Substrate Help!!

[GreenTreeFrog14]

Ok,where do you get the regular soil from? And why do you have earthworms and crucshed lava rock for airatoin right??

[John]

The frogs side of things is dealt with pretty well on this site. The substrate choice for the salamander is a different matter. To give you a good answer for that one, could you please tell us what kind of salamander it is? If it's a burrowing salamander, like a tiger salamander or a spotted salamander, stay away from coconut fiber unless you're prepared to change it often. You'll have better look with a top soil mix sold at the hardware store. Just make sure it's free of artificial additives like fertilizers and perlite.

[GreenTreeFrog14]

I have semi-aquatic newts,no salamanders I'am going to use the substrate for live plants and I want to know which is best.

[John]

For live plants I would avoid pure coconut fiber - it has zero nutrients in it.

[GreenTreeFrog14]

so then what do i use? 100% Organic soil?

[Grrrit]

I recently started using the ABG mix and works wonders for plants. Its long lasting , holds moisture, and at the same time drains really well. I cover it with leaf litter to keep my frogs from getting covered in it.

However, I'm not sure how it would work for a newt.

[John]

ABG mix should be fine for a newt, but not so much for a tree frog. Larger frogs risk getting some of the sharp pieces of tree fern fiber in their mouth and swallowing it, possibly leading to impaction. I do like the top soil idea.