides. It was very clean and the ants hadn't even gotten to it yet. I grabbed just a little bit and am going to try baking it. I only need a little to scatter over the topmost part of the substrate. We'll see how it goes.

B - what's the diff between a true blondi and the burgundy? It's the hairs, right? If that's the case it looks like she's a burgundy but the container is all fogged up from humidity so I'll double check when I move her over. For $75 (that's what he said he paid but who knows if he's telling the truth or not), I'm putting my money on burgundy. Oh, and she's got about a 5" leg span right now.