Organic potting soil warning

[henslowsparrow]

While reading through some of these threads, I realized that I had my tiger salamanders in an unfriendly substrate (a fir and sphagnum peat moss mix). I decided to switch them over to the popular coconut husk/potting soil mix. So, I went to Lowe's to find my potting soil and the only brand that had an organic potting soil was miracle gro. I was a little surprised but purchased it anyway. The point of my story is that when I got home, I looked more closely at the packaging and read that the first ingredient was sphagnum peat moss. I can't seem to get away from the stuff. Fortunately, I hadn't added it to my coconut husk fiber yet. I noticed that a lot of people said they used organic potting soil, I just wanted to warn buyers to look at the fine print. I'll have to search for a different brand.

 

[Kaysie]

You want to use TOP soil, not potting soil. I personally use the Earth Gro brand (I find it at Home Depot, I'm not sure if anywhere else carries it) and haven't had any problems since I started using it a couple years ago.

 

[John]

Actually, when those mixes have peat moss in them the peat moss has usually been treated to reduce its acidity or it's present with something else to help reduce the acidity - this is not the case for the big bale of pure peat moss that you can buy.

 

[henslowsparrow]

It's good to know that I can finish off the fir and sphagnum peat moss mix and that I wasn't torturing my salamanders. The salamanders were "out" frequently, climbing on their log and even each other. I noticed they weren't burrowing as much after I had used a new bag of this substrate. AFter reading some posts about pH's varying between different bags of peat moss (not mixes), I was worried that the salamanders were uncomfortable and trying to escape the substrate. I did see that some people suggested top soil. I just wanted to point out to the many users of potting soil that it had the peat moss in it. Thank you for your responses!

 

[John]

Well there's no guarantee I'm right about the mix you have. I always use top soil, coconut fibre or a mixture of both.

 

[mark55s1]

I also use potting soil and a coconut fibre mixture. I have tested the PH and find it suitable for my two different salamanders. I have never had any problems with this mixture. Most home and garden store will carry top soil in bags.

 

[SludgeMunkey]

I utilize a mixture of Hyponex brand potting soil mixed with a bit of coir and some sand.

Do not use Hyponex potting soil if you live in Georgia, Florida, Alabama or Louisiana as they formulate it with a low pH on purpose for those areas. In some states Hyponex may contain perlite which can be an issue with the larger terrestrial species as it is a serious impaction hazard.

 

[henslowsparrow]

Out of curiousity, I'm going to test the pH of both the sphagnum peat mix and the potting soil. Regardless, the salamanders have gone back to their burrowing selves. As soon as I plunked them back into the tank with the coconut husk, they burrowed under a log and have been hunkered down ever since. I'm interpreting this as their approval of the new substrate.