Uromastyx.org

I'm curious what everyone uses for substrate for their Uromastyx.

I was reading Troys caresheet and just don't know what to try next.

For the past 2 yrs, I've been using playsand. I've decided to replace it because:
A.) its dusty (makes the entire reptile room dusty),
B.) I think having it in there makes the female not want to use her nestbox when she lays (case-in-point as she's laid all over the place the past 2 seasons) and...
C.) I got freaked out over the whole Silicosus thing.
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I tried newspaper and hate it. They smear their feces everywhere (even on their basking rocks, which they never did before), and it looks horrible.
For this reason, I don't want go bare floor either, or slate tiles.

I'm considering going back to a thin layer of sand (maybe an inch or less) just enough that I can sift it.

When I get my Egyptian, I'll try millet on him, since he'll primarily be a display animal anyway. I didn't want to try birdseed on the others since I don't want the risk of it sticking to eggs should they lay in it.

We use millet and really like it for some of the reasons you don't like sand. However, we have not had any females lay viable eggs in it. We may have to cross that bridge next laying season.

The expensive washed play sand from Toys-R-Us is pretty clean and relatively dust free at about 6 bucks a bag.

Tom

Is that your secret Tom? Thanks for sharing.

What about walnut bedding? I'm usually not a fan of it, due its tendency to mold, but my experience with has mostly been with other species. Since Uros obviously don't require a water bowl (consequently, no splashing out and causing mold), it may not be a huge issue.

I mainly just want something siftable. I might browse around Toys-R-Us in the near future. Thanks for the tip, Tom!

Hey Tim funny! LOL. I have to use it because I have terrible dust allergies. It will almost close off my breathing if I breath a lot of it. The toys r us stuff is the best for that.

STAY AWAY FROM THE WALNUT CRAP!!!!!! IT WILL KILL YOUR LIZARDS! IT WILL DEHYDRATE THEM AND IT STICKS TO EVERYTHING! ESPECIALLY DAMP FOOD> IT WILL PLUG UP YOUR URO SOLID. MAN THAT CRAP SHOULD BE BANNED!!!!! terrible stuff!

Tom

Okay....I wasn't keen on it to begin with (price?), so that pretty much establishes walnut as bad.

http://www.homedepot.com/Outdoors-Outdo ... RRWidgetID

I'm using millet and have been liking it so far. No dust or bad smell. It binds to and dries up any fecal matter. My Uros know its food and eat it but they dont pig out on it. The only thing is that I have a showcase that has those front sliding glass doors. The millet gets all on the track and jams up the sliding glass. For that reason I have been looking into repticarpet or some kind of turf. Anyone using any carpets/turfs that they like?

On a side note I used the crushed walnut shells in a bearded dragon cage and he ended up going blind in one eye from it. He got some caught in his eye and tried to scratch it out with his hind legs. Will never use that or a lot of those other "reptile" substrates out there.

I've never heard good things about crushed walnut shells but with that said, I've never used them and cant say from experience that they're bad. I've tried seeds and other stuff. What I've come up with is that there is no PERFECT substrate. It's probably impossible to mimic natural substrate conditions in indoor cages. But it seems that people do have success with mostly 3 substrates:

- Some use seeds, usually millet.
- Some use newspaper/paper towels/or no substrate
- Some use sand/dirt/soil

I've tried most of these and a few others. All have their benefits and drawbacks. Some considerations with substrate is cage type and size. If you have a large cage it might be easier to maintain a more natural substrate. But medium to smaller cages may need materials that are more absorbent, easy to clean, and will not impact digestion or health. Some examples of cage types influencing substrate choices might be that deep trough or Rubbermaid cages hold seeds well and front opening (glass door) cages work well with newspaper type.

My favorites are dirt/soil for larger cages and larger animals and no substrate for smaller cages/smaller animals. Fortunately for me out here in Arizona we have gravely, sandy, desert soil that's perfect and easy to replace when cleaning.

My substrate choice is somewhat based on my cage type. I utilize one of those two tiered ferrt caes that have the ramps and bottom area,, with two basking platforms. Contrary to popular belief, I have no trouble keeping temps up and it excellent for allowing window light from my sunroom in the cage and allowing for easy cool downs, when brumateing. There is also optimal ventilation.

Anyway, I uses natural slate tiles, stacked two high, with the middle tile slightly overlapping the other two. I use these on the basking platforms, b/c they can be easily pulled out, if soiled and run through a dishwasher or soaked to sterilize and having another layer underneath, means clean tiles right away, if I am in a hurry. I like to have a few dozen on hand, so that I can replace them and save the soiled ones until I have enough to either soak or run through the dishwasher alone. I removes any large fecal remnants, before washing them in the dishwasher, but one could just scrub them under hot water. They are eaisly spot cleaned with a bit of white vinegar and a paper towel also. These tiles heat up niceley, can be used to feed the lizards on and keep the nails trim, they are even suitable to use as hides, if propped above 2 stable objects underneath.

That is just the baking platforms. My hope is that the lizards will want to avoid pooing where they bask and will utilize the bottom of the cage for pooing and here I use Carefresh. It is a shredded cardborad like stuff that soaks up moisture, does not illicit ingestion, and is eaisly scooped out and replaced. It is dustfree for the most part and was asuccess when used with my beardies, though admittedly they failed to follow my thought process and avoid pooing on the tiles...lol One large back will go a long way and it makes clean-up a snap. It is not the cheapest, but you can get some form thatpetplace.com for 6$ a bag or so. There are similar products, by other manufactuers that are just fine...Kaytee brand comes to mind and might be easier to find.