Clean tanks and New substrate

[Kurt]

Both my skinks have had a little trouble with their sheds so I decided to give them higher humidity. I went from forrest floor wood chips back to coconut bark substrate, but added sphagnum moss on top. I've never used moss before and I ended up having a ton more than I thought. The humidity is higher than I want so I'm letting it air out. If I need I'll just take some of the moss out. Here's a few pics...

[SnakeCharmr728]

Looks pretty cramped in there... I bet he'd appreciate a larger enclosure but very beautiful.

[Kurt]

Rocko's tank is actually pretty open. The Buddha and log look like they take up a lot of space but they are both hallow so he can crawl around and stretch out w ease. Apollo's tank is a little cramped at the moment. Usually I only have 2 hides in his tank which opens it up quite a bit. I let them out to explore a few times per week so they hopefully won't feel too cramped. But you're correct, they might appreciate larger tanks. I am planning on upgrading in the future when space permits.

[IchliebeTiere]

I really like the way that looks. I've been using eco earth which is really wet the first day. I cut down the amount of water I mix it with by a cup. It dries out quickly here unless I spray it 2 or 3 times a day and even then it still dries out.

[kenn]

Nice!

[Katrina]

Looks pretty cramped in there... I bet he'd appreciate a larger enclosure.

That's kind of rude. Both those tanks look lovely and the OP has put a lot of work into making them function and beautiful, so there really is no need to criticize.

There is getting to be lots of little negative comments or corrections when people post on here (especially by people relatively new to blueys themselves) - unless it is really a concern to the blueys well being, let's stop with the unwarranted advice or little jabs. Please try to think before you post - imagine Kurt was brand new here, with his first bluey and just spent hours trying to do everything right. Enclosure size is recommended on the caresheet, has appropriate hides, temps, water - everything looks perfect! And then he posts pics and someone says that they would be better off in a larger enclosure. Luckily Kurt has been around a while and took that very well... but I doubt a brand new person would stick around or ever post again with that kind of appreciation of their hard work.

Kurt - they look great. Love the setups, I personally like lots going on in an enclosure and using space vertically to give them more to explore.

[ssr]

Looks good. I recently tried forest moss to up the humidity. It comes in bricks also. I don't really like it as the only substrate so I've started just putting a smaller amount under the basking light to increase the humidity. Then I just pick it up, rewet it and replace back into the enclosure. I've found this method easier and cleaner than trying to spray down an entire enclosure full of the stuff.

[Dakota]

Never thought of putting thr water bowl on top of the hide.. how well does that work?

[Lea]

Looks great, Kurt. I love the pics of them basking, really appreciating their new environments! They sure do look happy with your work!

[herpgirl2510]

Looks good. I wish I could make custom enclosures like that.i have a similar Buddha in my baby beardie's enclosure
.

[Sarikazam]

Never thought of putting the water bowl on top of the hide.. how well does that work?

I used to do that with my Merauke and it worked well. He never tipped it over and it had the added benefits of taking up less space, and being off the ground so he wouldn't kick or drag substrate in it. Also I always thought it would help keep the hide a little cooler underneath, but I never found out for sure.

Also I just wanted to chime in that your set ups look wonderful Kurt! I never thought of using moss, but it looks great. How well do your skinks burrow in it?

[Dakota]

That is great! I must try.

[Kurt]

Thanks everybody! Herpgirl, love the Buddha. Mine is designed as a fish decoration-it has a nice big hallow base that is a nice little hide. Sarikazam nailed it, putting water bowls over a hide works very well for all of those reasons. Here's a pic of Rocko 'burrowing' in it hahaha

[Sarikazam]

Thanks everybody! Herpgirl, love the Buddha. Mine is designed as a fish decoration-it has a nice big hallow base that is a nice little hide. Sarikazam nailed it, putting water bowls over a hide works very well for all of those reasons. Here's a pic of Rocko 'burrowing' in it hahaha

Haha, it looks very "burrow-able"! For some reason I thought moss would make up a carpet layer that couldn't be broken into very easily, but nice to hear that isn't so. Now next time I replace the substrate in my guys terrariums I am definitely going to try it out on top of their coconut mulch.

[UroFreak13]

Nice setup looks great

[Kurt]

And a little OT but it's feeding day so a few pics of that...

[Spindown]

Thats a very sweet setup! I love the natural look, I'm trying to figure out how to go about doing that with the setup I have.

Does the moss make a difference in humidity? I tried coco fiber (Eco Earth) and hated it since it dried out SO fast! But if spaghum helps, I will gladly get it!

[Kurt]

Its really wet in there. I'll try to get a good picture of it when I get home that depicts the moisture- it was fogging up the glass this morning when I left. I might have to take some of it out if it doesn't dry up soon.

[hurricanejen]

It also looks like it might be partly the type of moss you used - both types of bedding look like ExoTerra bricks, one of moss, the other of the brick form of cocohusk substrate. While less expensive than buying them loose, hydrating the bricks to spread them out does tend to result in really soggy bedding. If I have to use the bricks, I usually make them a couple days in advance so I can let it dry out outside of the cage for a while first.

What I have found is that the exoterra sphagnum may or may not hold up for long. Try New Zealand spaghnum next, the yellow stuff that also comes in brick shapes but isn't a solid brick. I usually fill a bucket with water and grab a handful of the stuff, dunk it in the bucket, then take it out and squeeze out the excess moisture. I just spray the moss directly with a squirt bottle when it dries out and it retains moisture well. I use it often when letting my snakes maternally incubate, and it holds up for weeks, if not months - the green stuff tends to mold or get foul quickly by comparison.

Just my 2 cents! maybe helpful?

-Jen

[Kurt]

Come home to a sweaty window. I'm opening the tank to hopefully let it dry out. Otherwise I'll have to take out the moss and substrate.