Blotchie Sneezing/Substrate

[NickBrahz]

Ok so i just moved my Blotchie (Zippo) into his new home, past 5 days he has been in a temporary heavy duty tub thing (80x50) and now he is in a proper enclosure, for substrate i have been using "Kritters crumble" which is some sort of coco husk substrate, i use the coarse not fine version here is a link to it http://www.petbarn.com.au/reptile/repti ... itres.html

My eastern loves it buries in it sleeps under it, now he has no issues with it he never gets it stuck in his nose so he does a normal amount of sneezing, now Zippo(Blotchie) is sneezing every 2-5 minutes or so because he keeps getting some of the dust stuck in or around his nose, ive clean it off about 4 times now but within a couple minutes its on/in his nose again and he is sneezing.

Now my question is should i leave him in there and he will adjust to it and learn to not dig his nose around so much, or should i take him out and put him back into the temporary home and get some sort of new substrate?
Thanks for any advice.

[alichamp]

Good choice of name
I can't offer any advice. I use the same substrate and Treasure digs around and buries in it too. We do notice a layer of fine reddish stuff from it on top of her when we pick her up sometimes, but she doesn't often sneeze and certainly not with the frequency you describe. The substrate itself is not particularly dusty and doesn't seem to bother our BTS. She spends a lot of time hidden in there too, believe me!!

Edit: Our blotchie is smaller than yours at 20cm and 62g.

[NickBrahz]

Since posting this he hasn't sneezed again, i guess he learnt his lesson to now just plummet his head into the substrate, and then he would rub his nose against the ground to try to get it out but the reddish dust of it is at the bottom under the substrate so he was making it worse,
He is curled up in a ball half burried but his head exposed so that may be why, he sure did make a mess though giant clumps of it and then just barren parts where his pushed it from,
Will monitor him for a few days or week if he hasn't learn by then i guess i will look into new substrate.
Thanks his name is from Dinotopia (not the lighter brand), but i guess his nicknames could also be Zip or Zippy.

Edit: Heres a picture of the little guy in his new home, well this one is a temporary 100x50cm glass terrarium until i finish setting up his melamine 120x60 enclosure on Tuesday, and i should have my 3rd Bluie either today or tomorrow.
You can actually see some of the substrate stuck on his back in this picture :p

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Yet another edit: Does your Treasure like to sleep in a circle? i noticed Zippo curls up into a circle to sleep, i know its pretty common but my Louie(Easter) seems to only go into a C shaped semi-circle at most.

[MattFab]

Hey hey! I have used this substrate for 5 years with my bluey without problem, avoid the 'fine' version though I did find that was too fine for my bluey

[alichamp]

V. cute pic! Hmmm... not sure. Definitely sleeps curled up, and think I would say as curled as possible (ie circle), but can't be absolutely certain whether semi or full circle. I will check it out! Zippy is also kinda funny because BTS are slow moving.

[NickBrahz]

Yeah i think it's just me being an overly cautious bluie papa, he sneezed a few times since my above post but nothing like before, he should get used to it and learn his lesson, yeah i only buy the coarse one because i imagine the fine version would be to dusty and annoying for them.

And Ali my Louie is slow and barely moves, with Zippy i turn around for a drink and then within 5 seconds he is gone to the other side of the bed hiding,
His enclosure is really plain atm, just a water dish in corner, a flatish rock to bask on and a hollow half log to hide in, can't wait to spruce them up a bit when i get some disposable cash (Just spent $500 on enclosures, light fittings, lamps, locks and then $120 for Zippo so drained a lot of my bank).

Heres a couple pictures of the little guys (I just love sharing pictures and looking through other peoples cute bluies), Louie looks big cause i was fattening him up a bit because got a cold front atm with constant rain.

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[alichamp]

Well then "Zippy" is very fitting!! It would be an opposite-name for my lamo lazy skink I love that blotchies are born so tubby compared to others.

[aron77]

I was having a similar issue with my baby merauke as he was burrowing a lot and then when he would come out he would sneeze but I was more worried that he seemed to have it crusted in his eyes and I was afraid that was going to cause an infection or something. I have moss in my tank and the more moss I put in the less he burrowed into the coco fibers and the more he would just burrow between the two layers, I also put moss in his hides and again he was not digging so deep with the moss on top of him and he really seems to like the moss since it is easy in and easy out.