Seeding an enclosure?

[Skelly98]

Sooo, for my upcoming frog terrarium, I want to make it naturalistic, and I already have a good tiger salamander enclosure that has been seeded and set up for years. With the ground frozen, i was wondering if I could seed the frog enclosure with material from my tiger enclosure? The tiger is wild caught from a pet store but in perfect health, and has had no issues with health since I got him.

Is it safe? Or not? Looking for some second opinions for this..

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[deranged chipmunk]

You mean you want to use substrate from the other enclosure? I wouldn't, you're asking for a possible cross contamination nightmare. Fecal waste, urine, probably not a good idea.

[Mentat]

Hi Skelly! Myself do not keep TSs; but think read once they produce a slime toxic to other animals. If so; would not use substrate from it's enclosure to seed the frog's enclosure. If your TS does not produce that toxic slime; then it's a matter of evaluating risk.

The fact your salamander has been healthy for years is a positive point. Also, since you were planning to get the fauna from the wild; think the worries about something coming in from your salamander habitat is minor; because it will probably come from the wild.

There is no way of easy telling if your salamander enclosure is pathogen free. Sometimes animals develop immunity toward some pathogens and carry them for a long time with no problem. However; they could attack other similar animals (i.e. your future frog) and cause problems. Still, from reading your post think the risk is minor; that is if your salamander does not produce a toxic slime. In USA we have vendors that sell start up cultures; maybe you can find similar ones in Canada? Good luck !

[Skelly98]

Thanks! I think I'll look for a startup culture, your points on cross contamination were good. I'll start looking now, thank you very much!

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