Quote Originally Posted by hungba View Post
Jclaireborne, I don't think 6 inches of substrate is "wrong". I don't think I said so in my post?

I agree with this:


Some people keep deeper substrate and others use less. Personal preference really and there are advantages and disadvantages to both.

I am getting the feeling that you think I am responding negatively to your post, but that was not my intention. I was just trying to answer the OP's question and we do things differently, that's all. I'm sure your skinks are every bit as happy and healthy as mine.

As for soil, when I tried it, the lizard made an absolute mess every day, smearing it on the glass doors, throwing it in water bowl and such. Also I found it got all over the floor, and was very heavy to bring home. Perhaps I didn't do it "properly" as you say, but my current substrate seems to be working fine so I just never tried soil again.

How do you use soil properly? Is it a matter of packing it down firm?

Not at all, I didn't think it was a negative response I was just asking for a bit of elaboration on your response as sometimes different opinions can offer different insite, thats all. The only advantage I see to a deeper substrate is the deeper the substrate the better it can retain moisture which helps keep humidity balanced and overall can help hydrate the animal when burrowed.

As far as the soil goes, I put a barier in front of my sliding doors in order to keep it being pushed out. I do a mix of topsoil, playsand, and some peat moss, and yes firmly pack it down, the sand helps create some structure to retain an actual burrow. Soil also allows you to go the bio active route where you can add "cleaning crews" which in turn means it doesn't need to be swapped out like wood chips etc. It can be a little messy I guess, but with my setups I only need to really change the water once a week. I basically do the same setup for all my reptiles as it makes life easier. My tegu has the most requirements as far as husbandry so I have basically taken what I provide for her and down sized it to all my other reptiles.