Can you use dirt/soil from outside?

[binskiboi]

Can you use dirt/soil from outside if you do necessary steps to clean it?

I've been breeding and hobbying fish for 3 years and have gotten very into it with great success. I've always wondered stuff like this for fish and amphibians and reptiles.... why can't you use natural things from outside when the animals are normally from there!? So many things I hear you can't use...


So, can you use dirt/soil from outside?
(P.S. I've already set up a firebelly toad 50/50 tank and did NOT use soil lol..just curious)

[SethD]

Yes you can in many areas. If your worried about parasites or fungus contaminations like chytrid you can always "cook" the dirt in the oven and kill anything that might be in it.

[binskiboi]

Yes you can in many areas. If your worried about parasites or fungus contaminations like chytrid you can always "cook" the dirt in the oven and kill anything that might be in it.

So essentially you just bake the dirt? At what temp and how long? Thanks!

~Binskiboi

[Socrates]

Soil from outside is just fine. Just make sure that it's from a location that you are familiar with, doesn't have pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers as well as no plants/trees that would result in making the soil too acidic or basic. Also a huge plus with using outside soil is that it has beneficial bacteria, fungi, nutrients and little critters that aid in cycling a tank and maintaining a healthy substrate. Hope this helps.

[binskiboi]

Soil from outside is just fine. Just make sure that it's from a location that you are familiar with, doesn't have pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers as well as no plants/trees that would result in making the soil too acidic or basic. Also a huge plus with using outside soil is that it has beneficial bacteria, fungi, nutrients and little critters that aid in cycling a tank and maintaining a healthy substrate. Hope this helps.

Could you possibly tell me what a good spot to look for is to get soil? (I live in ohio and springtime begun a week ago if that helps)

[Socrates]

from your own garden, as long as you don't use any of the chemicals I mentioned or used fertilizer recently or have neighbors that use these chemicals heavily and possibly could have washed into your lawn. Usually if you grab soil earlier in the year, before people start doing all those things you should be alright. Be careful that it's not too acidic or basic. Certain mulches can make soil acidic and/or basic also confier species can make soil fairly acidic.

[binskiboi]

from your own garden, as long as you don't use any of the chemicals I mentioned or used fertilizer recently or have neighbors that use these chemicals heavily and possibly could have washed into your lawn. Usually if you grab soil earlier in the year, before people start doing all those things you should be alright. Be careful that it's not too acidic or basic. Certain mulches can make soil acidic and/or basic also confier species can make soil fairly acidic.

We haven't used fertilizer...however we had people come in a week ago to put new mulch or something in on our yard...not sure if they would have done that!?

[SethD]

Could you possibly tell me what a good spot to look for is to get soil? (I live in ohio and springtime begun a week ago if that helps)

Pretty much what Socrates said, some soils are unfit to use due to contamination or the composition but other than that there is no special spot to get soil. I usually will get mine in a wooded area and take the first couple of inches of humus and dirt under the leaf litter. As far as baking the soil, I don't do that myself because I personally don't mind introducing an array of microfauna into a new terrarium. I merely mentioned that you could bake the soil if you had concerns about it because I know it is something many folks who were very worried about the possibility of introducing parasites have done. Baking the soil does eliminate any chance of accidentally introducing pests or parasites.

[binskiboi]

Pretty much what Socrates said, some soils are unfit to use due to contamination or the composition but other than that there is no special spot to get soil. I usually will get mine in a wooded area and take the first couple of inches of humus and dirt under the leaf litter. As far as baking the soil, I don't do that myself because I personally don't mind introducing an array of microfauna into a new terrarium. I merely mentioned that you could bake the soil if you had concerns about it because I know it is something many folks who were very worried about the possibility of introducing parasites have done. Baking the soil does eliminate any chance of accidentally introducing pests or parasites.

Okay thanks alot! I have a random small strip of wooded area that I know wouldn't have been treated probably ever. I'll get some tomorrow! Thanks!