Reddit reviews 3LBS Medium Water absorbing crystal,polymer, soil moist, Insect Water
We found 10 Reddit comments about 3LBS Medium Water absorbing crystal,polymer, soil moist, Insect Water. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Non-Toxic - Will not harm your insects or the pets which eat the insects.Keep plants hydrated1-2mm Crystal sizeMay fortified with calcium infused liquid to make calcium fortified water crystals.Made in USA by Tasty Worms Nutrition Inc
Polymer crystals
Yeah, those Zilla kits all are pretty much terrible. You're better off not using a kit at all actually, since they are way overpriced compared to buying/making the things you need individually.
Definitely go for the 20 gallon long tank. That size tank is actually ideal for a single adult leopard gecko. Instead of the lights, you'll want to heat the tank with an under tank heater under one side that is controlled with a thermostat. That's not optional, since a UTH can get very hot if it isn't controlled. I use the Hydrofarm thermostat, and recommend it. It certainly isn't the best out there, but it does its job and you can't beat the price. Be sure to have a digital thermometer that can read the actual surface of your gecko's substrate, not the little ones that stick on the glass. A thermometer with a probe alongside an infrared temp gun works wonders.
I'd personally also ditch the reptile carpet for tile as well, since my guy kept snagging his toes and jaws on the carpet and the tile is a breeze to clean, but if yours does fine with the carpet it should work fine, just don't use sand. Be sure to have three hides: one on the cool end of the tank, one on the warm end, and a humid one. Exo Terra is my personal favorite for hides, but store brand ones work fine, or you could even make your own.
I can't really say how old your gecko is without pictures, but if you got it from a pet store it's probably pretty young. Be sure you dust its food with calcium and vitamins. Vitamin D3 is particularly important. Repashy Calcium Plus is great, since it's an all-in-one powder, but I know alternating Repti-Cal and Reptivite works as well.
Crickets are a great thing for it to eat actually, better than mealworms. However, variety is always nice, but I don't have a lot of tips on getting a gecko to try new foods since mine isn't picky. Dubia roaches, if you can get over the ick factor, make an even better feeder than crickets, and phoenix worms and Calci-Worms are also great options. I'd stick to feeding your gecko as much as it can eat in a night if it's a baby. You do need to catch and remove any crickets that aren't eaten in 15-30 minutes. I always try to corner them and grab them one at a time, even if that can take a while.
Also, be sure you're gutloading crickets before feeding them as well. Basically, feed them nutritious food before feeding them to your gecko. I recommend either Bug Burger or Cricket Crack, but there are a lot of options out there. Toss in some bits of carrot, potatoes, greens, or fruit as well, or use some gel polymer to keep them hydrated.
Sorry for the massive wall of text, but hopefully this helps! Good luck with your little buddy!
My suggested items to bring.
I'm hoping you already planned on the bags, but you're gonna want them compared to pissing and shitting into an empty bucket.
The kitty litter is obvious. It absorbs moisture and clumps shit together. Good for poo. Bad for the volume of peeing you do. Scoop some on top post shit.
The water crystals are for the pee. throw some water crystals in the bottom of the bag to absorb the piss.
The carpet deodorizer is pretty smelling baking soda. Sprinkle that on top to help with any stink.
This is the best bang for your buck, though yes you can use the Miracle-grow crystals.
Mom found some asparagus seeds last year and wanted to plant them. I checked a few local sites and most suggested that they would not grow very well in our Texas (8b) weather. But, we had some spare soil and containers so we gave it a shot.
We planted a few seeds in small seedling trays. When they were a few inches tall we transplanted four of them to 5 gallon containers in a mushroom compost and top soil mixture, with a little fertilizer mixed in. I was going to chunk the tiny one but Mom saved it and threw it into a 2-liter bottle that had been cut in half, with the same soil mixture. We did nothing but water them, and once or twice fertilize them with a little watered down epsom salt. They grew really well, even the tiny one I was going to throw away.
We didn't bring them inside for the winter, just cut the tops down to about 1 inch and covered it with mushroom compost and some more fertilizer. In January they started popping up shoots, except for one that seemed to have died until a couple of weeks ago. Still not sure it will survive, but it has put out a couple of puny shoots.
She didn't want to put them in the ground permanently yet, since the spot where she wants them is in front of an old shed in her back yard that is going to get remodeled this year. So I bought some cheap 15 gallon containers from the little hippy garden center I shop at.
We transplanted them yesterday. We used the same soil mixture, but threw in about 2 Tbsp of those water absorbing crystals.
They have grown extremely well since the new shoots started coming up. The biggest plant it already almost three feet tall and the thickest shoot is almost as thick as a standard AA battery. I'm not sure she will be able to wait until next year to start harvesting. Actually I am not sure if she is supposed to wait until the beginning of the fourth year, or if she can begin harvesting in the third year.
Next year we'll put them in the ground permanently and hopefully she'll have fresh asparagus for the next 15-20 years. Anyone got any tips, or warnings, for growing these in zone 8b?
I've been looking for these commercially for a bit, and have found these. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0051V40AO/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1426168201&sr=8-1&keywords=water+absorbing+crystals&dpPl=1&dpID=51HKei-0L4L&ref=plSrch&pi=AC_SX200_QL40
Make sure your soil has plenty of vermiculite or pearlite; over-watering and soil aeration is a problem I might expect.
Under-watering is another scenario I might expect. To help with that, you can use something like this, but don't over-do it! Basically, this absorbs excess water, and expands several times it size. When the soil around it dries, it slowly releases water.
edit: This is almost cheating, but ... use about 1/2 teaspoon per gallon of water of this, if used with every watering. If only fertilized every 1-2 weeks, you can go as high as 2-teaspoons, but no more! It lasts forever, low maintenance, and produces amazing results.
Non-mobile: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0051V40AO/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1426168201&sr=8-1&keywords=water+absorbing+crystals&dpPl=1&dpID=51HKei-0L4L&ref=plSrch&pi=AC_SX200_QL40
^That's ^why ^I'm ^here, ^I ^don't ^judge ^you. ^PM ^/u/xl0 ^if ^I'm ^causing ^any ^trouble. ^WUT?
OP, there's a polymer that absorbs 100x its weight in liquids and it's used in haz mat products and many other products today.
It's reusable. This one absorbs 10x its weight in water.
Unless I'm mistaken (I could be) this is the same stuff.
https://www.amazon.com/Medium-absorbing-crystal-polymer-Insect/dp/B0051V40AO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1465923779&sr=8-2&keywords=gardening+water+crystals
It's ridiculously absorbent. Whether putting it on the bottom of your fridge is a good idea, you won't know for sure until you try.