Arcadia Reptile ‘EarthMix’ has been designed by experts to be the ultimate choice in safe and effective ‘Bio-Active’ vivarium and terrarium substrate.
EarthMix is a clean, safe to use, mineral-rich Bio-Active ready substrate which, unlike other substrates available on the market, has no non-natural particles that could lead to impaction. Having the correct mix ‘ratios’ between ‘Mineral’ and ‘Organics’ helps to support the vital custodian species used in Bio-Active systems.
Arcadia Reptile EarthPro-EarthMix is full of ‘Organic Goodness’ and can be thought of as being ‘pre-fed’. This means that custodians can be added in from day one and will start to thrive. If you want to further support your custodians, you can use EarthPro-CustodianFuel.
EarthMix can be used with any species of Reptile, Amphibian and Invertebrate, are Custodian ready and will sustain incredible plant growth. It is so versatile and we have used it successfully with snakes, lizards, frogs and salamanders at Arcadia Reptile HQ.
It can be sprayed down regularly for those species requiring a little higher humidity, or you can just limit your misting to one area for species that come from drier environments, as this will create a small area of humidity should your reptile choose. We have seen lots of new behaviours shown by the reptiles we use it on that we haven’t seen before. For example, trinket snakes will make tunnels and burrow through it and eyed lizards will love digging in it. In this way it helps us to create enriching environments for our exotic pets.
Bio-Active is the term used to describe a live ecosystem. These systems have become extremely popular over the last few years and for good reason. Bio-Active system not only look better to the keeper but they provide enrichment, essential vitamin, mineral and gutflora benefits to the live occupants of the vivaria.
Bio-Active systems will usually be live planted and these plants will need food, water, airflow and light to flourish. Using the Arcadia Jungle Dawn LED plant growth system will greatly increase light levels and PAR inside of your system and encourage plant growth.
A ‘clean-up crew’ of microfauna can be easily bought and added to the EarthMix. These small inverts will not only help to keep the soil turned and aerated but they will convert animal waste back into assessable plant food. We suggest that 3 tubs are added to a 2-4’ wide system on day one and one pot added per month after that.
Arcadia Reptile EarthMix has been tested extensively for safety, in fact it provides essential full spectrum vitamins and minerals to reptiles if ingested in small amounts, as happens in the wild. We must however look to the wild environments of the pets that we keep. If we provide heat and light including UVB to the wild level as part of the light and shade method the risk of impaction is removed.
Sick or very old animals should not be kept in these systems without the advice of a vet first.
Find out more about our range and the D3 cycle on our educational video page.