substrate for fire skink

i don't know much about different substrates since i used paper towel on my gecko. i'm not comfortable using sand. what's good to use?

thanks

I use Repti-Bark (I think) for Splink the Skink. He likes it, but it doesn't hold moisture too well.

I would cypress mulch, Eco-earth (or bed-a-beast, plantation soil...whatever its called these days), or repti-bark.

I agree, but the thing about the bedabeast-type stuff, at least in my house, is that it seems to attract gnats. Skinks don't need super-high humidity; I keep mine around 40%. I've found that whenever I use any 'dirt' substrate, I have to change it all the time because I get lots of little gnats in it.

With the repti-bark, I haven't had the problem. I use some sphagnum moss and some fake plants to help keep the humidity up, because the bark isn't too absorbent and it dries out pretty quickly. Spraying the bark and the fake plants once a day seems to do the trick.

Also, my skink likes to burrow and hide beneath the substrate. Bark is a little cleaner for him to do so than 'dirt'.

my husband reminded me that i didn't ask about aspen. is that a good substrate?

I've never tried it but I am sure it would be fine. Just remember to spray it down. I use a huge water dish, too, to help with humidity and provide a pool. Splink doesn't swim too often, but once in a while he'll do a couple laps.

my husband was talking about picking up one of those terra cotta bottoms for potted plants and using that as a water dish/pool.

glad to see that I can use aspen...I've got 2 gerbils so it's always around

I use organic potting soil and have never had gnats and it never smells bad, and I live in SE Texas, aka, gnat capital of the world. Fire skinks are burrowers, so you need a substrate that they can completely bury themselves in and that isn't scratchy so that it damages their scales. I do dump the soil every few months, but you should do that with any substrate.