What to do with the poop?

[Shawn Orton]

Hi Guys.

I have 1.1 Bradypodion Pumilum in a 12x12x18 Exo-Terra and have noticed that some people on the forum fill the bottom of the Terrarium with Hydroton and soil and then plant directly into the soil medium.

I would like to do something similar but if so, how do you keep the Terrarium poop free? Surely you cannot clean the whole Terrarium out on a weekly basis?
Do you use scavenger bugs?
Do you remove the poop by hand every day?

Any feedback will be appreciated.

 

[gary1621]

Spot clean the ppop you can find and get some springtails to deal with the bits that are harder to get to or you miss

 

[Rocky]

We have a terrarium that has hydroton > charcoal > dirt. Then you can either go out in your garden and look for spring tails / pill bugs and put them in there or you can order spring tails off the internet. The little bugs will be able to clean the poop for you and you will never have to clean the cage (unless you notice it getting bad)

 

[Shawn Orton]

thanks for the feedback!

Thanks Guys!

I will go and look for springtails & pillbugs in one of our parks.
Unfortunately nothing is available online in South Africa, only crickets.

By the way may Bradypodion Damanarum has had 4 babies so far today!
I will post the pics in a new thread.

 

[stickytongue]

We have a terrarium that has hydroton > charcoal > dirt. Then you can either go out in your garden and look for spring tails / pill bugs and put them in there or you can order spring tails off the internet. The little bugs will be able to clean the poop for you and you will never have to clean the cage (unless you notice it getting bad)

that sounds like a good and natural way to keep a terrarium clean. i was wondering if the springtails ingest the chams poop would it harm the chameleon??

 

[rmichaelk]

Just curious, will a terrarium setup with hydroton+charcoal+dirt work for all species of chameleons or does it work for only specific species? I have a panther chameleon and would love to setup something more natural if possible.

If it will work then how deep should each of these layers be and do you setup something to drain the water?

Oh..and in such a setup I assume that you will still have to clean the fake vines etc if you use any, right?

Michael

 

[Rocky]

The terrariums are used for smaller species that can be kept in small enclosures.

Your panther should be in a larger enclosure atleast 3-4 ft tall. If you wanted to make it where you planted your plants in the enclosure and have a way to put dirt / hydroton / charcoal in it then you can probably do it. Just make sure you have a large enough cage for your panther.