What bedding is best?

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blutungbaby
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What bedding is best?

Postby blutungbaby » Wed Nov 06, 2019 3:33 pm

Im babysitting a bluey for my sister's boyfriend who is a very new reptile owner. He bought all of the right things for the bluey, he's in a 40 gallon tank even though he's only about half a foot from nose to tail, but recently he's started to hide under the repticarpet in the bottom of his tank that has a layer of coconut bedding on top of one side. I've pulled him out from under it almost every day and have tried to stop him from going under it by weighing it down with rocks, but not much is working. Should I get rid of the carpet all together and put aspen bedding in there? I'm just worried he'll get stuck and won't be able to get out! Should I use aspen bedding?
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Re: What bedding is best?

Postby kingofnobbys » Wed Nov 06, 2019 5:52 pm

The bedding needed is dependent on the species of bluetongue skink .
I'm not a fan of carpet in any lizard's enclosure. IMO completely inappropriate.

Easterns and Northerns and Blotchies , and Shinglebacks native to Australia and who's native ranges are woodlands and glasslands and arid deserts are fine in course coco fibres ( ie course Kritters' Krumble) and non-toxic dry leaf litter ( ie eucalypt mulch ) .

Indo and New Guinea bluetongues require a bedding that's moister.

Do you know what species of BT he is ?
How old is the skink ?
Have you weighed him ? ( entire body weight )
….a photo of the skink and his tank showing how it's set up will help us work out what is needed (if any changes are required).

BTs like to burrow through and tunnel through their bedding , it's their nature. Especially when they are preparing to and are in shed. Let him do his thing, make sure the water dish is on a paver or large floor tile so it can't be burrowed under and spilt. I find something like a concrete paver is best as the easters are like fourlegged scaley bulldozers and very capable of pushing quite heavy objects about , but are defeated by the mass of the 40mm thick 400x400mm paver.
My easterns often end up completely buried in their bedding ( a mix of course Kritters Krumble and natural bluegum leaf litter ( I have an endless supply from my mature bluegum (eucalypt) which shed leaves and twigs continuously that I simply gather off my front path and lawn and raised beds as needed), often all that gives them away is their nose poking out or the bedding moving as they move about.
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Re: What bedding is best?

Postby blutungbaby » Wed Nov 06, 2019 7:30 pm

I'm not a huge fan of this carpet either tbh.
I believe he (we're actually not sure of the sex) is a Northern Bluey.
[img]73020990_516354558944228_6310651304062484480_n[/img]

He's already shed once in my care, like literally the day after he came to my house he went into shed. That was only about 2 or 3 weeks ago and he looks like he might start shedding again pretty quick. Im not sure how much he weighs or how old is but the woman who took care of him at the pet store said he was about 3-4 months old.
[img]75429385_586798822062698_1701703172667473920_n[/img]

[img]76265392_2423502024589603_8114343302716719104_n[/img]

(Idek if the pictures will show up im so new to this forum)
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Re: What bedding is best?

Postby mb606587 » Wed Nov 06, 2019 8:36 pm

Just as you thought, your photos didn't post. In agreeance with kingofnobbys on carpet. Their nails often get stuck in the fibers and can cause injury to the toes. Not to mention they are a breeding ground for bacteria so should be replaced frequently. The Kritters Krumble brand is one I've seen recommended by him numerous times, however, I've never personally seen it in the US so possibly only found overseas. Seems like it is equivalent to the compressed bricks of Eco Earth. I actually use plain old organic garden soil or top soil from my local Lowes or Home Depot for all of my skinks. Is much more economical and seems to work well with any species. Don't use aspen. Some will recommend it for Northerns. I won't. I'll never recommend it for any of the Indo species and that's from first hand experience.
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Re: What bedding is best?

Postby kingofnobbys » Wed Nov 06, 2019 11:00 pm

mb606587 wrote:Just as you thought, your photos didn't post. In agreeance with kingofnobbys on carpet. Their nails often get stuck in the fibers and can cause injury to the toes. Not to mention they are a breeding ground for bacteria so should be replaced frequently. The Kritters Krumble brand is one I've seen recommended by him numerous times, however, I've never personally seen it in the US so possibly only found overseas. Seems like it is equivalent to the compressed bricks of Eco Earth. I actually use plain old organic garden soil or top soil from my local Lowes or Home Depot for all of my skinks. Is much more economical and seems to work well with any species. Don't use aspen. Some will recommend it for Northerns. I won't. I'll never recommend it for any of the Indo species and that's from first hand experience.


https://www.kellyvillepets.com.au/produ ... gLtv_D_BwE , it's not a brick, just coco-fibres and husk packed into a bag.

One bag per 4ft x 2ft bts tank mixed with an equal volume ( 20L of loose dry eucalypt leaf litter ) is my mix for the two easterns.

The Kritters crumble comes in a bag, I simply take the top off and pour it in then add the leaf litter from a bucket and mix by hand , all very loose stuff.

Marvelous stuff, when it's time to change out the bedding it simply goes on the raised beds or in the composting bin.

I don't like the fine or medium grades as they are too dusty …. makes the skinks a bit sneezy.
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Re: What bedding is best?

Postby splashy07 » Thu Nov 07, 2019 6:27 am

Coco husk works for me, as does repti bark and a mix of the two. The coco husk comes in bags and is almost identical to kritter krumble which I have once been able to find. CH is much cheaper and the same stuff. It can be used moistened or dry and suitable for any type skink. I've used for a variety of other reptiles also.
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Re: What bedding is best?

Postby ekswhyzee » Thu Nov 07, 2019 10:24 am

I've been doing a bunch of research on Blue-tongue Skinks because I'm getting one soon, and now I'm super confused about bedding. The great, long, super detailed care sheet that's posted on the homepage here says to use aspen bedding. May I ask why coconut fiber instead of aspen? Is it due to the dust content? Please spell it out for me. I'm a total noob.
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Re: What bedding is best?

Postby splashy07 » Thu Nov 07, 2019 10:27 am

See above posts. PLEASE do not use aspen.
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Re: What bedding is best?

Postby ekswhyzee » Thu Nov 07, 2019 10:48 am

splashy07 wrote:See above posts. PLEASE do not use aspen.


Duly noted. Thank you
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Re: What bedding is best?

Postby mb606587 » Thu Nov 07, 2019 11:31 am

Aspen is too dry and creates humidity levels that are much too low for many. Leads to bad sheds, which leads to mangled toes like this...
Screenshot_20191107-132826.png
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Re: What bedding is best?

Postby kingofnobbys » Thu Nov 07, 2019 3:59 pm

ekswhyzee wrote:I've been doing a bunch of research on Blue-tongue Skinks because I'm getting one soon, and now I'm super confused about bedding. The great, long, super detailed care sheet that's posted on the homepage here says to use aspen bedding. May I ask why coconut fiber instead of aspen? Is it due to the dust content? Please spell it out for me. I'm a total noob.


My understanding is cocofibres if ingested will pass through the GIT and are unlikely to cause an impaction
where as aspen is a risk
+
coco-fibres are quite absorbant so you keep the humidity at a nice level for those skinks who require it
+
coco-fibres tend to absorb urine and kind of act like activated carbon does ( high effective adsorbant surface area ).
+
can be mulched
+
can be composted
+
for Australia , not an imported product ( so no risk of introducing unwanted pests ).
+
cheaper per bag
+
no sharp hard edges.
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Re: What bedding is best?

Postby Janella » Thu Nov 07, 2019 4:05 pm

I love Zilla jungle mix and then reptibark on top. Works amazing for both my Northern and Merauke.
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Re: What bedding is best?

Postby ekswhyzee » Fri Nov 08, 2019 11:42 am

kingofnobbys wrote:
ekswhyzee wrote:I've been doing a bunch of research on Blue-tongue Skinks because I'm getting one soon, and now I'm super confused about bedding. The great, long, super detailed care sheet that's posted on the homepage here says to use aspen bedding. May I ask why coconut fiber instead of aspen? Is it due to the dust content? Please spell it out for me. I'm a total noob.


My understanding is cocofibres if ingested will pass through the GIT and are unlikely to cause an impaction
where as aspen is a risk
+
coco-fibres are quite absorbant so you keep the humidity at a nice level for those skinks who require it
+
coco-fibres tend to absorb urine and kind of act like activated carbon does ( high effective adsorbant surface area ).
+
can be mulched
+
can be composted
+
for Australia , not an imported product ( so no risk of introducing unwanted pests ).
+
cheaper per bag
+
no sharp hard edges.


Thank you so much for the explanation! :)
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Re: What bedding is best?

Postby blutungbaby » Fri Nov 08, 2019 9:31 pm

Thanks for the advice! I'll be sure to get rid of the carpet ASAP and just use the coco fiber bedding from now on. Any ideas on how to post images?
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Re: What bedding is best?

Postby mb606587 » Fri Nov 08, 2019 10:21 pm

To post images:

Click "Attachments" tab
Click "Add files"
Select inline
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Re: What bedding is best?

Postby kingofnobbys » Sat Nov 09, 2019 1:39 am

blutungbaby wrote:Thanks for the advice! I'll be sure to get rid of the carpet ASAP and just use the coco fiber bedding from now on. Any ideas on how to post images?


Download / install onto your computer POSTIMAGE app ( is free and is very good and as far as I know virus free - I run Macaffee and never get viruses or malware), then all you need do is upload the images one at a time to POSTIMAGE , copy the code to notepad , add img and /img inside square brackets and copy the code to the post . This is what I do on all message boards I frequent.
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Re: What bedding is best?

Postby splashy07 » Sat Nov 09, 2019 8:47 am

In my 40 plus years of reptile keeping I've tried everything on the market and found this to be the best. Can be used moist or dry, and for countless applications. I even use it to breed isopods. Great stuff and inexpensive. Very easy to clean up in my BT cages, waste clumps and is easy to locate.
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Re: What bedding is best?

Postby blutungbaby » Sat Nov 09, 2019 6:14 pm

Here's the skink and his/her current setup
73020990_516354558944228_6310651304062484480_n.jpg

75429385_586798822062698_1701703172667473920_n.jpg

76265392_2423502024589603_8114343302716719104_n.jpg
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Re: What bedding is best?

Postby mb606587 » Sat Nov 09, 2019 8:34 pm

blutungbaby wrote:I'm not a huge fan of this carpet either tbh.
I believe he (we're actually not sure of the sex) is a Northern Bluey.


You can let your sister's boyfriend know that his skink is not a Northern. It's an Indonesian Blue Tongue Skink. This skink is going to need tropical humidity levels near 80%.

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