Bedding advice AND custom hides?

[Bluey_boi]

Hey,

I have a Eastern Blue tongue lizard (Tiliqua scincoides scincoides) and i usually use Aspen for his bedding, though down here in Australia its extremely expensive and I have been looking for cheaper substrates he can use. The other day I went through pet stores to find some beddings that were recommended to me (like Pisces 'Jurassic reptile bark') but everything was sold out or either not selling anymore. I saw bedding options like having a mixture of Euci mulch and Sugar cane mulch with some leaf litter, which I would happily do but need to know if its good for him.
I have previously used 'Breeders choice' kitty litter but I have found it to be very dusty and not very good at absorbing his feces or urine, and its not too pretty to look at in his enclosure.
If anyone has any tips or advice for an easy cheap bedding here in Aus then please share.
Another question I wanted to ask was about hides. Hides from the pet stores are super expensive and arent even that great, so i had a thought of making hides out of flower pots from Bunnings (or any hardware store), if anyone has ever done this then can you please share pictures? need to get some inspiration of what I would need to make it with OR if you can use anything else to make the hides for cheap.

Thanks!

(Heres a picture of my BTS, Tilba!)

[kayla990]

Pretty bluey! I'll let others advice for substrate specific for Aus - but a few thoughts for cheap / DIY hides:

- Terracotta plant pots shouldn't be a problem to use with a Bluey; possibly good for nails too
- PVC pipes can be made into tunnels (just make sure it's a safe type of plastic that won't melt in high-heat)
- Can build up hides using an old plastic food tub (seen people make them from ice-cream tubs, just make sure edges are not sharp after cutting a 'door') - easy enough to build substrate up around them and to add flat rocks to keep it in place and to act as additional places to climb
- Large hollow bamboo shoots (just check they have not been pre-treated with anything)
- Similar idea to above - large pieces of driftwood can make good tunnels and/or ramps

Hmm, can't think of additions at the moment! They are the cheapest/least DIY methods I can think of for now Goodluck!