|
|
Post by IsisTheSnail on Jan 28, 2012 15:19:30 GMT
The soil my father bought for my terrarium has me worried. I want to change it, but I don't have the money right now, and he's not keen on the whole snail idea, so I'm lucky I convinced him to buy any soil at all. Had I been there with him, I would have been able to choose something I know wouldn't harm my snails, but since Isis died for no known reason, I'm worried about what I'm doing wrong. I even tried to convince my dad to let my dig up some garden soil and bake it, but he refused. The soil is "Premium African Violet and Flowering Soil" and it says it contains sedge peat, sphagnum peat moss, compost, vermiculite, perlite, slow release fertilizer and plant food.
|
|
saki114
Achatina immaculata
Posts: 327
|
Post by saki114 on Jan 28, 2012 15:53:22 GMT
I am so sorry for your loss. RIP Isis. In my terrarium I had only a pinch of fertilizer, because I got it from my garden, but I suggest you get some other source of soil. Good luck!  |
|
|
|
Post by ness on Jan 28, 2012 16:42:19 GMT
Sorry for the loss of Isis.
Oooh you're in a tough situation there. I wouldn't want to use anything with slow release (or any) fertilizer personally, only organic compost, but I can see you're in a tricky situation and you Dad's not happy about it.
Have you opened the bag? Have you used some and Isis died after putting it in?
Can it be exchanged if it's not been opened?
Perhaps you can agree to do some chores for your Dad in exchange for some new compost?
Good luck, I have my fingers crossed for you x
|
|
|
|
Post by IsisTheSnail on Jan 28, 2012 17:26:33 GMT
Well, for a few months when I first got her, I just kept her in a tank with a few fish ornaments that she liked to crawl on. She was perfectly content then. But after I'd put in the soil, a few months later I'd noticed she wasn't as active anymore and hid in her shell for weeks at a time. It has been opened, and I doubt my dad'll agree. He says I'm not allowed to have snails, but I keep them anyways. Maybe once Spring rolls around I can get some new soil. :\
|
|
|
|
Post by ness on Jan 28, 2012 17:31:51 GMT
I'd recommend removing the soil then. I wouldn't normally suggest removing all substrates but it sounds like Isis was better off before the soil. Do you have any woodland nearby where you can collect shpagnum moss?
Can you afford a coir block?
|
|
|
|
Post by IsisTheSnail on Jan 28, 2012 17:35:56 GMT
Well, I'm in the city. THere's a provincial park behind my house with some woodland kind of areas, or I could bus down to Point Pleasant and collect some. I'm not sure what a coir block is...
|
|
|
|
Post by ness on Jan 28, 2012 19:33:03 GMT
Actually I'm not sure if you can get coir in Canada. Sorry.
Well coir is coconut fibre, dehydrated and pressed into brick-shaped blocks. When you add water it expands and looks, feels and behaves like soil.
Perhaps you could google it to see if it's available in Canada. Here in the UK it's cheap, but I don't know about else where.
|
|
|
|
Post by IsisTheSnail on Jan 30, 2012 16:31:34 GMT
Well, I might be able to find it at PU, they have a whole warehouse of bedding type things.
|
|
coyote
Archachatina papyracea
Cochleas ego amo
Posts: 2,955
|
Post by coyote on Jan 31, 2012 21:51:39 GMT
Coir bricks are usually found in the reptile section of pet supply stores. I've used it for my snails and they all seem to like it.
|
|
saki114
Achatina immaculata
Posts: 327
|
Post by saki114 on Feb 6, 2012 22:27:15 GMT
Well, for a few months when I first got her, I just kept her in a tank with a few fish ornaments that she liked to crawl on. She was perfectly content then. But after I'd put in the soil, a few months later I'd noticed she wasn't as active anymore and hid in her shell for weeks at a time. It has been opened, and I doubt my dad'll agree. He says I'm not allowed to have snails, but I keep them anyways. Maybe once Spring rolls around I can get some new soil. :\ Isis, I can totally relate to you. my dad doesn't allow snails and im supposed to release them in the yard away from the garden an its full of pesticides. I recently got some fresh soil from a friend.... i suggest u try 2 replace as fast as possible. wish u da best. |
|
Vi
Archachatina marginata
No slime? Pfft, as if! :B
Posts: 16
|
Post by Vi on Feb 10, 2012 4:47:20 GMT
Sorry about Isis  . Soil matters, but I've been running around lately, advocating earthworms, as they are the "organic garbage can" and can pretty much remove unwanted/needed things in the soil and turn it into organic fertilzer. They also open the soil and release oxygen and keep the soil fresh. I realized this after hearing about it from a friend, and have thought to incorporate them into my snail's tank, seeing as how snails(some) eat dirt, live in dirt and crawl over dirt, therefore dirt is important. Earthworms are inexpensive and don't cause any trouble to your snails and actually help them(they also eat poop from herbivores). They provide your snails with clean,healthy soil/dirt and in return, your snails provide them with waste, and any uneaten food. (btw, earthworms are like snails, they're hermaproditic, so they breed with each other, and give birth after like 4hrs to a day and are fully mature in 6 weeks and live roughly 6-8years in dirt, so you can have a whole bunch of worms, and not know it. But they don't mind being over crowded, just add soil every now and then, cause they will continuously filter that soil and sometimes eat it, plus so will your snails  ). |
|
.
).