Water Crystals in bedding? (NOT for drinking)

So I was perusing the gardening aisle at Home Depot and I came across this bag of what looked like salt, but it was dried crystals that absorb water and swell into clear cubes that, according to the bag, store water until the soil or air around it gets dry, then it slowly releases more water keeping the soil at the level of being just moist but not damp. One of the ladies there saw me looking at them and told me they also are mold resistant, bacteria resistant and mites wont have an easy time with any soil using those because they keep the soil only just moist so there are no random wet spots and if you squeeze the soil it doesn't drip water.

Apparently the starch based form is non toxic and completely safe to use with virtually any plants in containers or gardens. I was thinking to myself that this might have great potential in the tarantula trade for those high humidity loving T's. particularly any swamp dwellers. I was thinking you could mix it into the substrate and even put a layer of it under the sub strate to collect any water before it can pool up. Supposedly the contraction and expansion of the crystals also keeps bedding from becoming too compacted that water gets trapped from no air flow.

Have any of you tried this before? It might even be good for anoles and water dragons who can get blisters from damp substrate but need high humidity.

They will just harbor bacteria and mold.

Vermiculite is the additive to soil to help with moisture. My friend is a Master Gardener and gave me a sample - apparently there are several types. I then found it at the local garden center (specialty center, not just the one attached to Wallyworld).

I suppose you could set up a test tank (sans T) and monitor it if these crystals aren't expensive, but vermiculite works fine for me.

Marga

If you're talking about Soil Moist brand or something similar, this is basically what water crystals are (and I have had success using it with roaches). I'm not sure that a T would like it, though. Here's my thoughts:

Ts seem to like the substrate compacted somewhat, to be a firm bed, rather than loose dirt. By keeping the substrate loose, it's counteracting any compressing you might have done. Also, It's slippery, almost gel-like when full. Again, doesn't sound like something a T would appreciate walking on.

Really doesn't help much with humidity IMO - my roaches still need spraying twice a week.

And for burrowing Ts, I would expect the texture to be more problematic than with terrestrial/arboreal.

But I haven't tried mixing it with substrate. I'm just extrapolating.

But do tell if you give it a try - I'd love to hear that I'm wrong

Coir and Peat are GREAT media for moisture retention. If you are looking to increase moisture, break it up with perlite or vermiculite. I'm currently working on a couple of medium mixtures in my propogation class, and so far my best results have been from pure coir, peat or a mix of those with perlite.

BrettG said:

They will just harbor bacteria and mold.

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Why/ How? If the moisture they're absorbing is already there doesn't that mean if any bacteria/mold grow inside them that it would be growing elsewhere in the tank if there were not the crystals? And the bag said it was bacteria and mold resistant, not gonna take that as the word of god but I would prefer if you gave me some reasoning as to why this would happen or personal experience.

---------- Post added 01-25-2012 at 02:39 AM ----------

jakykong said:

If you're talking about Soil Moist brand or something similar, this is basically what water crystals are (and I have had success using it with roaches). I'm not sure that a T would like it, though. Here's my thoughts:

Ts seem to like the substrate compacted somewhat, to be a firm bed, rather than loose dirt. By keeping the substrate loose, it's counteracting any compressing you might have done. Also, It's slippery, almost gel-like when full. Again, doesn't sound like something a T would appreciate walking on.

Really doesn't help much with humidity IMO - my roaches still need spraying twice a week.

And for burrowing Ts, I would expect the texture to be more problematic than with terrestrial/arboreal.

But I haven't tried mixing it with substrate. I'm just extrapolating.

But do tell if you give it a try - I'd love to hear that I'm wrong

Click to expand...

I was thinking I'd do this a few layers underneath the walking sub for my arboreals, that way they wont ever come in contact with the gel, but I never see her on the ground anyway lol. But I do see your point, it doesn't seem like something natural they'd like to come in contact with. I still might test it out. The idea isn't really for raising humidity its for water pooling prevention. Basically what I'm imagining is that Gravity pulls the water down after I mist, the excess water my coco husk can't absorb goes to the bottom and pools up in small pockets. Rather than allow mites or bacteria to get to it the crystals soak it up leaving the bottom free of pools (if they happen) and then I don't mist again until the crystals shrink back down. That is the idea anyway, I will have to test this out before I can say for certain what would happen. I'll probably test it out in a small jar with a sprig of pothos planted in there. A thin layer of crushed ceramic at the bottom then soil mixed with a lot of crystal or maybe even a layer of just crystal then Coconut shred and then eco earth on top with a little pillow moss ontop of that. I'll mist it and perforate it like I would for an avic sling and see if I can maintain humidity properly and how well it works. I have doubts about it harboring bacteria not only because it and it's competitors claim the same thing (at least the non starch based ones) but I asked around some more and visited gardening forums and apparently some people use that gel crap as a soiless planting medium and just fertilize a little less often, no one reported having algae grow inside the gel despite fertilizer being absorbed into the small cubes of gel and (probably aside from plant symbiotic fungus that grows from inside the xylem I believe) no one was complaining about fungus or smells. Since plants and their roots and their fertilizers are all organics and parts of the plant do die I'd assume if the gel was going to harbor bacteria in the tarantula enclosure it would do so in a planter as well. But test will answer those questions, I'll do three jars and maybe even throw in a bolus from one of my guys since every once in a while every keeper misses one and I'll see if the mold, mites, or bacteria from the bolus proliferate in the gel medium.

---------- Post added 01-25-2012 at 02:48 AM ----------

Midknight xrs, This is a little off topic but what is a good sub for Green bottle blues? I have mine in eco earth, which I believe is just really finely ground coconut husk, but he always gets a lot of it in his webs when he hunts and it looks gross, that thick dusting of bedding all over his webs. What is a good heavier sub that I could use that he wont taint his pure white tubes with? I can't do sphangum because I found out that I get rashes on my arms and hands every time I touch it.

BenjaminBoa said:

I was thinking I'd do this a few layers underneath the walking sub for my arboreals, that way they wont ever come in contact with the gel, but I never see her on the ground anyway lol. But I do see your point, it doesn't seem like something natural they'd like to come in contact with. I still might test it out. The idea isn't really for raising humidity its for water pooling prevention. Basically what I'm imagining is that Gravity pulls the water down after I mist, the excess water my coco husk can't absorb goes to the bottom and pools up in small pockets. Rather than allow mites or bacteria to get to it the crystals soak it up leaving the bottom free of pools (if they happen) and then I don't mist again until the crystals shrink back down. That is the idea anyway, I will have to test this out before I can say for certain what would happen.

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If you're misting so much that it pools at the bottom of the coco fiber, it might be prudent to simply mist less.

Having said that, also, the crystals really do hold onto water pretty well. They last in the open air full of water for a good week in my roach enclosure before they dry out in my experience. Maybe coco fiber will wick the water away faster, but it seems to me that the top of the substrate would dry out and need to be misted again before the crystals shrunk back down to size. This, of course, is just speculation at this point - that would require a test, as you proposed.

Like I said, I personally am skeptical that it would be useful, but I'd be glad to be shown evidence pointing the other way

---------- Post added 01-25-2012 at 01:43 AM ----------

BenjaminBoa said:

Midknight xrs, This is a little off topic but what is a good sub for Green bottle blues? I have mine in eco earth, which I believe is just really finely ground coconut husk, but he always gets a lot of it in his webs when he hunts and it looks gross, that thick dusting of bedding all over his webs. What is a good heavier sub that I could use that he wont taint his pure white tubes with? I can't do sphangum because I found out that I get rashes on my arms and hands every time I touch it.

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Potting soil (obviously without chemical additives) seems to be another common substrate. It's certainly heavier than coco fiber - maybe that would suit your needs? It's on page 135-136 of TKG revised edition, if that helps.

I found that the webbing/fiber mix happens less if the coco fiber is tamped down enough. Wet it a bit, tamp it down thoroughly in the enclosure, then let it dry. Worked great for my OBT (although he insists on digging it up and sticking it to the web anyway, it's not an accidental dusting.)