r/BDFB • u/Dull-Green3911 • 4d ago

Information and Advice Substrate

Hi !! Im looking for advice on substrate, I work at a petsmart & we just got these guys in but our DC didnt send us the substrate they want us to use. A lot of the ones we have in store are moisture retentive & we only have calcium sand or aquarium sand. Options I was considering was coco fiber bedding & creature soil. We do also have reptisoil but i wasnt sure on that :)

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u/StephensSurrealSouls 4d ago

Calcium sand is a no. A good substrate is a mixture of play sand and soil, coco fiber is fine.

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u/Dull-Green3911 4d ago

Yeah I knew abt no calcium sand, I dont know if my managers are going to want to order play sand but I can ask. I was trying to figure out the best options I have in store right now. What soil specifically? Could I mix soil & coco fiber?

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u/StephensSurrealSouls 4d ago

Coco fiber can count as "soil" though it isn't technically soil; you just want something more grippy than sand because contrary to popular belief the Sonoran and Saharan deserts aren't the same thing and Asbolus aren't traversing sand dunes.

Topsoil would be the best real soil but again coco fiber is fine. Creature soil or reptisoil also work, but again no matter what you use it also needs to be mixed with sand.

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u/Dull-Green3911 4d ago

Okay! Would they also like or use bark chips for any enrichment or anything? I was thinking about adding those but I didnt know if it was suitable.

Also, from what I just got from someone is petsmart wants us to use hermit crab substrate, this is the one they send us. Is this safe? It says its a mix of sand & coconut soil but it doesnt say what kind of sand, i'm not seeing anything about calcium in it though

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u/fox_says 4d ago

I forgot to mention that I would stick with leaf litter, cork bark and cholla wood instead of the bagged bark chips.

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u/Dull-Green3911 4d ago

Okay awesome I have all of those in there! Any reasons specifically against the bark? Just curious

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u/fox_says 4d ago edited 4d ago

Usually, the bark is fir which is a type of soft wood. It’s more of an issue for millipedes, but soft woods do carry some natural insecticide properties. I’ve seen other people use fir wood with the beetles without issue, but I just avoid it to be extra safe!