Repeat Russian Q from long ago

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Posted by LauraO on May 22, 2001 at 13:27:22:

Hi. I never got a response last time, so here it goes again! My Russians, sad to say, are kept mostly indoors (and yes, I make sure they get plenty of UVB and change the bulb regularly). They are kept in a large, plastic tub,and up until now, have been on newspaper because they were treated for pinworms. They keep coming up negative these days,so things are looking promising for trying out hibernation next year. I need advice on substrates. I wanted to do a combo of sand & dry peat so they could burrow, but too much will make the tub difficult to carry, and thorough substrate cleaning will be a major pain. Are there other, lighter substrates that could work? If so, can I leave a laying pan with slightly moistened sand and expect them to use it, rather than bury the eggs in the substrate? If THAT is so, where should I put the pan? How close to the heat source? Should I leave it within any vicinity of the incandescent bulb used for heat, or should it be far away, or near the bulb but under a hidespot for privacy (like a fake shrub perhaps)? How about air temp around the laying box?

Follow Ups:

Re: Repeat Russian Q from long ago Alex Dempsey 05/23/01 (2)
- Re: Repeat Russian Q from long ago LauraO 05/23/01 (1)
  - Re: Repeat Russian Q from long ago Alex Dempsey 05/24/01 (0)
Re: Repeat Russian Q from long ago tcc 05/23/01 (0)
Re: Repeat Russian Q from long ago Eric T 05/22/01 (2)
- Re: Repeat Russian Q from long ago LauraO 05/23/01 (1)
  - Re: Repeat Russian Q from long ago Alex Dempsey 05/24/01 (0)

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: Hi. I never got a response last time, so here it goes again! My Russians, sad to say, are kept mostly indoors (and yes, I make sure they get plenty of UVB and change the bulb regularly). They are kept in a large, plastic tub,and up until now, have been on newspaper because they were treated for pinworms. They keep coming up negative these days,so things are looking promising for trying out hibernation next year. I need advice on substrates. I wanted to do a combo of sand & dry peat so they could burrow, but too much will make the tub difficult to carry, and thorough substrate cleaning will be a major pain. Are there other, lighter substrates that could work? If so, can I leave a laying pan with slightly moistened sand and expect them to use it, rather than bury the eggs in the substrate? If THAT is so, where should I put the pan? How close to the heat source? Should I leave it within any vicinity of the incandescent bulb used for heat, or should it be far away, or near the bulb but under a hidespot for privacy (like a fake shrub perhaps)? How about air temp around the laying box?

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