Organic Soil for Snaggle's Home - Doctor Earth?

[sparrow]

Hello everyone,

Please take a look at the below link to Doctor Earth organic soils and let us know if there is any ingredient in the mixes that could hurt our little snails.

drearth.net/blog/products/organic-soils/

There are several versions.

Thank you!!

[starcrazy19]

Ok - I usually don't use regular soil for my snails, as it's a pain to store and they're all happy with compressed coir bricks. My feeling would be not to use any of the enriched or specialised composts... especially not the one that says 'acid lovers'! I'd be concerned most of them would have high levels of fertilizing ingredients added which may be too strong for the snails. Their skins are so sensitive and permeable. And the root one will likely be too sandy. Having said that their vague list of ingredients doesn't look like it contains anything particularly horrible, I just doubt anyone here will have used the same brand before so you'd have to try it and see You can always fetch regular soil from outside and bake it if you're worried about it being sterile.

[sparrow]

Glad you mentioned the coir bricks. Another question was are coconut shells (for hiding) safe for them? Think I will follow your advise and try the coir bricks. Getting a bit tired of the soil hassle myself and never sure of the ingredient list. Contacted the manufacturer of the linked soil and asked for ingredients, but they did not respond.
Can't use our local soil - we live on a sandbar and inundated with salt water.

[malacophile]

Coir appears to stay a lot cleaner, too, and seems to discourage mold growth to a degree. Plus, the stuff smells great. If your snails act a little weirded out by it at first, don't be surprised. Mine did when I made the switch, and it took them a good week to get used to it.

[sparrow]

That's great news. I am in the process of creating a larger tank and will start by using a quarter of the tank with the coir to let him get used to it. Nothing like giving a snail a choice of options! Haven't had any mold problems, but then I'm a bit neurotic around the edges and a clean-aholic. I clean every other day, but the coir still sounds like a superior choice.

Thank you!

[crucify]

Coconut shells are great, I use them and occasionally I'll find a clump of snails underneath. The slugs and springtails prefer them more though, the snails lay eggs down the sides of it.

[sparrow]

Dec 10, 2013 20:52:32 GMT crucify said:

Coconut shells are great, I use them and occasionally I'll find a clump of snails underneath. The slugs and springtails prefer them more though, the snails lay eggs down the sides of it.

Lots of fun! He seemed to love the coconut shell and was crawling all over it last night when I put it in. I soaked it for a few days in spring water and have a 10 watt heater directly underneath it to create a nice humid environment (and keep him warm in the winter).

Snaggle slept through the entire picture taking session today (he was nestled deep down in the leaves of the hedge), but this is the new tank set up so far:
eaglessparrow.sharepoint.com/Pages/Snagglepuss.aspx (first few extra large photos are old tank). He likes the Rep-Cal Tortoise food and at about $5 for a large jar, that can be helpful when the veggies are not so fresh in the winter.

The moss in the tank was collected and then cultivated directly on a piece of bark since Spring and as you can see, is soft, fully rooted and very healthy. Took a full nine months to get it to that point. I keep it angled and supported by another piece of bark, because Kyoto moss does not like being wet on the bottom. This way, when I spray the tank, it moistens the moss from the top and the bottom portion is open to the air.

Just received 10 coir bricks! Anybody need any?!! That will wait for another day!

About Snaggle's tank lid:

I had the fiberglass screen custom made to fit tight in the top of the tank. (Use a piece of cotton cord to open it.) Right after I found Snaggle (September 2012), I used an old nylon stocking on top of the original little vase I had him in to keep him in and fruit flies out. After I became a bit more accomplished at Snaggle-keeping, I found stretch nylon (very similar to stocking fabric) at a craft store. It comes as a long tube and stretches perfectly completely under and over the lid. I tie off the ends and cut to fit. Perfect solution to keep insects out and Snaggle loves climbing across the top of it. He spends a great deal of time hanging upside down from the nylon!