# Amount of substrate



## Feyotter (Feb 9, 2017)

Please help, I think I'm going to go crazy if I don't figure this out. Whether I use eco earth, or cypress mulch, or a mix of sand and soil and peat moss as the substrate, I must be looking at this wrong because 9 inches deep in a 4by8 enclosure seems to be about 24 cubic feet and eco earth (for example) is about $34 for 48 quarts and at that rate it would be hundreds of dollars to get 24 cubic feet! I must be doing the math wrong! So, to boil it down to its simplest terms - how many bags of a 48 quart bag will I need for a 4 by 8 enclosure? Also, and I know I'm opening a can of worms, but would eco earth be good for a tegu or should I go with something else? Thanks for any help you might be able to send my way!


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## Feyotter (Feb 10, 2017)

Feyotter said:


> Please help, I think I'm going to go crazy if I don't figure this out. Whether I use eco earth, or cypress mulch, or a mix of sand and soil and peat moss as the substrate, I must be looking at this wrong because 9 inches deep in a 4by8 enclosure seems to be about 24 cubic feet and eco earth (for example) is about $34 for 48 quarts and at that rate it would be hundreds of dollars to get 24 cubic feet! I must be doing the math wrong! So, to boil it down to its simplest terms - how many bags of a 48 quart bag will I need for a 4 by 8 enclosure? Also, and I know I'm opening a can of worms, but would eco earth be good for a tegu or should I go with something else? Thanks for any help you might be able to send my way!


Someone please help, I will be getting my enclosure made in about a week.


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## TheWonderer (Feb 13, 2017)

Eco-earth is too expensive for it to be reasonable as a substrate for anything bigger than a 40 gallon breeder. I spent almost $158 on that **** and barely filled up my enclosure. You pay too much for it when you could use a good mix of sand and top soil. I think Cypress mulch is good too. 

I can't tell you how much you will need but I would go over the amount you think you will need because having too much substrate is never a bad thing. Trust me on this... Also, it will vary from bag to bag.


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## beantickler (Feb 15, 2017)

haha when you figure it out let me know cause i spend around 250 every 2-3 months... I only have it in an area around 4ft x 3ft though just for his little den... I run 100% cypress from petco...


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## Feyotter (Feb 16, 2017)

beantickler said:


> haha when you figure it out let me know cause i spend around 250 every 2-3 months... I only have it in an area around 4ft x 3ft though just for his little den... I run 100% cypress from petco...


Ouch! Too pricy for me! I'm going to go with a mixture of topsoil, sand and some moss to a depth of 6-7 inches which would be about 20 cubic feet. At Home Depot they have 1 cubic foot bags of topsoil for around $2 and bags of play sand for about the same so I should be able to spend about $40 for an adequate amount of substrate. So the only question is what ratio between soil and sand?


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## TheWonderer (Feb 16, 2017)

That's been my question for so long...


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## Feyotter (Feb 16, 2017)

TheWonderer said:


> That's been my question for so long...


I don't suppose you ever got an answer? Lol


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## TheWonderer (Feb 16, 2017)

I think I came out on 75% top soil to 25% sand but that could be off slightly.


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## Feyotter (Feb 16, 2017)

TheWonderer said:


> I think I came out on 75% top soil to 25% sand but that could be off slightly.


Thank you very much!


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## TheWonderer (Feb 16, 2017)

Maybe do 33% sand or so bc it might depend on quality. Also, check to be sure no harmful chemicals are in there for plant growth. 

Personally, I still need to implement this for my boy.


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## Feyotter (Feb 16, 2017)

TheWonderer said:


> Maybe do 33% sand or so bc it might depend on quality. Also, check to be sure no harmful chemicals are in there for plant growth.
> 
> Personally, I still need to implement this for my boy.


Actually the higher percentage of sand would also be good because I got my tegu from TegusOnly in Florida, and the soil down there is very sandy. And the soil from Home Depot is a children's play sand so it's washed and has no chemicals of any kind added to it.


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