I have good experience with organic soil, which I do not mix. Spiders and plants are doing good with it.
Q: Do you add the charcoal to absorb odors?I’ve been experimenting with a mix of topsoil Peat moss Coco fiber sphagnum moss a little bit of charcoal. I have a bio active enclosure in mind with this mix seems to work well so far
I use natural cowboy lump and I crush itQ: Do you add the charcoal to absorb odors?
Any particular charcoal?
I used biodude for a while but it’s kind of expensiveIsn’t a plug for the company but I’ve been using Pro-Rep Spiderlife. I switched to it after having mould issues and mites far too easily with coco. Springtails never took to coco fibre properly for me.
Since using spiderlife I’ve had no issues with either and springtails thrive. It keeps nice and damp as I need it to for different species and if kept well can be kept fairly dry and compact for fossorials and slings.
No not yet I want to wait until it’s the permanent enclosure for themSounds good. It sounds like those aren't anything exotic.
I've not tried those but have used carcoal/biochar to enrich soil nutrients like you said, but for my plants. I'll burn some maple limbs from a tree that im going to cut down and use that. I have some coconuts that might work too. I was going to turn it into home made personal supplements, toothpaste, etc.
Do you have any house plants in your set up?
Since I have bracys that like low humidity, I haven't found anything but cactus that would work. Unfortunately, as much as I want to do a bio active enclosure like yours, with plants included, I'm concerned about the girls getting poked with the spines. I raise a bunch of prickly pears that would thrive, but that's about it until I find another dry choice with no needles. Perhaps an aloe, but that needs lots of light too.No not yet I want to wait until it’s the permanent enclosure for them
I also wanted to get a substrate mixture my Ts and I liked down before I moved further with my idea
If you have any plant suggestions I’d appreciate some ideas
My bracy does the same thingSince I have bracys that like low humidity, I haven't found anything but cactus that would work. Unfortunately, as much as I want to do a bio active enclosure like yours, with plants included, I'm concerned about the girls getting poked with the spines. I raise a bunch of prickly pears that would thrive, but that's about it until I find another dry choice with no needles. Perhaps an aloe, but that needs lots of light too.
All the same, the charcoal sounds good for the occasional cricket that doesn't get eaten or found the same day. Right now, its a simple arrangement of ceramic water dish, coconut hide, outdoor carpet with coarse vermiculite. Whenever I offer a soft cotton bed, they usually push it out of the way.