Which substrate is the best for my BTS?

[Susann]

The answer can depend on which species skink you have, and what the conditions are like where you live.
So I've broken down some of the more common ones used with reptiles.

Note that when you put your skink on a new substrate, even if it’s a perfectly safe one, you have to watch both your skink and your skink’s poop for any signs that he may be eating it!

Substrates that are fine to use:

Wood
Avoid pine or cedar as they have scented oils in them that can cause irritation.
Can be purchased as reptile specific or in garden supply stores. Either one can at times contain small bugs (usually harmless), and if you are uneasy about adding bugs to your tank you can either bake it in the oven (at 250 F for a minimum of 10 minutes but up to an hour) or freeze it for one month prior to use.

• Aspen is good, but use the shaved rather than the shredded as the shreds have been known to get under eyelids and cause harm when skinks are burrowing. Can also be found in the form of small chips.

• Cypress is good, comes in mulch and bark form, is carried under various names –-Forest Floor among them.

• Fir is good, most often you’ll find this under the brand name ReptiBark or with the more generic name of either orchid bark or orchid mulch.

The different wood substrates are probably the most popular because it’s lightweight, fairly inexpensive, good humidity retention, and skinks’ ability to burrow in most of them.

Coconut
• Comes in the form of bark, husk, or soil, carried under many brand names, Eco Earth and Tropical Soil among them.

Coconut products retain moisture very well.

Paper
• Comes in many forms such as: shavings, pieces, shreds, crinkles, pellets, and cotton-like fluff. Carefresh is one common brand.

Paper is generally not among the more popular substrates due to it’s tendency to get soggy or fall apart when wet, and it is one of the worst (if not THE worst) for humidity retention.

Sand
• Use playground sand as the grains tend to be rounder and not as scratchy.

Sand is one of the substrates plagued with controversy due to claims that it can cause impaction. I don’t necessarily want to take sides on this, however, my opinion is that the individual grains of sand are much smaller than any of the particles in the popular wood substrates, and therefore, in small amounts, would pass through your skink with ease.
Grains of sand, if ingested in small amounts, also do not adhere to each other or clump together making a solid obstruction that is impassable by your skink.
If you are using sand, we would advise you to either feed outside of the tank, or put down something under the dish so food does not fall onto the sand causing your skink to ingest a lot of it sticking to the food.

Sand retains heat very well and moisture moderately well, but it is extremely heavy and very labor intensive.
If you are uneasy about the impaction risk then avoid it.

Dirt/Soil
• You need to be very careful getting dirt from outdoors as it can contain pests, fertilizers, debris, waste, toxins (like pesticides or weed killers), or parasites and microorganisms.

• If you buy peat moss or potting soil from a store you need to read the packaging to avoid soil already mixed with fertilizers, Perlite or vermiculite, and toxins like pesticides or herbicides.

Soil retains heat and moisture very well but is heavy.

Moss
• Can be purchased as reptile specific or in garden supply stores. Either one can at times contain small bugs (usually harmless), and if you are uneasy about adding bugs to your tank you can either bake it in the oven (at 250 F for 1 hour) or freeze it for one month prior to use.

• Sphagnum moss should periodically be dried out by baking it at 250 F for 1 hour.

Moss retains moisture very well.

Any of the above substrates (except for paper) can be mixed together to achieve the look and results you desire.

The species that come from either Indonesia or Papua New Guinea (Indonesian –-T. gigas gigas, Merauke –-T. gigas evanescens, Kei Island –-T. gigas keyensis, and Irian Jaya –-T. sp) generally require higher humidity than the species from Australia, so if you own an IJ or one of the gigas species it is safest to avoid aspen and any of the paper substrates, and stick with one, or a mix, of the ones that retain moisture well.

Carpet
• Reptile carpet, comes in various colors and sizes, tends to prohibit bacterial and mold growth –-this protectiveness wears off the more you wash it.

• Astroturf, inexpensive, watch out for unraveling edges, can be hard to clean.

• Outdoor carpet, rigid, can be hard to clean.

Skinks obviously cannot burrow in carpet, and may instead crawl underneath it.


Substrates to AVOID

Alfalfa pellets
• Should be used with care. They are often too dense and heavy for skinks to burrow in, and they break down when wet, crumbling to the bottom creating a layer that can encourage bacterial growth.

Corn cob and walnut litter
• Both are indigestible and therefore a risk for impaction. Nonabsorbent.

Indoor/House carpet
• Skinks’ claws can stick to the pile causing damage, rigid, extremely hard to clean.

Pine, cedar, and any other highly fragrant woods or barks.

Calcium sand
• The package may state that calcium carbonate is perfectly safe for your reptile to consume, but continually licking the digestible sand can lead to hypercalcemia and, among other things, inability to digest food, extreme pain, muscle weakness, lethargy, kidney and renal failure, and death.

Cat litter
• Tends to be extremely dehydrating. Can be toxic. Can also cause impaction due to the clumping factor when wet. It can be dusty, causing eye and respiratory infections.

Clay litter
• Impaction risk due to clumping factor.

Gravel
• Rocks small enough for skinks to swallow pose a great impaction risk due to their weight. Nonabsorbent.

If I have forgotten to mention something, please PM me.

[Susann]

I figured I would copy this topic into the General Discussion forum so we could get some comments on it; I'd like to hear your experiences with what has worked for you and why.

[Dakota]

Awesome thread. I would like to point out that if you choose to buy orchid bark, make sure it is fir! Some orchid bark brands are made out of pine. I currently use orchid bark as a base, but I also have about 1-2 gallons of sphagnum moss per cage. I am going to switch to semi-bioactive soon.

[Nae]

I have kept Zeke on paper pellets from the moment I got him and have had no issues whatsoever~

However he is a desert species - So of course the less humidity it holds the better! Its cheap (especially since I live in an isolated area) and easy to spot clean as I just have a solid scoop and just remove the entire wetted area.

Look wise its ok - But ultimately I do plan on swapping to a more natural substrate to go with all the rock and fake plant work I want to put into his new enclosure~

[splashy07]

I keep my Northerns on a paper product also, it's the generic edition of 'desert snow' which seems to be a bit less dusty and more attractive than the carefresh types. I like it better than the aspen for dust reasons (I have horrific allergies) and the fact that there are no sharp tiny shreds that may get into places they shouldn't. Very easy to spot clean because it is white and soiled areas are easy to find.

[Jbolar]

I have housed the Northerns on both Cypress and shredded aspen. and I'll usually swap out based on the animals needs. Some like the aspen more some like the Cypress more. so i have a split in the house. and utilize both.

as far as the gigas species go they all are on shredded cypress mulch.

[Canidae]

This was very helpful and informative to me!!! I now have a better grasp of what substrate to get depending on the skink I choose! Thank you for posting this!

[TheGeezer]

My Merauke, Gojira, has been on cypress mulch. I have only had her for about two months, but so far I have seen no issues. It is pretty easy to retain moisture, I keep her enclosure at around 60% most of the time just by misting it in the morning and the evenings.

She burrows fine in it and has had no issues that I have seen.

The one thing I saw with cypress mulch is that because it retains humidity well, if you leave any food in the substrate it is easy for mold to grow. I encountered that pretty quickly when I missed some greens after a feeding and they began to rot.

I spot clean her cage daily, sifting through the substrate to remove waste and check for mold. To avoid any food being left in the cage, I hand feed her with tongs so she doesn't make a mess when eating out of her bowl.

[mark_w]

Over the years I have tried mixes based on soil (sterilised topsoil), sand (playsand), coco fibre/coir (comes in bricks which you soak in water) and bark chips. I have also tried sand on its own, cypress, aspen and beechwood chips. When I say I tried these substrates I mean in multiple enclosures, often for years. For axanthic Halmaheras, the mixed substrate worked best by far. For Irian Jayas, Northerns and Easterns, I have used beechwood chips in recent years. However, over the last couple of years I've been using Tierwohl, a fine wood based granule. This is very popular in Germany as a reptile substrate but it is sold as a type of horse bedding. ALL my blue tongues are kept on this (I don't have high humidity animals any more). It is not dusty and I really like it. Plus it comes in huge bags and is quite cheap. Cypress is expensive over here. This substrate is similar but not the same as lignocel which is another very popular substrate. For me, aspen is the most over rated substrate out there - I couldn't get on with it at all!

[Susann]

Most large quantity wood chips or shavings that are sold as horse bedding is actually made of soft wood, like pine, which generally is not recommended as they contain oils that can be irritating to reptiles. (The Lignocel bedding however claims to have been processed to remove the oils, so that one is perfectly fine.) However. Blue tongue skinks are quite thick-scaled, and therefore I would imagine they are not as sensitive as many other reptiles. I have no experience with using it, but if you've used it for years with no ill effect, I wouldn't have an issue in any way with you recommending it to others. It would just be good to be aware of the possible issues that could arise and to keep a close eye on the feet, bellies, mouth and eyes especially, when using it.

[mark_w]

Hi Susann- I've only been using Tierwohl for a couple of years. Most wood products in Europe are made from spruce not pine. I don't know how different that is. It is very popular in Germany so I'd be surprised if there are problems with it. The hobby is very well established over there.

[splashy07]

Sounds like great stuff...if anyone knows where to get it over here I'd give it a try.

[TPceebee]

Mark, what substrate would you recommend for Scincoides out of the ones you've used? I'm currently got my Northern on aspen and paper towels, but I was unable to find the shaved stuff over here so it's only the thin shredded type. I'm concerned about potential harm so I'd like to get that stuff changed out soon. I also read that chips didn't hold burrows well, so I avoided buying the stuff so far.

So many substrates...

[mark_w]

Mark, what substrate would you recommend for Scincoides out of the ones you've used? I'm currently got my Northern on aspen and paper towels, but I was unable to find the shaved stuff over here so it's only the thin shredded type. I'm concerned about potential harm so I'd like to get that stuff changed out soon. I also read that chips didn't hold burrows well, so I avoided buying the stuff so far.

So many substrates...

Maybe the fact that we can't get the shaved aspen over here is why I haven't been able to get on with the stuff? The Tierwohl isn't very good for burrows as such but if you put a few cm of it in they bury themselves in it. It is my preferred substrate at the moment for sure but it is a personal choice and there are multiple options which are acceptable to your skinks!

Mark.

[Saber]

Hi! I'm getting a Merauke so my Northern's aspen isn't going to work and I need to think about substrate again. I was thinking about getting cypress or orchid bark. As long as I double check and make sure that it's 100% the right kind of wood, is it safe to just get that stuff from a garden supply store or Home Depot? Is that the cheapest way to get good bedding?

[Susann]

Most people with more than just a few skinks get theirs from garden supply stores as it usually is the cheapest way to go.

[ryanb11]

Hi there, I have a northern blue tongue skink and wondered what would be the best substrate for him

[BlueThunder]

Hi there, I have a northern blue tongue skink and wondered what would be the best substrate for him

I'm seeking answers to this too. So far I've bought ProRep Aspen bedding (but not sure if it is shredded or shaved - suspect the former as it is long and thin, rather than pencil shaving style), Beech chips and Cypress Mulch. It'll be for a very young Northern, so not sure if any of these are suitable.

[kingofnobbys]

My eastern BTs are on a mixture of Course Grade Kitters' Krumble
https://www.mypetwarehouse.com.au/kritt ... se-p-14309
& natural gumtree (bluegum) leaf litter (Eucalyptus globulus Labill bark, twigs and leaves - collected from my front garden (paths , flower bed and lawn = endless supply as I have a mature 40 yr old gum tree that drops leaves and twigs and bark constantly year round).

I tried medium grade Kritters' Krumble and found it was very dusty …. made my skinks sneeze lots.

Happens to be one of the gum tree species that are used to extract Eucalypus Oil from …. so very safe , non-toxic.

I simply mix equal volumes of leaf litter as collected from the lawn and paths + Kritter's Krumble , one bag of Kritters' Krumble per 4ft x 2ft BTS tank. , Beauty of the mix is when I replace it , I simply deposit the soiled bedding mix under the tree near the trunk and this keeps the wild skinks (EBTs , Water Skinks, Delicate Garden Skinks happy - the have extra habitat) and the tree gets fertilizer when next time it rains (a win win IMO).

This would be perfect for a northern BT.
I know gum trees have been exported and now grow wild in many warmer parts of the USA and the EU so I'd go looking for some and take a big garbage bag to fill with leaf / bark litter …. the skink will love it mixed with course coco husks or equiv).

[lifesagame]

I was recommended a mix of orchid bark and coco husk for my northern and the humidity seems to be stable. Also orchid bark can be easy to find in bulk in the uk (not sure about America) which is cheaper. It does need to be out for a while to dry out so it doesn’t raise humidity but my northern seems to like it and has been burrowing into it without any problems and the pieces are too big for him to even be interested in trying to eat it at the moment. I’ve read a lot about kritters krumble on here but not found it easily here in the uk.