When I had my first bioactive enclosure I used top soil and didn't sanitize it. My cleanup crew was swiftly overtaken by centipedes that apparently laid eggs in the bag. At some point they had an entire population sustaining itself entirely on cannibalism.
I recently potted some house plants 🪴 so they would be safe for my corn snake to crawl on. They are indoors in the quarantine process. About a week after planting them in ZooMed Reptisoil, every night/morning there are baby white and brown milipedes or cenipedes all over the top of the soil. They must have laid eggs in the reptilsoil bag somehow. I have been picking them out. I'm going to try soaking the soil in hydrogen peroxide water mix and see if that will get rid of them.
@@rebeccagentry5557a year later and my own personal experience: I didn’t think I needed to sanitize mine and was promptly overwhelmed by hundreds of fungus gnats 🥲
Thank you so much for this. After combing google for hours and reptile people on tiktok I couldn’t find like a good answer on what dirt to buy! I got the same one you got and it’s currently baking. Not excited for the sifting 😂💀 but I am so excited because my gecko and I’ve gotten closer and I think he will appreciate this over paper towels ❤ and like me even better
I’ve been doing this process for a year but I added an additional step… I got an old blender and blended the soil until smooth. Saves tons of time and money and makes the soil silky
Great topic. There are some very good reptile soils available online, but the cost w/ shipping can get prohibitive even for just a handful of enclosures. Making your own mix, while it requires effort, is rather inexpensive I have found. Thank you for sharing your methods.
@@mmartinez18 Reptisoil is a good, clean soil. It should work out fine. You can mix in a little playsand if you want it to hold shape better (playsand has more rounded particles compared to regular sand.)
I did a thing and I'm wondering if anyone has an answer as I can't really find any info on the issue at hand. I apologize in advance as this might get a little lengthy... So instead of doing some reading first and baking my soil at the EVERYONE'S recommended 160-200 degrees, I baked mine to around 220. I didn't think there would be any consequences or adverse side-effects. Its just dirt so I could just nuke the crap out of it, right? Well it turns out that heating soil above 200 starts to break it down and change its chemical structure. The only reason I found out is because I noticed it didn't smell like lovely fresh soil anymore, but rather nasty and pungent. It is kinda hard to explain, but it smelled like a mixture of fish and burnt plastic. Increasingly higher temps cause the soil to break down and start to release chemicals. I can't remember the exact ones(there's a few of them). To sum it up, it becomes what they call Phytotoxic. It becomes harmful to plants, so it obviously raised some concerns about keeping my scaled and hairy children in it. I found out that activated charcoal can absorb toxins so I tried adding some to the soil. It was kind of a last ditch effort as I spent a whole day sifting and baking the soil.. I waited a couple days to let the charcoal do it's thing, but now the soil faintly smells of ammonia. Both baking and adding charcoal changes the PH balance of soil so maybe this has something to do with it? I learned a lesson and hopefully this will prevent others from doing the same. Don't bake above 200 degrees. I've seen a small handful recommend 212 to completely kill everything, but 212 is the ABSOLUTE MAX. Anybody know about phytotoxins and other hazardous gasses/chemicals released at high temps and their relations to reptiles and inverts? All I wanted to do was enrich their environment, not make it worse. I suppose the safest thing to do is start over, but it was sooo much dirt and sooo much time wasted. If you've somehow made it this far and have any tips or suggestions that I haven't covered please let me know. Your response is greatly appreciated. I've scoured web searches and reptile forums to no avail. I haven't seen a single person cover this topic other than one or two who just mention phytotoxicity and not give any details or remedies. I have no idea whether it is safe or not for reptiles. My gut is telling me it isn't. It sure doesn't smell like it and I sure as hell wouldn't want to live in it 24/7. All the articles about phytotoxins and plants/the environment makes it sound pretty bad, so I really don't wanna risk it until I can get more data. Thanks again! Sorry for the novel!!!
Thank you this was helpful. I was going to just use this on the dirt I've been making in my mulch pile, but i don't trust that its clean enough. I have a Blood python that I wanted to make a better home for. I think this will be a good base once I mix in a bag of Jungle moss an put in a couple plants, water bowl an a hide.
If you're in the Sacramento area, Hasty in Roseville has cheap organic topsoil. It will cost you like 4 dollars for a bag. Also, green fire has a ton of organic products you can use on your plants for your bioactive setup.
What's wrong with bits of sand and wood in the top soil? As long as it's baked it should be okay right? I figured the wood chips would help with breakdown and give isopods and springtails something organic to eat
Hi Jessica, Little Jessica is eating well, is very inquisitive and adventurous. She loves to run, jump and climb in her new home. I finished the Gecko dormitory today so she has her own apartment filled with enrichment and she is already trying to explore beyond the confines of her section!. She has inherited the love of climbing from her Dad. It is like having a little puppy again but shaped like a reptile!. Hoping there will be some more new arrivals soon. 5 more eggs are in the incubator these were laid after her 15 and 30 days after her so she could have neighbours in the next week or so. My reptile family is growing. I may not keep them all..... but Little Jess will definitely be staying :0)
Do you use top soil for your leopard geckos? Would you recommend? I prefer the look of loose substrates but never wanted to compromise the health or safety of my leopard gecko so I’ve kept him on shelf liner. I also feel the loose substrate could be more enriching for him?
Very true. I am a tarantula keeper myself, and I too am not a big fan of coco coir. It's really not a practical substrate since all living creatures great or small do not live in or on coco coir Lol! Take tarantulas for example: Most of them live in clay based substrate in the wild. It could either be brown or red clay mixed with some natural organic debris such as rotting plant matter like dried leaves or rotting branches ets.. I've been collecting tarantulas in the wild all my life and I never seen anyone of them burrowed in coco coir Lol!
Hi there!! Thank you so much for this video it helped me so much. I was wondering how often you replace your top soil? Every 3-4 months? Every 2 weeks? Thank you!
when doing the 70/30% soil/playsand substrate, i've heard that rinsing is a good move to eliminate dust that can be harmful to the gecko. Is this something you do as well?
I hate eco earth and reptisoil by itself too. There's a big debate on using Scott's since fertilizer has been found in it... I bought 5 bags and found that it does have specks of fertilizer and it's sooo hard to sift out 😭
I swear I seen all your videos I will keep looking I have one that’s so long ago of us watching your video when Roman was little but I’m trying to still send it to you but it won’t let me if I find a way I will try to on Twitter because it’s so cute it’s before I put my bearded dragon down so it’s an awesome memory for me so thank you you truly do more than you know for people just saying and spell check on my iPad is suck so sorry 😐
Hello! I recently received my tiger salamander about 2 weeks ago. I've researched quite a bit about top soil to find the most available, affordable and "organic" substrate I could. I decided to purchase the same top soil as you "Scotts Premium Topsoil". However, I noticed there were quite a bit of sticks, rocks and other foreign objects within it. I found it difficult to get every little tiny "rock" or "stick" out of the topsoil even after sifting through it with a colander twice, but I feel confident I did the absolute best I could. I just wanted to know if your salamander is still thriving in your substrate without issues i.e. impaction ect. I've made a mixture of about 70% top soil and 30% eco earth, and she seems to enjoy it so far. Thanks for the advice! :)
im doing this process rn, took me so long to find organic top soil in canada! sifting all this crap out is so nasty im finding rocks and plastic bits in it
Is this only for non-bioactive enclosures? In the bioactive groups on FB I'm a member of it's in the rules not to sanitize/sterilize anything you put in the enclosure, that's why I'm wondering.
I use this substrate either by itself or on top of bioactive substrate. Top soil alone will not sustain plants. That’s why I mention you can mix it with other materials :)
I like to sanitize things at 220 for an hour. This should kill most microorganisms because water boils at 212, and an hour gives sufficient time for the whole thing to get hot enough. Of course if you're trying to full on dehydrate (I don't), that would take a good while.
I'm pretty sure Scott's topsoil isn't "organic." The bag says "Adds organic matter" (which means nothing because _all_ soil contains organic matter--that would typically be things like decaying plant matter, manure, moss, etc), but it doesn't say the soil itself is "organic" (or, if it does, I don't see it). The term "organic" is a legal certification. I only mention this because I'm curious if it matters. If it doesn't contain fertilizer of any kind, my thought is that it should be okay. I can't find Scott's right now so I'm considering using another brand and _none_ of the brands I've found are labeled as "organic," so I'm hoping I'm correct. I'd be interested to hear others' thoughts on this.
Is the process of sanitizing sand the same? Or is it more about rinsing, cause if that's the case I'm not excited about that lol I've learned how much of a pain it is to rinse sand from keeping fish.
I’m kinda bummed Had a shrub that we removed and had some soil underneath that’s been their for years and super nutritious, guess gotta kill everything In it lol. Thanks for the vid!
I wish there was a topsoil for animals that as nice and smooth and just DIRT too. ;-; Even Scotts can be an issue sometimes, a recent bag of mine had tiny pieces of Styrofoam that fit through the sifter. It was obnoxious
Hi there! Do we need to add in some water to the topsoil before heat up in an oven? I am considering whether to use sterilised topsoil mixed reptisand for my bearded dragon.
@@JessicasAnimalFriends Hi Jessica. I am using topsoil mixed with coco fiber/husk/bark and a little reptile sand. In that case should I mix the topsoil and the coco fiber/husk/bark before I sterilise them using oven? Your reply is highly appreciated.
So. I did it. But my soil turned out more loke sand? Then i added the sand. Now it just feels like sand. Did i use the wrong kind of sifter?? Please help lol. Been working on this for 3 days now. Baking a sifting as i only have 1 pan for a 40 gal tank ..
I bought the same bags of topsoil as you and it's mostly wood chips! Is that even safe to bake in the oven? I also saw lots of eggs of some type of bug.
I just bought a new enclosure and have already mixed the topsoil with the reptisoil and sand. Can I still do this safetly? I noticed once it dried a little all I see are sticks and I don't need my corn to stab himself.
Hello. Thank you for your vid’s. I have a question if you don’t mind. I have a scaleless corn snake that I am thinking about switching substrate to topsoil and sand. After you sanitize the topsoil and sand, are you suppose to wet it down and if so how wet should you get it? What is the protocol after the substrate has been sanitized? Thank you.
Yes the substrate should be moist but not so wet that it’s dripping HOWEVER I don’t keep corn snakes so I’m not sure what their humidity requirements are
Hey ive started the process and ive sifted out all of the larger chunks of wood and stuff but im still finding tiny specks of i think fertilizer, i made sure it was organic but is it still safe to use? The specks are white if that helps and thanks for the helpful vid👍
if it’s white specks that are like tiny rocks that crumble, its just perlite, which is a type of rock! itll be fine, other than any risk of your reptile eating it
i got dig boxes for my kids for christmas, and am looking into how to make the substrate safe. Im thinking topsoil too, and would play sand be safe? is this the way to sanitize play sand as well?
You don’t have to sanitize the sand especially since a lot of sand sold is advertised for kids’ sand boxes but yes this is a good way to sanitize soil. Just be sure to follow the instructions on the bag- says to be sure to wash hands after use. I imagine that’s bc they don’t think people are out here sifting and baking it lol
Question, I know it’s an older video but would this work for a ball python? I’m actually sanitizing soils as we speak for a toad, but I hate the suggested python substrates and was wondering if this would be a good alternative?
@@JessicasAnimalFriends Ok thanks! I have some sort of reptichip type of bedding and it doesn’t keep humidity well. Now I’m kinda wondering if I should do soil alone or mix the two Thanks for the help! Do you know of anyone on UA-cam who uses soil with pythons? I haven’t been having lucky searching
@@JessicasAnimalFriends thank you! I found that only the top layer got dry with 250 F for 2 hrs. Should I make it to 350 for an extra hour to make it all dry? Would that be too hot?
I was asking other LG owners about sanitizing top soil, and someone said that baking top soil would get rid of beneficial things that bioactive tanks need. I'm a bit new to bioactive tanks and I'd like for my substrate to be safe for my leos, but I also want to make sure the substrate will be suitable for bioactive tanks. Would baking the top soil get rid of beneficial things?
Sanitizing soil for bioactive terrarium through extreme temperatures may not be the best thing. I just wondered about it myself, googled: "what happens when you heat soil", and that came up with a bunch of papers, e.g., one of the quotes: > Soil heating affects microorganisms either directly by killing them or altering their reproductive capabilities or indirectly by altering the composition of organic matter present in the soil I'm still not sure if I should bake the soil and sand for some time, or not. And what are the pros & cons.
Not sure if you’ll respond but I have some questions. 1) When you say sanitize the sand, that just means putting it in the oven too right? 2) How often would I have to replace the soil in the tank? I have trying to upgrade my LG tank a lot recently
Sand: You can oven-treat sand, but honestly, I don't see why you would have to. I think playsand is a good sand to mix with soil. Playsand has somewhat rounded particles. The only thing I do with sand is wash it in water first. I don't bother sanitizing. With sand, you are mixing it with soil at a ratio of like 1/4 or whatever the species needs, never using sand alone. I do like 1/2 bucket of sand to 2 buckets of topsoil (sift the topsoil first to get the wood, nails, etc out) in a plastic cement mixing tub, then adjust as needed for the species, either adding more soil or more sand. Then I gently pour boiling water over it so it is absorbed. Then I let that sit in its tub in the sun, churn it up, let it sit, churn, sit. Not as good as baking, but easier when you need lots of substrate.
Hi I have a question unfortunately, my local Home Depot did not have the top soil that you used in the video so I purchased “earthgro top soil” and I look it up on google and it said it was organic I’m just curious if other brands of top soil would be okay as long as it’s organic
I just got topsoil and I’ve put it in the oven for a little over 2 hours now but only the top is dry the rest is still kinda moist is that still fine to use?
Yeah that’s okay you can always mix it a bit to help dry it out but really what you’re trying to do is just kill off things. If you make it too deep you will have an issue with the bottom anyhow.
perfect!! thank you. i usually use aspen but want to do a lil more rainforest moisture type because i do have 3 snakes would be better off having the tropical feel to it!
Yep that’s what a lot of people use. Just make sure the sand is super fine and I would use a sifter to be sure. You can choose the combination you’d like, too, like 50% and 50% or 70,30 etc. I think I would use a little bit more top soil than sand but I haven’t made up my mix yet so I can’t say for sure
The secret the box store brands don’t want you to know: topsoils are usually from local suppliers, so unless you’re shopping Bedouin Bath and Beyond or Pashtun Depot in Afghanistan, it’s going to be a chore to get the soil down to what a Leo can really enjoy living on 😂
When I had my first bioactive enclosure I used top soil and didn't sanitize it. My cleanup crew was swiftly overtaken by centipedes that apparently laid eggs in the bag. At some point they had an entire population sustaining itself entirely on cannibalism.
I watched this video thinking, is this really necessary? But after reading your comment I can't stop internally screaming.
I recently potted some house plants 🪴 so they would be safe for my corn snake to crawl on. They are indoors in the quarantine process. About a week after planting them in ZooMed Reptisoil, every night/morning there are baby white and brown milipedes or cenipedes all over the top of the soil. They must have laid eggs in the reptilsoil bag somehow. I have been picking them out. I'm going to try soaking the soil in hydrogen peroxide water mix and see if that will get rid of them.
@@rebeccagentry5557a year later and my own personal experience: I didn’t think I needed to sanitize mine and was promptly overwhelmed by hundreds of fungus gnats 🥲
I'm beginning my sanitizing and sifting journey today, thank you Jessica!!
Good luck & have fun!
I just bought this soil yesterday and didn’t know how to get rid of all the compost and food waste, you’re a life saver!
my favorite topic: dirt
Thank you so much for this. After combing google for hours and reptile people on tiktok I couldn’t find like a good answer on what dirt to buy! I got the same one you got and it’s currently baking. Not excited for the sifting 😂💀 but I am so excited because my gecko and I’ve gotten closer and I think he will appreciate this over paper towels ❤ and like me even better
Thank you! Been trying for a while to find something that describes this so clearly.
I’ve been doing this process for a year but I added an additional step… I got an old blender and blended the soil until smooth. Saves tons of time and money and makes the soil silky
I’m sanitizing my soil and playsand rn and you saying ecoearth just reminded me what the fourth thing I’m missing from the mix was!! Thank you 😫
The sifting fr never ends
You definitely should make the eco earth video! 😂
Oh I will 👀😂
Great topic. There are some very good reptile soils available online, but the cost w/ shipping can get prohibitive even for just a handful of enclosures. Making your own mix, while it requires effort, is rather inexpensive I have found. Thank you for sharing your methods.
i just got zoo med reptisoil for my leopard gecko. do you think that’s alright for him?
@@mmartinez18 Reptisoil is a good, clean soil. It should work out fine. You can mix in a little playsand if you want it to hold shape better (playsand has more rounded particles compared to regular sand.)
I am so happy i saw this video before i just starting mixing away!!! I know what i will be doing next weekend!
I did a thing and I'm wondering if anyone has an answer as I can't really find any info on the issue at hand. I apologize in advance as this might get a little lengthy...
So instead of doing some reading first and baking my soil at the EVERYONE'S recommended 160-200 degrees, I baked mine to around 220. I didn't think there would be any consequences or adverse side-effects. Its just dirt so I could just nuke the crap out of it, right? Well it turns out that heating soil above 200 starts to break it down and change its chemical structure. The only reason I found out is because I noticed it didn't smell like lovely fresh soil anymore, but rather nasty and pungent. It is kinda hard to explain, but it smelled like a mixture of fish and burnt plastic. Increasingly higher temps cause the soil to break down and start to release chemicals. I can't remember the exact ones(there's a few of them). To sum it up, it becomes what they call Phytotoxic. It becomes harmful to plants, so it obviously raised some concerns about keeping my scaled and hairy children in it. I found out that activated charcoal can absorb toxins so I tried adding some to the soil. It was kind of a last ditch effort as I spent a whole day sifting and baking the soil.. I waited a couple days to let the charcoal do it's thing, but now the soil faintly smells of ammonia. Both baking and adding charcoal changes the PH balance of soil so maybe this has something to do with it?
I learned a lesson and hopefully this will prevent others from doing the same. Don't bake above 200 degrees. I've seen a small handful recommend 212 to completely kill everything, but 212 is the ABSOLUTE MAX.
Anybody know about phytotoxins and other hazardous gasses/chemicals released at high temps and their relations to reptiles and inverts? All I wanted to do was enrich their environment, not make it worse. I suppose the safest thing to do is start over, but it was sooo much dirt and sooo much time wasted.
If you've somehow made it this far and have any tips or suggestions that I haven't covered please let me know. Your response is greatly appreciated. I've scoured web searches and reptile forums to no avail. I haven't seen a single person cover this topic other than one or two who just mention phytotoxicity and not give any details or remedies. I have no idea whether it is safe or not for reptiles. My gut is telling me it isn't. It sure doesn't smell like it and I sure as hell wouldn't want to live in it 24/7. All the articles about phytotoxins and plants/the environment makes it sound pretty bad, so I really don't wanna risk it until I can get more data.
Thanks again! Sorry for the novel!!!
yeah i’ve never sifted bags of dirt too much work and i’ve never had a problem with my reptiles or plants not sifting
i also thought it really wasn’t a big deal i’ve seen alot of ppl just put the topsoil
Thank you for this information. I’m trying this today for my 3 baby Sulcata tortoises
Thank you this was helpful. I was going to just use this on the dirt I've been making in my mulch pile, but i don't trust that its clean enough. I have a Blood python that I wanted to make a better home for. I think this will be a good base once I mix in a bag of Jungle moss an put in a couple plants, water bowl an a hide.
how do you feel about a reptisoil reptisand mix? this video has been sooooo helpful thank you so much ❤
If you're in the Sacramento area, Hasty in Roseville has cheap organic topsoil. It will cost you like 4 dollars for a bag. Also, green fire has a ton of organic products you can use on your plants for your bioactive setup.
Does the soil from Hasties need to be baked/sifted too?
What's wrong with bits of sand and wood in the top soil? As long as it's baked it should be okay right? I figured the wood chips would help with breakdown and give isopods and springtails something organic to eat
It’s easier to add your own instead of risking your gecko getting cut
Awesome tip.. I'm going to try it also, does seem like all brands have chunks of wood.
This is the best advice. But hate the smell when baking.
Hi Jessica, Little Jessica is eating well, is very inquisitive and adventurous. She loves to run, jump and climb in her new home. I finished the Gecko dormitory today so she has her own apartment filled with enrichment and she is already trying to explore beyond the confines of her section!. She has inherited the love of climbing from her Dad. It is like having a little puppy again but shaped like a reptile!.
Hoping there will be some more new arrivals soon. 5 more eggs are in the incubator these were laid after her 15 and 30 days after her so she could have neighbours in the next week or so. My reptile family is growing. I may not keep them all..... but Little Jess will definitely be staying :0)
Wait is sand sanitize the same way?
Have you ever made your own bioactive substrate? If you have, what Ingredients did you use?
I haven’t yet, but I will be attempting it soon!
Do you use top soil for your leopard geckos? Would you recommend?
I prefer the look of loose substrates but never wanted to compromise the health or safety of my leopard gecko so I’ve kept him on shelf liner. I also feel the loose substrate could be more enriching for him?
I will be using a substrate mix that will incorporate organic top soil :)
Great substrate/bedding information.
Very true. I am a tarantula keeper myself, and I too am not a big fan of coco coir. It's really not a practical substrate since all living creatures great or small do not live in or on coco coir Lol! Take tarantulas for example: Most of them live in clay based substrate in the wild. It could either be brown or red clay mixed with some natural organic debris such as rotting plant matter like dried leaves or rotting branches ets.. I've been collecting tarantulas in the wild all my life and I never seen anyone of them burrowed in coco coir Lol!
Thank you so much for your insight!!! This helped a ton :D
Thank you 🙏 This video was extremely informative and helpful!
Hi there!! Thank you so much for this video it helped me so much.
I was wondering how often you replace your top soil? Every 3-4 months? Every 2 weeks? Thank you!
Because I use it in bioactive set ups I do not replace it that often, and I usually just mix it into the substrate and then put a fresh layer on top
How would you go about sanitizing sand? And what kind of sand?
I just sift it, not sanitize. It’s washed play sand
Have u ever look into coconut fiber in bricks it's cheap n safe for pets
I would like to make a dig box. Would just top soil be fine?
when doing the 70/30% soil/playsand substrate, i've heard that rinsing is a good move to eliminate dust that can be harmful to the gecko. Is this something you do as well?
The play sand comes washed but the process of sifting helps to remove dust big time. I think if you want to play it safe rinsing is fine
I hate eco earth and reptisoil by itself too. There's a big debate on using Scott's since fertilizer has been found in it... I bought 5 bags and found that it does have specks of fertilizer and it's sooo hard to sift out 😭
OOOF I haven’t heard of anyone having issues but that’s annoying!
You should make one about eco-earth because I swear you get particles on your hand that glisten like glass
Oh don’t worry I already have it scripted lol
I swear I seen all your videos I will keep looking I have one that’s so long ago of us watching your video when Roman was little but I’m trying to still send it to you but it won’t let me if I find a way I will try to on Twitter because it’s so cute it’s before I put my bearded dragon down so it’s an awesome memory for me so thank you you truly do more than you know for people just saying and spell check on my iPad is suck so sorry 😐
I’ll wait for it
@@JessicasAnimalFriends i like the zilla jungle mix better. My terrarium thrived like a dream. And stuff grew like crazy.
I didn't know this fawk me man I've noticed I got springtails an had 1 isopod some how from the soil I used for my russain tortise
Hello! I recently received my tiger salamander about 2 weeks ago. I've researched quite a bit about top soil to find the most available, affordable and "organic" substrate I could. I decided to purchase the same top soil as you "Scotts Premium Topsoil". However, I noticed there were quite a bit of sticks, rocks and other foreign objects within it. I found it difficult to get every little tiny "rock" or "stick" out of the topsoil even after sifting through it with a colander twice, but I feel confident I did the absolute best I could. I just wanted to know if your salamander is still thriving in your substrate without issues i.e. impaction ect. I've made a mixture of about 70% top soil and 30% eco earth, and she seems to enjoy it so far. Thanks for the advice! :)
Yep I haven’t had any issues!
just the video i was looking for - thanks for this!! I got the same bag of top soil, it's amazing how much non-dirt stuff gets filtered out D:
Thoughts on Reptisoil?
Could you also do this for top soil that has already been in the tank
Sure
Thank you!
Would I be able to use this with something like a ball python
Yes
im doing this process rn, took me so long to find organic top soil in canada! sifting all this crap out is so nasty im finding rocks and plastic bits in it
Do I have to sanitize my washed play sand?
Is this only for non-bioactive enclosures? In the bioactive groups on FB I'm a member of it's in the rules not to sanitize/sterilize anything you put in the enclosure, that's why I'm wondering.
I use this substrate either by itself or on top of bioactive substrate. Top soil alone will not sustain plants. That’s why I mention you can mix it with other materials :)
Would sifting it first work better?
I like to sanitize things at 220 for an hour. This should kill most microorganisms because water boils at 212, and an hour gives sufficient time for the whole thing to get hot enough. Of course if you're trying to full on dehydrate (I don't), that would take a good while.
I got the same bag you did but it says topsoil soil conditioner. Is that safe?
I'm pretty sure Scott's topsoil isn't "organic." The bag says "Adds organic matter" (which means nothing because _all_ soil contains organic matter--that would typically be things like decaying plant matter, manure, moss, etc), but it doesn't say the soil itself is "organic" (or, if it does, I don't see it). The term "organic" is a legal certification.
I only mention this because I'm curious if it matters. If it doesn't contain fertilizer of any kind, my thought is that it should be okay. I can't find Scott's right now so I'm considering using another brand and _none_ of the brands I've found are labeled as "organic," so I'm hoping I'm correct.
I'd be interested to hear others' thoughts on this.
I’m sure pesticide and fertilizer free is fine
Is the process of sanitizing sand the same? Or is it more about rinsing, cause if that's the case I'm not excited about that lol I've learned how much of a pain it is to rinse sand from keeping fish.
I didn’t bake the sand, rinsing is a good idea if it’s not already washed or if it looks dirty or dusty
i menja imma gonna mix my toposoil with sand so if theres a bit of sand in it no worries. but im gona shift it anyways tho
Could you use top soil for crested geckos?
Yes
I’m kinda bummed Had a shrub that we removed and had some soil underneath that’s been their for years and super nutritious, guess gotta kill everything In it lol. Thanks for the vid!
I wish there was a topsoil for animals that as nice and smooth and just DIRT too. ;-; Even Scotts can be an issue sometimes, a recent bag of mine had tiny pieces of Styrofoam that fit through the sifter. It was obnoxious
YUP very annoying sifting through that hardware store bag
Hi there! Do we need to add in some water to the topsoil before heat up in an oven? I am considering whether to use sterilised topsoil mixed reptisand for my bearded dragon.
Nope I don’t add water
@@JessicasAnimalFriends Hi Jessica. I am using topsoil mixed with coco fiber/husk/bark and a little reptile sand.
In that case should I mix the topsoil and the coco fiber/husk/bark before I sterilise them using oven? Your reply is highly appreciated.
im going to have 8 bags to do
Very, very useful! Much love. This video was really easy to follow
Can I sift the dirt before sanitizing it in the oven? Or is it a specific order?
That’s fine
Jessica’s Animal Friends thank you so much!
So. I did it. But my soil turned out more loke sand? Then i added the sand. Now it just feels like sand. Did i use the wrong kind of sifter?? Please help lol. Been working on this for 3 days now. Baking a sifting as i only have 1 pan for a 40 gal tank ..
How long did it take you to sift through the whole bag
How long do I leave it in the oven? How many hours specifically?
1.5
Oh, I thought it would be longer!
Does this work well in bioactive substrate as a replacement for coco coir? and would love to get some more info on why you're anti coco coir
I have a video about why I don’t like eco earth but yes! I’m not anti eco earth in all scenarios, just when it’s used incorrectly
I bought the same bags of topsoil as you and it's mostly wood chips! Is that even safe to bake in the oven? I also saw lots of eggs of some type of bug.
I currently sift it then bake it but I also had no issues baking it first it just took longer
It safe for bearded dragons to mix with play sand?
When you cook the soil does it create a smell?
Screen as the sifter!
How often do you have to do this? Every 6 months?
I just bought a new enclosure and have already mixed the topsoil with the reptisoil and sand. Can I still do this safetly? I noticed once it dried a little all I see are sticks and I don't need my corn to stab himself.
Hello. Thank you for your vid’s. I have a question if you don’t mind. I have a scaleless corn snake that I am thinking about switching substrate to topsoil and sand. After you sanitize the topsoil and sand, are you suppose to wet it down and if so how wet should you get it? What is the protocol after the substrate has been sanitized? Thank you.
Yes the substrate should be moist but not so wet that it’s dripping HOWEVER I don’t keep corn snakes so I’m not sure what their humidity requirements are
What tool do I use for the sifting part? What is it called?
What about the chemicals in it?
Is there any other way that sanitising it can be done so I don’t have to use the oven?
Next best option is to freeze it for 2+ weeks but this may not kill off eggs
Hey ive started the process and ive sifted out all of the larger chunks of wood and stuff but im still finding tiny specks of i think fertilizer, i made sure it was organic but is it still safe to use? The specks are white if that helps and thanks for the helpful vid👍
The white specks could be rock or plastic maybe?
Unless you bought some for planting in which case it could be
if it’s white specks that are like tiny rocks that crumble, its just perlite, which is a type of rock! itll be fine, other than any risk of your reptile eating it
i got dig boxes for my kids for christmas, and am looking into how to make the substrate safe. Im thinking topsoil too, and would play sand be safe? is this the way to sanitize play sand as well?
You don’t have to sanitize the sand especially since a lot of sand sold is advertised for kids’ sand boxes but yes this is a good way to sanitize soil. Just be sure to follow the instructions on the bag- says to be sure to wash hands after use. I imagine that’s bc they don’t think people are out here sifting and baking it lol
Wouldnt the chunks of wood be very very beneficial at least assuming bioactive enclosure
Yes it’s all down to personal choice
can this be used if your going to repot a plant in a chameleon encloser?
What if I just mixed it and set it over night tied in a bag do I really gotta take all this out 🤦♂️
I mean not everyone does you can skip it if you want to
Question, I know it’s an older video but would this work for a ball python? I’m actually sanitizing soils as we speak for a toad, but I hate the suggested python substrates and was wondering if this would be a good alternative?
I don’t keep ball pythons but I have seen people use top soil in a blend for their snakes!
@@JessicasAnimalFriends Ok thanks! I have some sort of reptichip type of bedding and it doesn’t keep humidity well.
Now I’m kinda wondering if I should do soil alone or mix the two
Thanks for the help! Do you know of anyone on UA-cam who uses soil with pythons? I haven’t been having lucky searching
So, I made my gecko a dig box with top soil. Went through this whole process. Do I leave it dry or wet it a bit ?
Moisten it a bit :)
Do you have to buy the dirt? Cud I use dirt from my yard?
I don’t recommend using dirt from your yard due to the fact that it can carry pesticides chemicals mites and other harmful substances
Hi there, can I ask do you mean 200F or C temperature for baking??
F
@@JessicasAnimalFriends thank you! I found that only the top layer got dry with 250 F for 2 hrs. Should I make it to 350 for an extra hour to make it all dry? Would that be too hot?
Burpee organic coconut coir soil..tractor supply
Do I have to bake it first Or can I sift then bake?
Whichever order you want is fine
Is expert gardener top soil organic?
I was asking other LG owners about sanitizing top soil, and someone said that baking top soil would get rid of beneficial things that bioactive tanks need. I'm a bit new to bioactive tanks and I'd like for my substrate to be safe for my leos, but I also want to make sure the substrate will be suitable for bioactive tanks. Would baking the top soil get rid of beneficial things?
Mine are not Bioactive. If you’re worried, do not bake it
@@JessicasAnimalFriends Alright, thank you! Just wasn't sure which to do when it comes to bioactive tanks.
Sanitizing soil for bioactive terrarium through extreme temperatures may not be the best thing. I just wondered about it myself, googled: "what happens when you heat soil", and that came up with a bunch of papers, e.g., one of the quotes:
> Soil heating affects microorganisms either directly by killing them or altering their reproductive capabilities or indirectly by altering the composition of organic matter present in the soil
I'm still not sure if I should bake the soil and sand for some time, or not. And what are the pros & cons.
thank u my bearded is almost 1 and about to have eggs
Hey just out of curiosity how did it go? I'm also using this method for my Dragon, did she like the soil?
Not sure if you’ll respond but I have some questions.
1) When you say sanitize the sand, that just means putting it in the oven too right?
2) How often would I have to replace the soil in the tank?
I have trying to upgrade my LG tank a lot recently
Sand: You can oven-treat sand, but honestly, I don't see why you would have to. I think playsand is a good sand to mix with soil. Playsand has somewhat rounded particles. The only thing I do with sand is wash it in water first. I don't bother sanitizing. With sand, you are mixing it with soil at a ratio of like 1/4 or whatever the species needs, never using sand alone. I do like 1/2 bucket of sand to 2 buckets of topsoil (sift the topsoil first to get the wood, nails, etc out) in a plastic cement mixing tub, then adjust as needed for the species, either adding more soil or more sand. Then I gently pour boiling water over it so it is absorbed. Then I let that sit in its tub in the sun, churn it up, let it sit, churn, sit. Not as good as baking, but easier when you need lots of substrate.
Hi I have a question unfortunately, my local Home Depot did not have the top soil that you used in the video so I purchased “earthgro top soil” and I look it up on google and it said it was organic I’m just curious if other brands of top soil would be okay as long as it’s organic
did you ever find out? i dont think depo carries it anymore :(
Do you have any experience with zoomed reptisoil? Also do heating mats work very well with soil?
Nope, and if the soil is a thin layer they can be ok but overhead heating is usually better
I just got topsoil and I’ve put it in the oven for a little over 2 hours now but only the top is dry the rest is still kinda moist is that still fine to use?
Yeah that’s okay you can always mix it a bit to help dry it out but really what you’re trying to do is just kill off things. If you make it too deep you will have an issue with the bottom anyhow.
what soil would you recommend to mix with if you wanted to grow plants in your enclosure?
Growing plants in an enclosure (this is for a tropical species), I recommend ABG mix and you can put top soil on top or not include it at all
perfect!! thank you. i usually use aspen but want to do a lil more rainforest moisture type because i do have 3 snakes would be better off having the tropical feel to it!
Is that 200 degrees Celsius?
Fahrenheit
does this method remove fertilizers and pesticides?
No
Would you recommend a mix of baked top soil and sand for leopard gecko substrate?
Yep that’s what a lot of people use. Just make sure the sand is super fine and I would use a sifter to be sure. You can choose the combination you’d like, too, like 50% and 50% or 70,30 etc. I think I would use a little bit more top soil than sand but I haven’t made up my mix yet so I can’t say for sure
That’s a terrible idea
@@baker4132 it works pretty well for leo’s actually
@@deputy_gingey Do you think it would work for Bearded Dragons?
"I just want some dirt." :) For real though who TF keeps throwing wood chips in the damn bag
The secret the box store brands don’t want you to know: topsoils are usually from local suppliers, so unless you’re shopping Bedouin Bath and Beyond or Pashtun Depot in Afghanistan, it’s going to be a chore to get the soil down to what a Leo can really enjoy living on 😂
''and then sifting process starts...so you take it and put in into a, what are they called again...a colander''
a sifter Jessica....a sifter
I KNOW I AM DUMB
@@JessicasAnimalFriends if you say so...
do i haft so sift
Does top soil hold humidity
Yep!
I bought topsoil and sterilized it but it has a smell to it 🤢 thinking I’m going to have to toss it
Oh man that stinks (no pun intended)