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 #1609299


AllHailRain
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 Coco fiber..

well, as posted on here before i have a problem with crickets laying eggs in my tank, and i noticed little millimeter sized baby crix on last tuesday.
i planned on changing the substrate on friday, because i’m full time college, i don’t always have time.

well, thursday night as i was going to bed at around 2 am and dead tired, i poured water in the dish he was laying next to. ember is a huuuge baby about water, he hates it and runs when i mist the tank or if spill over from bad aim and pouring water in the dish.
Some spilled over on him and he didn’t move at all.
then i moved the hide next to him and nudged him a little bit, and he didn’t move.
on a closer look, i couldn’t make out any breathing movements in his neck/chest area

so i freaked a little, and went to pick him up when he finally blinked and i could see him breathing.
my theory was that the tiny crix were eating him because they eat skin on herps, so in the wee hours of the mourning i’m dumping the dirt and crickets off of the back porch.
i replaced it for the time being with carpet lining, because like i said, it’s 2 am.

ever since then, he has been SO much more active. he’s constantly out of hiding in the tank, which is weird for the whole time i’ve had him..and just a LOT more active.

and i wouldn’t think that, because dirt is more natural.
needless to say, crickets CAN’T lay eggs in it.
and i’m wondering now

how essential is it...?
i know it looks better, but he’s so much more active now.
maybe it’s because it’s also getting hot here..(florida, lol) but i don’t know.

on a side note, i found a dead cricket with poop almost on it but next to it this mourning.
and i’m wondering if he pooped on it on purpose..
XD
made me laugh this mourning..


i think i have lost the ability to write and make it short, lol.



02/04/08  03:32pm

 #1609311


Repfanatic
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   Message To: AllHailRain   In reference to Message Id: 1609299


 Coco fiber..

I use medium crickets for my AFTs for that exact reason. I also only put about 4 in at a time so I know there are not any running loose in the cage. Well, I’m glad he’s fine. That would be a scare.
02/04/08  03:38pm

 #1610089


Smurfzilla
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   Message To: Repfanatic   In reference to Message Id: 1609311


 Coco fiber..

lol.. im glad your little guy is happy. carpet is fine if it works for you.. just watch his mouth.. their mouths can start chafing from low humidity.. but if yours does okay then youll be fine. maybe get a shallow pan and put dirt in it.. then you can just pull it out and dump it?
02/04/08  10:14pm

 #1610860


AllHailRain
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   Message To: Smurfzilla   In reference to Message Id: 1610089


 Coco fiber..

it was a scare for about a minute, so i’m really glad that it’s okay. and he’s been eating about 7-8 a night, i just pluck out the extras in the mourning..but there almost never is.
i’ll see him eat 5-6 at night, leave about 2-3 extras, then i wake up to chirping in the mourning until i hear a crunch while i’m getting ready for school. it works for him, so it works for me.
so none are ever in there for a long time, just overnight at a max.
i wish there was a way to only buy female/male crickets so they couldn’t mate haha.

hmm. well, i have one of those fluker’s humidity/therm guages so i’ve been working on keeping the humidity up the same. i have a humidifier in my room too, which helps.
a shallow pan would work with me, but it’d be difficult to break the eco earth up to only use a little. not impossible though.
but i haven’t had moss in his tank in forever, and i don’t think crix can lay eggs in that.
so i’ll look for spaghum moss and that will keep humidity up too..

but if that’s the only downfall to carpet, then i think it’s well worth my cricket annoyances.
=)
02/05/08  04:26pm

 #1611940


Smurfzilla
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   Message To: AllHailRain   In reference to Message Id: 1610860


 Coco fiber..

lol.. make the whole brick.. i let it sit out to dry out then store my leftovers.
02/06/08  12:26am

 #1612515


AllHailRain
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   Message To: Smurfzilla   In reference to Message Id: 1611940


 Coco fiber..

i tried that the first time i ever made cocofiber stuff, when ember was in a 10gal..so it didn’t use the whole brick and it took a few days and then it started smelling bad so i just threw it out.
it takes a week for it to look fully dry even after i put it in the tank.
lol..i think you said you live up north? it’s really muggy and hot in florida, so i think that may be why it doesn’t work for me. not sure, but it seems like a reasonable explanation.
i’ll figure something out though. i could get mini coco fiber bricks for hermit crabs. that would probably work. :]
02/06/08  03:29pm

 #1614475


Smurfzilla
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   Message To: AllHailRain   In reference to Message Id: 1612515


 Coco fiber..

could always get a screw driver and use it to separate the layers of the brick to use it in pieces.
it gets damp here.. but not too bad.. plus i have a dehumidifier.. so i lay it out in front of it. lol.. works for me
hehe.. when my grandpa first moved to florida he didnt know any better and left his window partially down.. when he came back he had a massive tree frog sitting on his steering wheel. lol
02/07/08  08:28pm

 #1614547


AllHailRain
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   Message To: Smurfzilla   In reference to Message Id: 1614475


 Coco fiber..

i could do it..
that works, but that’s a bit of money that i don’t find necessary to spend if i don’t NEED it.
lol..i’m a poor college kid.

haha that’s funny. frogs and little house geckos live ALL over my boyfriend’s house..i live 3 houses away but i never find them at mine. i don’t know why, but anyway i catch frogs to play with them in the summer time. we’ve found over 10 in about 2 minutes in his front yard. :D

a gecko i caught in high school last year with 2 feet missing that i tried to take care of for 3 weeks (he died i like having lots of animals outside.

south florida, where i used to live, is better though. alligators were occasionally in my front yard...had to be careful with little dogs haha.
02/07/08  09:24pm


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