Just got some excavator clay

What do I do now? Do I need to mix it with other substrate or what? I've never used the stuff before.

I'm using it for my L. quinquestriatus'; most of which are 3i I think (biggest is about an inch).

Thanks

I take it excavator sand is like builders sand, i dunno anything about keeping LQs but you should soak the sand with boiling water then microwave it or put it in the oven at a high temperature to sterilise it then let it dry out before using it.

You don't need to boil this stuff. It's from ZooMed.

This stuff:


Right now I have a little mixture of coco fiber (from the brick) and the clay drying together. I'm gonna see how that works out - although I think that I should probably do like 70% coco and 30% clay. I'm not sure.

I dont think thats the stuff he got, so i think it best he waits for appropriate advice

Excavator is stuff used for better burrowing

No need to sterilise it by boiling and heating and stuff (i dont think)

Orite, i thought u meant like builders sand stuff, didnt know it was proepr brand name stuff

Brandon, when I've used it I mixed up 70% sand and 30% Excavator, then wetted it, and let it air-dry for a few days.

so you can use it with sand or coir? can you use it moist for forest species?

I honestly can't say if it's good or not with coco fiber, but I would assume it would be bad for humid species -- if any dried on them, it would cake onto their exoskeletons, and could spell bad news if any got near their booklungs, mouthparts, or anus.

In other words, dont try it use it for dry desert species then.

Good call!

I misread your post and almost said "no, it's safe for desert species!"

I read it as
In other words, don't try to use it for dry desert species then.

Not as
In other words, don't try it. Use it for dry desert species then.

Mr. Mordax wrote:

Brandon, when I've used it I mixed up 70% sand and 30% Excavator, then wetted it, and let it air-dry for a few days.

Exactly what I was looking for! Thanks, Mike!

There's something else that I wanna clear up;

It says to mist it periodically to maintain it's shape. I probably shouldn't do that because of what you mentioned about it caking onto the scorpion?

lol, looking back on it I see there are punctuation issues.... my bad.

Brandon, I never misted it, and my H. arizonensis's burrows held up just fine for months.

How do you measure the parts? Just guess? ;x

I leveled the sand, held a ruler up to the tank, and did the math -- then I filled excavator up to the proper level and mixed it.

It was pretty tough to mix up 'cause I was doing it in a 2.5-gallon tank. I'd suggest using the measure and fill method, but then dumping them into a much larger container to mix thoroughly before returning it to the scorp's tank.