Hello, I'm new here as you can probably tell from my post count and unfamiliar name, but I have some questions on ZooMed Excavator Clay. I had bought it a while ago (in the summer, I think) and was wondering what peoples experiences are with the stuff. As of right now I built a small little hill with rocks in it on the warm side of the terrarium. Picture is below. Please, do not comment on the sand or thermometer. I will be getting rid of the sand permanently by this weekend (hopefully) and replacing it with tile. I will also be getting a "probe thermometer" instead of the sticky junk. If anyone has any thoughts on the Excavator Clay, I'd be more than happy to listen or try stuff out. The tank is an old aquarium and is approximately 30 gallons although pretty skinny. A lot of the gallons are lost to height but that just leaves me room to do a multi-level structure of some sort. Thanks for reading. :wink: EDIT: Also, I forgot to mention that the lack of a humid hide is not a mistake and will be put back in when he gets closer to shedding (just shed a week or two ago).
The idea is, if the subsrate is loose, it's a bad idea. It's hard to tell from the pictures if the Excavator Clay is loose or solid, I'll guess somewhere inbetween. I don't know, I wouldn't risk it. However cool and interesting it looks.
Just wondering, but what made you change your opinion/post? But, it is pretty solid and I doubt the gecko can make any of it come loose (maybe on small corners) since I can't remove it without getting it wet first.
Re: RE: ZooMed Excavator Clay I was unsure of it's consistancy, I still am. I thoguht it was alot portpartical/sand like at first. But I guess if it stays solid enough for it not to be broken apart and ingested, I guess it's a low risk.
RE: Re: RE: ZooMed Excavator Clay I tried this stuff a long time ago and hated it. If it gets wet it turns muddy, if it gets too dry its like rock. Despite what the bag said, I'm not convinced anything but a serious burrowing lizard could dig into this stuff. My leo had trouble with it and eventually wouldn't leave his hide. I have no idea how you could clean it and it took forever to scrape it out when I decided to get rid of it. Probably not the best substrate for a leopard gecko.
RE: Re: RE: ZooMed Excavator Clay No idea personally but I see a few things that come to mind. 1) It is activated by water...all it would take is some spilled water, a leo crawling on it who just left its humid hide or an increase in humidity and you would have a problem. It might not come cascading down but it would get muddy and then--- 2) I am not convinced it can't cause impaction, even if it hardens the outer edges will come lose with time, especially in the above scenario. That is not even considering that if it did cause impaction it would be impossible to get out with its cement like properties, imagine if you poured cement in your throat and then downed it with some water chasers...yaaa.... 3) It looks ridiculously difficult to clean, especially if attached to the tank and even more so since it cannot be scrubbed with water. 4) It might claim to be eco friendly but something tells me anything that has those cement like properties like that still might not be so “eco” if consumed. There has to be some sort of chemical at play to harden it to that degree. Anyway those are just my thoughts and it is your critter...but I wouldn't do it.
RE: Re: RE: ZooMed Excavator Clay Welcome Nefarial! And welcome to your leo. If you do a search you'll find more information about the excavator clay. An old member hear (Jayhawkbruce) actually had an interesting thread about his experiences. I'll relate what I've learned from that thread and others that have come out over the years that I've been here... 1. It can be ingested. It is not a solid substrate (even when "cemented" and dried). Jayhawkbruce relayed that when he had it in his tank his leo had it in her poop. This means she was able to pass some of it, but can you imagine the trouble it would cause if you had a big clump of it? Fluffy is right about pouring cement down your throat, ick! 2. It can NOT be used with an under tank heater. I'd be pretty weary of using it with heat lamps as well if that's how you provide your heat because drying it out is going to make it flake and crumble, which makes it more of a risk for impaction. 3. It is a PAIN to clean and it raises general cage humidity. It holds water, urates, poop, and anything else that gets in there. The only real way to clean it is to just trash IMO. So, I agree with the others, not that great of a substrate and especially unnatural and inappropriate for leopard geckos.
RE: Re: RE: ZooMed Excavator Clay Here is a post with an extensive review of the product. Hope this helps. http://www.reptilerooms.com/forumtopic-58031.html
RE: Re: RE: ZooMed Excavator Clay Alright, thanks for the helpful replies everyone. I've decided to get rid of it and maybe just put it in some other random unused tank for catching newts/snakes in the summer (temporary, don't worry). I may even just make up the batch of clay stuff and pour it in between two of my sheds outside and make a small little habitat thing for anything. I've decided to just go with beige coloured tiles and I may make a small little area in the tank where my gecko can not get to where crickets can have food and water. (I know I shouldn't leave crickets in there for too long, but I do leave them in there for a little bit so he has time to catch them as he has a dish full of mealworms constantly ready) Does anyone know which type of tile is best? Ceramic, slate?
RE: Re: RE: ZooMed Excavator Clay Everyone has their favorite, so I'm sure you'll get opinions on both. I'm going to suggest ceramic tiles because they are fired. This means that they are easier to clean out and are not porous like slate is. Any water, urates, poop, or cleaning materials that are exposed to slate tiles will get absorbed. Either one should work though, so it's up to you.
RE: Re: RE: ZooMed Excavator Clay i tried useing it for my desert horned vipers as they like to steal the burrows of lizards and i simply hated the stff worst $12 i ever spent it got my tank dirty it fell apart and then the little hard peices were just laying around in my snakes sand so i had to completly take out all the sand and sit there for like a half hour of sifting the hard clay out befor i went to the store to get a new bag of sand evil stuff if i say so
