Cleaning

[Moonspyder]

Hello all,

I was wondering about how people clean their terrariums
when they are lined with sand or earth? I have read toads like to burrow so a soft substrate is better than paper. Seems like a lot
of trouble to reline a sand and pebble or earht floor to clean the bottom of the tank when wastes build up.
When we kept snakes in grade school we would just change liner papers...

[Kurt]

Well, sand, pebbles, and gravel are not recomended substrates for frogs/toads. The risk of gastrointestinal impaction is too great and can lead to death. Better substrates are ground coconut shell (often sold under names like eco-earth, bed-a-beast, and so on) and sphagnum moss. They hold moisture fairly well and the frog/toad can bury itself in it with no problem. They can be spot cleaned and when it gets really soiled, they can be easily replaced.

[JeffX]

I use eco-earth in all of my amphibian tanks, and I spot clean from time to time. Then I do a thorough cleaning once a month or if I need to earlier. Eco-earth is fairly cheap and I keep a big bucket of it for when I need it.

[Moonspyder]

Thanks for the advice. The 2 books from the library on amphibian care
reccomended gravel substrates for toads. I recall reading on a forum
impaction has been caused by ingetsed moss too. How much a risk is this when they snap up a bit of debri along with their cricket?

[InfInIty13X]

The 2 books from the library on amphibian care
reccomended gravel substrates for toads.

I have read that on many pages. I simply can't imagine taking that risk of using gravel or pebbles.

[Kurt]

They cannot digest gravel/sand/pebbles so it often gets stuck in their guts. That causes the impaction and when feces can't move along which then lead to septicemia and death.

I have had many of my frogs accidently digest sphagnum moss, with no problem.

[John]

I'm going to contradict Kurt's advice in one respect - sand, if non toxic (pool filter sand and children's play sand are fine) is not harmful and passes straight through the body. In fact for some species it is very good (desert amphibians for example).

[into]

I thought I read somewhere that Fowler's Toads can sometimes be found burrowed down in beach sand.

[Kurt]

John, I am assuming you are talking about very fine sand.

[John]

And I assume when you say sand you mean grit.

[Kurt]

Yeah, a fine sand, almost powder.

[John]

Grit is very coarse sand.

[StephenLS]

I'll second that. I've never had any problems keeping desert dwellers on sand!

It's called silver sand in England and is sold for sandpits!

[Kurt]

I wouldn't use anything that's coarse. I definitely don't trust it.

[John]

I wouldn't use anything that's coarse. I definitely don't trust it.

My point is that coarse sand isn't sand, it's grit.

[InfInIty13X]

My point is that coarse sand isn't sand, it's grit.

Just think of sand paper.

[Moonspyder]

So I was at the pet store today and picked up some Ecoearth to try out.
They also had some really fine sand there that was calcium enriched for substrate material at very high prices. The package did warn about keeping very small
lizards on it because of impacting.

The play sand at the garden suppply store is coarser than this very fine sand. How coarse is too coarse?

Rather than pay the pet shop premium, is spaghum peat moss from the
garden supply store equivalent to what the pet stores sell with wood shavings mixed in? I see my toads have tracked alot of peat into their water soaking bowl
but don't seem to mind sitting in it.

[Kurt]

You don't want sphagnum with wood shavings mixed in! So go to the garden center and get it there. I also find mixing the coconut and sphagnum together keeps the frog from track too much ground coconut of it into the water bowl.

[adawinters]

I recently read something -- pertaining to leopard geckos -- that suggested that impaction by sand was usually caused/fostered by dehydration in the animal that made it harder to pass the sand through the system. I'm actually wondering if/to what extent that might be true of amphibians. (I wouldn't use sand for most amphibians, though, as their skin is so sensitive, and sand is so coarse and dry. I was wondering for the desert-type species that John referenced earlier in this thread. I've never kept low-humidity toads, so I have no personal experience with sand substrates and toads.)

[Sissy Anne]

I use JerassiSafe (spray) or JerassiWipes (wipes) for cleaning up messes and mineral buildup from my de-clor solution. JerassiSafe is great because it's an odor remover. Not so much a problem with the frogs, but my Beardie can stink up the room. The spray bottle is like $5-6 at Petsmart and lasts me a long time (like, a few months).

With regards to substrate, I like the reptile/amphibian bark with moss mixed in. I get both of them at Petsmart or Petco, both frog safe, and the bark is big enough pieces that I don't think the frogs eat it. They have eaten some of the moss, but it doesn't seem to bother them.