HI Everybody, I recently moved my green anole from a smaller enclosure to a larger enclosure. The anole has been in the new enclosure for about two weeks now. I have sterilized potting soil substrate with one live plant (midget palm) in the enclosure. The substrate is approximately 3 inches deep at the deep end and tapers to about 1.5 inches on the shallow end. I have both a UVB and heat lamp running 10 hours on, 10 hours off and an UTH on the shallow end. Within the enclosure are two of those fake, bendable branch thingies for the anole to crawl on. Internal temps range from 85 degrees on the warm end to mid 70s on the low end. I mist the tank approx 3-5 times daily and allow juvenile crickets to roam free within the tank with a "Cricket Yummy" packet placed into the tank with the crickets. All crickets are dusted prior to placement and I substitute mealworms and other creepy crawlies from time to time for variety. Now that you have some background info, here's my question. =) Since operating this tank, I have noticed a "sour" almost "pee-like" smell coming from the tank. It's not an overwhelming smell, but I didn't notice the smell in the old tank. The variables I've changed between the two tanks were the substrate change from a sandy substrate to the potting soil, adding the mini palm and using the "Cricket Yummies" food packet to feed the crickets which roam around the enclosure. I have smell tested the soil, palm and "Yummy" packet and it smells like the soil is the culprit. The anole seems fine, but I am worried about a bacterial/ fungal infection of the soil. I have thought about decreasing my misting and even adding in a tablespoon of baking soda sprinkled onto the soil to bring the pH of the soil down. (I am assuming the smell is due to increased pH build up from the breaking down of the soil within the enclosure. I'm afraid if I decrease misting the ambient humidity within the enclosure will drop. As it is, my hygrometer shows humidity within normal levels. Any ideas? Thanks and take care. =) Tom
It is probably that your soil is staying too moist, I've noticed that if I let mine get too wet it smells bad, and if I let it dry out some, and just mist the glass for a few days instead of the soil and everything that helps I hope you were able to get it to stop smelling
That's a good idea...DUH! Wetting the glass INSTEAD of the soil is a great idea...One of those ideas that if they were a snake... Well, you know the old saying... =) I figured the soil was too moist, but it didn't dawn on me to spray the glass instead of the soil itself. (That's where the DUH comes in) The hygrometer says the humidity within the tank is about 75%. I'm not entirely sure where the humidity level should be (I'll research on the web to find that out next), but knew I should spritz the tank from time to time to keep it up. Thanks for the reply... Again, it's one of those "obvious" things that you just don't realize sometimes. :? Take care, Tom
