New Cage!

[ManahShepard]

It's a little dark in my room right now, but here is a sneak peak into Marbles new cage!

[BruinsEv]

haha love the cat dish. marbles is adorable!

[supersnakeman101]

so cute

[skeetersmom]

Very cute BTS - but I think they all are {anyway I tried to say this, it looked like it could be taken as an attack - but it isn't ment to be} May I ask why you are using astroturf as a bedding?

[ManahShepard]

Its not, its repti-carpet. I always use repti-carpet for all my animals except my corn snakes. I personally refuse to allow any risk of impaction for my animals. But I also understand why other people decide to use aspen, etc.

[BruinsEv]

Its not, its repti-carpet. I always use repti-carpet for all my animals except my corn snakes. I personally refuse to allow any risk of impaction for my animals. But I also understand why other people decide to use aspen, etc.

Could you explain a little more on the matter? As a proud new dad to my first BTS I want to make sure she is as healthy,safe and happy as possible. Is this to prevent them from digesting the aspen?

Would they be at risk in developing anxious behaviors without the ability to burrow? (similar to factory farmed chickens not given the ability to dust bathe) ?

[supersnakeman101]

Its not, its repti-carpet. I always use repti-carpet for all my animals except my corn snakes. I personally refuse to allow any risk of impaction for my animals. But I also understand why other people decide to use aspen, etc.

Could you explain a little more on the matter? As a proud new dad to my first BTS I want to make sure she is as healthy,safe and happy as possible. Is this to prevent them from digesting the aspen?

Would they be at risk in developing anxious behaviors without the ability to burrow? (similar to factory farmed chickens not given the ability to dust bathe) ?

what i think that Manahshepard is saying is that he does not want to risk impactation with his animals this sounds like more personal preference though
aspin should be fine unless u feed your bluey on the bedding witch i doubt u do
wait for more experienced bluey keeper to fully answer your question

[ManahShepard]

I am a female, by the way. xD

And yes, I also read around that the dust from aspen and this other bedding that gives off a lot of dust can cause respiratory problems. But that is a risk anyone is willing to take, everyone has their preferences.

And no, blue tongues are more so opportunistic hiders, they're not really built for /burrowing/. If something is easy to pick up and hide beneath they'll most likely hide beneath it. Like any small animal trying to hide from predators in the sky.

[Sarikazam]

I can see the pros and cons of both. I wouldn't have anything against using repti-carpet other than both my skinks seem to love burrowing as that is where they both are right now.
I like how tidy repti-carpet is and how easy it is to clean.

[BruinsEv]

Would they be at risk in developing anxious behaviors without the ability to burrow? (similar to factory farmed chickens not given the ability to dust bathe) ?

what i think that Manahshepard is saying is that he does not want to risk impactation with his animals this sounds like more personal preference though
aspin should be fine unless u feed your bluey on the bedding witch i doubt u do
wait for more experienced bluey keeper to fully answer your question

Thanks for the input !

I am a female, by the way. xD

And yes, I also read around that the dust from aspen and this other bedding that gives off a lot of dust can cause respiratory problems. But that is a risk anyone is willing to take, everyone has their preferences.

And no, blue tongues are more so opportunistic hiders, they're not really built for /burrowing/. If something is easy to pick up and hide beneath they'll most likely hide beneath it. Like any small animal trying to hide from predators in the sky.

Good to know, it is so hard to make these decisions. I feel like the carpet would be a lot safer for them. I sit and watch her sleeping under 4 inches of aspen and I am torn. I know she is happy, but she is probably breathing crap in with every breath. Ahhhh!!!

[BruinsEv]

I can see the pros and cons of both. I wouldn't have anything against using repti-carpet other than both my skinks seem to love burrowing as that is where they both are right now.
I like how tidy repti-carpet is and how easy it is to clean.

It must be in The blood line. Emma has been sleeping under there for 12 + hours straight !!

[Fatal_S]

Shavings are not dangerous unless you have a stupid/starving skink. A skink who's lived on carpet/newspaper may try to eat actual substrates at first. They are actually very skilled at getting shavings out of their mouths. Little bits that they do eat are easily passed. Ya, excessive dust could be annoying, but most substrates aren't terribly dusty, and the skinks are quite capable of looking after themselves.

I've used just about every substrate/option. Shavings make my skinks much happier IMO, and are nicer to look at and easier to spot-clean. Now I'm trying to figure out the ideal shavings. Aspen is fantastic if it wasn't so dry. Cypress mulch is bad for the environment, other mulchs are either expensive or annoying to use. Carefresh is dry and bad for skink toes. So many options, nothing perfect for me yet. So I get to keep trying It's a learning curve. The only substrates I would never use is sand, because they can't get the sand off any food it touches, and pine/cedar, for toxic reasons. Other than that anything's fair game to try.

[supersnakeman101]

I am a female, by the way. xD
.

sorry my bad

[BruinsEv]

Shavings are not dangerous unless you have a stupid/starving skink. A skink who's lived on carpet/newspaper may try to eat actual substrates at first. They are actually very skilled at getting shavings out of their mouths. Little bits that they do eat are easily passed. Ya, excessive dust could be annoying, but most substrates aren't terribly dusty, and the skinks are quite capable of looking after themselves.

I've used just about every substrate/option. Shavings make my skinks much happier IMO, and are nicer to look at and easier to spot-clean. Now I'm trying to figure out the ideal shavings. Aspen is fantastic if it wasn't so dry. Cypress mulch is bad for the environment, other mulchs are either expensive or annoying to use. Carefresh is dry and bad for skink toes. So many options, nothing perfect for me yet. So I get to keep trying It's a learning curve. The only substrates I would never use is sand, because they can't get the sand off any food it touches, and pine/cedar, for toxic reasons. Other than that anything's fair game to try.

Mel, I remember you mentioning coconut fibre at some point. Whats your opinion of this ?

[Fatal_S]

It's alright. I found it a bit too dirty (as in hard to clean up completely) and I could never seem to get a good moisture level (either soaked it or dry and powdery). My g/f's gargoyle gecko is on coco fibre though and it's working great. I prefer the bigger pieces of coconut-mulch, but I'm still struggling with getting the moisture level right. I really enjoy trying all the substrates, so I have an opinion on most of them. Just my opinion though

[ManahShepard]

Everyone has their favorites and opinions.

But as for me, I rather play it safe (by my standards). It's also a lot easier for me. I've placed layers of carpet in there to try and cover all the cage, sometimes Marbles will squirm his way under there. But as Fatal said - everyone has their opinions and favorite substrate.

[El Lobo]

And no, blue tongues are more so opportunistic hiders, they're not really built for /burrowing/. If something is easy to pick up and hide beneath they'll most likely hide beneath it. Like any small animal trying to hide from predators in the sky.

Are you sure of that?

If they are not built for burrowing I wonder why they have nictitating membranes on their eyes.

[Lea]

And no, blue tongues are more so opportunistic hiders, they're not really built for /burrowing/. If something is easy to pick up and hide beneath they'll most likely hide beneath it. Like any small animal trying to hide from predators in the sky.

Anything running or hiding from a predator could be could an "opportunistic hider", that's Nature! But, at least for the Australian blue tongue skinks, burrowing is normal and aside from digging in to hide, they forage for food and even carve out little "burrows" to take shelter in, as a longer term residence. Even if you decide not to use a loose substrate in your whole enclosure, perhaps consider a small tub of dirt/bark/wood chips in a corner, just for their own enjoyment. Diving head first into some dirt might be the highlight of your skink's day- it needn't be anywhere near their food.

[ManahShepard]

Yes, I am sure of that. If I truly believed the skink was made for underground play as it were, I would put substrate in their enclosure and I would allow him to have at it.

But no. I do not, and I do not feel the need to take the risk - especially when he is fine with hiding in his tube box, under card board I place in his tank, his shoe boxes, etc, etc.

You don't have to agree with me - I've done my own research on the animal to make sure he will be healthy and happy in my care. And I feel repti-carpet will keep him healthy and happy. I don't feel the need to take that risk.

And I don't think I will, Leabilby, at least not anytime soon. Marbles likes tasting everything far too much for me to trust he won't eat what he hides in - there has been more than one occasion I've seen him trying to nibble on things. So, I'll just stick with what I feel is in his best interest and for his health.

I'm sorry if that offends any of you.

[El Lobo]

LeaBilby and I are only trying to share our first hand knowledge of wild skinks behaviour in their natural environment. If you have done research which contradicts the belief most of us have that BTS are burrowers, would you mind sharing so we can all have access to this new information? Surface hides are used by wild BTS, but not all potential predators approach from overhead.

You are correct, I definitely don't agree with you regarding the non-burrowing.

There is a wild Blotchy in this picture burrowed deep into grass if you can find it.

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