Sand as substrate

Back to the old controversy of sand as substrate. I still see pictures of tanks with play sand in them. I would love to see opinions as to what is the best substrate.

We use sand mixed with topsoil as a substrate.



Find that it works very well.

I have used play sand in the past for adults who are not fed in the cage. I think if used in that way it is fine, but I find that it gets smelly very fast even if you scoop everyday and it makes tanks heavy and is harder to dispose of....especialy if you live up stairs!

Right now I've been using care fresh bedding for almost all my lizards and snakes. It is easy to spot clean and dosn't get smelly if you keep up with messes...it is a bit dusty though, wouldn't be good for sensitive eyes. Burrowing reptiles love it, and its light and easy to carry up the stairs.

I've been using birdseed (no whole sunflowers) for my Uro's and highly recomend it for them. They tend to eat substrate anyway, and it coats poops so they are less messy to remove.

Thanks Dan for all the nice pictures! Makes me feel so jealous looking at the great wood you have in your tanks and all I can get is garbage!
I have been using white millet, but the sand looks so nice in the pictures.

Thanks for the help,
Candy

In the terrarium where my U. acanthinura live in I use playsand, combined with rocks. (about 70% of the bottom is covered with sand)



In the terrarium in which my U. ocellata live the amount of sand is about 10%. The other 90 % is rock and a sort of gravel (6-15 mm) with a red colour.

Hi everyone, I just joined the site. Here is what I use for substrate. The yellow stuff is Hulled Millet seed and the center is sand and rocks. I think the more rocks the better. The Millet works great cuz they can eat it and it is dust free and non allergenic.




Here are some pics of my uros.

I have kept my three Uro's on playsand for quite sometime. I have not encountered any impactions or problems. Recently I purchased some pool filtration sand(Home Depot...about 4 dollars for a fifty pound bag) It is a little more coarse than playsand, however, there is a significant decrease in the amount of dust with the pool filtration sand.

Just my two cents(tax not included)


Best regards,

Carson Grindstaff

what you really need to look at is a grain of sand. Check if it has square edges and corners. That is the type of sand that will likely cause impactions. I have had my uro in that type of sand for approx 18months with no prpblems. I don't use it anymore though.

Hey Gromph Baenre, do you have any pictures of you uros or the enclosure?

Jeff,
My apologies for not replying in a more prompt manner. I have pictures of all my babies and their enclosures. I have got to get the pictures sized down a bit in order to post them. BTW, your enclosures look absolutely spectacular. I am sure your Uro's are most appreciative of your efforts. Those are some fine looking geyri's. I will post my pics in a while. Happy Herping.

Best regards,

Carson

Looking foward to it.