Substrates for Ebenaui?

[Saurian]

Couldnt find anything in a search in past post so I posted again. Sorry. WHat substrates does everyone use? Home-made or commercial? Anyone use that stuff you can get at pet smart call Jungle FLoor or something that is like a mix of soil, sand, vermiculite,etc. I use bed a beast and have been for a while now. I use the brick but have used the pre-expanded bag that doesnt hold water well at all compared to the brick. Thanks.

 

[Poimandres]

I prefer to create my own mix for the substrate media. I use any coir based medium (i.e. Zoo Med's Eco Earth, Exo-Terra Plantation Soil), mixed in with a bit of worm castings (for plant nutrients), and charcoal (for better drainage). This is placed over a drainage layer, I use hydraton in my ebenaui viv and a fine screen fiberglass mesh sheet over the hydraton balls to keep the substrate out of the drainage layer. Over the substrate media I place leaf litter.

The goal is to find something that retains some moisture but drains well so as not to get bogged up hence why coir based mixes are the way to go. Peet or any type of potting soill mix will generally break down too fast in more humid enclosures.