Substrate pH

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paul

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For those of you with land parts in your tank setups, what pH is your substrate??

I use peat with a pH of 5-6. Anybody know optimum pH/ pH of natural habitat substrate??
 
peat naturall reduces the pH, but land pH is not known to have any effect on amphibians. However, water pH has been known to affect breeding.
 
The pH of the substrate is known to have an effect on amphibians living on it. Many species of caudates will avoid acidic substrates if possible. Also many caudates can suffer ion imbalances, stress and possibly death when kept on substraets with a pH below 6 (the lower the pH the stronger the effect).

Ed
 
Is peat moss acidic or basic? I've read both, but more often acidic. Either way, I use it for its moisture retension properties, but avoid using it for the main base of the substrate. I find the best thing to use is coconut husk fiber/bed-a-beast, because its perfectly neutral. It holds moisture well too. When the caudates dig burrows it sticks together better, so they don't collape, but yet its easy to dig through. As for water, Im always sure to use spring water, because drinking water is purified through reverse osmosis and removes ions, which in turn removes ions from amphibians.
 
Peat moss is acidic. Like most other vegetation, it releases tannic acid. It is very rare for it to get below a pH of 5. If such an extreme is reached, almost any animal is intolerant of it (its like any other acid). If anyone wants more information on tannins, I have academic documents on them.
 
Here is a good article on the subject
Sugalski, Mark T. and Dennis L. Claussen. 1997. Preference for soil moisture, soil pH, and light intensity by the salamander, Plethodon cinereus. Journal of Herpetology. 31 (2):245-250.

There was I believe one more reference but I can't remember the citation off the top of my head.

For what it is worth I have had the following species exhibit signs of extreme stress when kept on sphagnum or peat moss, Salamandra salamandra, Tylototriton shanjing, Plethodon yonohlossee, Plethodon jordani, Plethodon cylindraeus and Desmognathus ochropheus

I have soaked different batches of peat and sphagnum moss and then tested the resulting water and have had the pH of the solution run from about 4 to 6.5. Every batch may be different.

Ed
 
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