What is your preferred bedding?

[AcidFeathers]

What does everyone here use for substratee ? I know the best options include aspen bedding, wooden bark (like repti-bark), etc..... but is there any other options that are good and could be used ?

What are thoughts on using sand ? I've seen bags of sand at my work that are deemed safe for reptiles and digestible because it isnt actualy "SAND" but some sort of fine grained stuff with calcium in it. Not meant for digesting, but itd atleast not cause compaction apparently. Anyone heard of that? Thoughts ?

[AcidFeathers]

and also, what about moss? I know you can buy this natural dry moss stuff that can help with humidity and would be good for burrowing but im not sure how well itd be for a skink.

[xxmonitorlizardxx]

Two quotes from the caresheet:
"Another constant topic of argument is what bedding to use. Some common choices are carpet (not recommended), aspen shavings, carefresh, Lizard Litter, Bed-A-Beast, coconut fiber, Repti-Bark or any type of reptile substrate. We personally use aspen shavings, and we love it. It's light, it's cheap, and the animals can do some serious burrowing in it. Fecal clean-up is easy, and it's pretty absorbent too. The only negative aspect would have to be the dust, but if you get the filtered kind it's not so bad and settles quickly. Avoid the rabbit bedding type of aspen shavings. They're much thinner, and are basically just aspen 'splinters'. The thin pieces could easily lodge themselves up inside a blue tongue's nose when burrowing. Another idea (but less recommended) would be cypress mulch. I've always strayed away from it because it looks so damp and it is very thick and clumpy. Repti-Bark and Bed-A-Beast, or even artificial turf are a couple other options. Your two best bets would probably be either aspen shavings, or carefresh pet bedding. Aspen looks better visually, but carefresh is probably slightly more absorbent—which could be good or bad depending on how you look at it. It absorbs fecal matter and urine quite well, but also absorbs moisture in the air which can make your tank very dry. If you're wondering what exactly carefresh is, they advertise it's "reclaimed wood pulp waste". Whatever that means, it basically looks like wet clumps of paper that have been dried. Sort of like what you get in your drier if you had paper in your pockets. It's soft, it's light, it's absorbent, and best of all, very cheap and easy to replace. Aspen looks better, and is also equally good. Cheap, light, visually appealing, absorbent, and they can really dig. The choice is your's! Both have a fair bit of dust, but as mentioned before, the dust does settle. Here are a couple brands you're likely to come across...

"We advise against sand and/or crushed walnut shells as excessive ingestion can be fatal. This is called impaction, and I've seen it on a number of occasions. When a blue tongue is chasing prey, or shooting his tongue around, he can't help but consume mouthfuls of these tiny pieces as they stick to anything even remotely wet. The tiny pieces build up and get backed up in the digestive tract, creating a complete blockage. If the animal is not able to pass the "clump", he will die. If you ever see a massive passing of feces packed full of substrate, this is your sign to switch substrates immediately. Eco Earth is another popular substrate that looks great, but our members have found bugs in the material on more than one occasion and in different states across America. Use at own risk. Do not use gravel. BTS will eat pebbles (which is normal and not harmful) but will often even attempt to eat large rocks which of course poses a serious choking hazard. See picture below. Do not use any type of pine or cedar products, and be sure that whatever substrate you do use is NON-aromatic. Cedar and pine shavings contain aromatic hydrocarbons called phenols (which gives it its scent). It can be quite toxic to your blue tongue, and can cause problems in the respiratory system. Actually, long term cedar and pine exposure are thought to be dangerous to all living things, and many studies have been done proving the theory. There are plenty of other great choices, so as long as you stay away from cedar, pine and other aromatic substrates, you should have nothing to worry about. Also, never use any type of wild bark or dirt you find outside. Bugs, ticks, mites, bacteria, dog crap, who knows what it could be infested with...and it's not even worth attempting to clean. DO NOT USE NEWSPAPER. The ink never dries, and it will leave your bluey's feet black and dry if used over time. The ink is also thought to be toxic under continual exposure, although not proven. Temporary use is fine. Here are two pictures of a BTS that was kept on newspaper as a substrate as well as the one gravel image mentioned above."
"

[Katrina]

Welcome!!

The perfect substrate depends on the species you are keeping and your climate. Aspen is generally good for species like Northerns, a mulch like Cypress mulch is better for keeping humidity up for Indonesian species. But there are lots of options - repti-bark, cypress, aspen, carefresh, etc.

You might want to try a couple before you settle on the best one. Sand isn't great - you want something you can spot clean easily, so something absorbent and not heavy. Sand is super heavy, not good for burrowing, not great for cleaning.

[AcidFeathers]

I have a Northern baby.
My top options are between aspen bedding (either the thin snake/reptile kind or just the small shavings. unfortunately the snake brand is so much more expensive, but probably better) and the bark. I really only want the bark because it looks natural.... but does anyone use bark and have some input in how well it does with tank cleaning, humidity, etc ?

[Katrina]

I love cypress mulch!!

It should be fine with Northerns, I think it looks better as well.

[Fatal_S]

For aspen I go for the flaked type rather than the tiny sliver pieces. I don't like the sliver pieces getting under the scales or near the eyes. All my skinks are on Aspen shavings and I really like them.

I have used the reptile bark, but it's more expensive and isn't as good for burrowing. But why not try both and see which your prefer? Or try half-and-half? I do think the bark or cypress mulch would be great for my high-humidity species so I'm trying to find it in bulk.

[NomadOfTheHills]

I prefer aspen chips/shavings (not splinters), due to an ideal combination of absorption, affordability, availability, relative lack of dust, sustainability, and it allows for good burrowing.

In my experience, repti-bark is highly dusty, and expensive.

Sand is too heavy, often duty, and has poor absorbency.

Cypress goods humidity well and is cheap, but is not harvested in a sustainable manor.

[nakerz_loves_bts]

Currently I use 'Kitty's Crumble' for all of my reptiles and frog. It can be used nice and dry, but it is very absorbant and can be kept moist/damp. It is reasonably priced and is environmentally sustainable because it is coconut husks.

[Purra]

The aspen bedding sold specifically for reptiles really isn't better, its just smaller shavings. I buy aspen in the huge bulk packages sold for rodent bedding, and its a whole lot cheaper for the amount.

[ExtremeJustin]

I use cypress mulch.

[Coomassie]

I use Aspen without any problems but I know it is too dry for a lot of skinks.

[StaceyLeigh]

We also use the Aspen shavings here (the kind sold in bulk for rodents) I can buy a huge bag for about the same price as a small bag of repti-bark. We have two Northerns who love to burrow, I think the aspen is ideal for that. They also wipe there faces after each meal, and the aspen works great for that too! I can't imagine the repti bark being too good for the face wash?
Since it is so economical I don't have to be stingy with it. We spot clean the cages every day and so add some new aspen shavings every day

[mark_w]

I use beechwood chips - depending on the size, little square wood chips about 5 to 10mm across. I think these are more popular in Europe than in the US but I know some people in Aus use them too.

Mark.

[KateBeer]

I use orchid bark, its similar to beech chip but Id say has a higher humidity. I mainly keep merauke/IJs so does the job good. I would like to try aspen but can only find the splinter type, especially for my Northern.

[Anderous]

i know im in the minority, but i like cage carpet with lots of hides in the cage. My skink pooped huge aspen piles for a week after i got him

[Zach]

I hate aspen now! All I can think about is a hamster cage. We have been using coconut bark or repti-bark for quite a while now.

Coconut bark:

http://lllreptile.com/load-image/StoreI ... image/4362

[Fatal_S]

All IMO:
I love aspen. My skinks are excellent at not eating it, even if they drop food onto it. It's cheap and easy to clean. It's also fantastic for burrowing in.

I do also like the bark substrates, but they're expensive and not as good for burrowing. I also found it harder to spot dirt to clean. I do use it on my monkey tails though.

I dislike the coco-powder stuff, and dirt/sand. I also hate carefresh. I've never tried the carpet/fake grass, but I hated cleaning up when using newspaper and paper towels, so pretty sure I wouldn't like the carpet either.

I would love to try cypress mulch or those small white pieces of bark used in the UK, but I can't seem to find those here. Also, I've heard cypress isn't sustainable, which sucks

[Katrina]

Kate and Mark - I'm really interested in the orchid bark and beech chips... I LOVE cypress except for the environmental implications, so I'd love to find a more sustainable option. Can you post pictures or something?

Thank you for the suggestions - I will look into those options.

I use aspen for my Northerns and cypress for my meraukes. Aspen is fine, nothing special. Cypress is excellent - looks great and if kept moist it is wonderful for burrowing. It is pricey here though and not sustainable...

[Lauriek]

I use Oz Pet - the US/Canadian equivalent is Woody Pet. I find it absorbs moisture well, is not dusty and can be put on the garden afterward.