Walls in a VIV

[Naturaltanks13Dst]

I'm mulling through ideas for a viv to house a Crested Gecko, and I have some idea of what i'm doing. however when it comes to actual material for background and walls, I'm hesitant. I plan on black silicon and eco earth, as well as some wood, and cork for texture. Though I would like a darker color than what coconut fiber can provide, and I've been considering using dark top soil mixed in with the CF to achieve that. Here's my fear! Since topsoil is so biologically active, will this pose a threat to the gecko?

[Frogger00]

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[deranged chipmunk]

Topsoil and potting soil are not the best items to use to cover a background. They are both far from "clean". They are both filled with insect larvae and eggs that could potentially muck things up. They could also potentially cause a molding issue within the tank. If you want a darker color, you can try a milled sphagnum peat moss. The downside to that is normally the gnat eggs that are ever present in it, so you need to be careful.

You could possibly boil either of those to kill off any unwanted pests, then allow it to completely dry out, but I am not sure you want to be boiling soil indoors. At least not without a whole bunch of air fresheners around lol


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