Substrate Question

[Kaze]

I recently got a bearded Dragon from a friend who breeds them and one of his tips was to use Rabbit Pellets (food) as substrate. It is absorbant, easy to clean and is harmless if eaten by the lizard. Not to mention a 25 pound bag costs only 7 bucks.

Now my question is wether or not this would be good to use for my young red tail. He/She is around 6 months(give or take) and about 1.5 feet long. The tank is a 4ft long 70-80 gallon tank.

I would assume that it would be safe and fine to use this new substrate but before I did anything I felt like consulting true experts and not pet store staff.
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[StaticKaos]

yeh i'd never trust petstore staff either, they all fools.. Anywase.. I would recommend Aspen bedding.. I don't own a boa myself but it works very well with my BP.. it is VERY cheap, absorbent, looks good, an has 0 oils.. so its non toxic completely.. Juss my suggestion
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[coferj]

Cypress Mulch is also a popular substrate, as well. I personally use Aspen, but some people say it's too dusty for them. I've never had a problem with the dust, but to each his own. Either would work great. Good Luck!
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[Kaze]

I had a ball python about a year ago and with that I used reptibark but my snake developed sores along its body. It took a long time to heal them and there was some scarring. Im very hesitant to use any type of bark now. Currently i used newspaper. But from what I can tell with the dragons I have, then stuff loks and smells much better. I am just wondering if there could be some crazy type of reaction the snake might have to the stuff. (may sound dumb, but #$%^&#$%^&#$%^&#$%^& why risk it right?)
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[telefrag]

Why not use regular play sand?

(for beardies, not RTB)

had to correct myself.

[Ed_r]

For my baby beardie I use NO substrate because he will get inpackted. For an adult or somewhat adult I would use play sand because that is the natural habitat they dig and bury themselves and lay eggs in the sand. No pellets for rtbs though Aspen , astro turf, or newspaper I use all 3 ( not in the same cage)
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[StaticKaos]

Kaze.. I used repti bark for my BP for a month or 2.. No bad effects though.. Sorry to hear about that for ya.. I now use Aspen, mostly because its cheaper.. That repti bark was like 7 bucks for a small bag, screw that.. My BP cage has a 10 square foot bottom.. Only took about 1 1/4 Aspen bags to completely fill it with a inch or so depth.. Plus, its only like 3 bucks at walmart

PS: sorry to sway off tha thread subject
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[DogVsRaptor]

I use astroturf because you can clean it and it looks nice. I use this
for the bottom of my iguana cage and as the flooring of my bp cage.
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	Ball Python The Ball Python (Python regius), also known as the Royal Python, is a ground dwelling snake native to the savannahs and rain forests in western Africa, predominatly the countries of Ghana, Togo, and Benin.

	Iguana Iguana

[yeto]

for substract? newspapers or paper towels, you just need to roll them out, sweeping, put some new, and thats all, a clean vivarium again. dont forget that you must clean your vivarium very well once every 3 weeks, another tip, newspaper ink works as a mild antibacterial. i know newspaper does not seem decorative, but with a beautiful redtain in a tank you dont need to much to make it look great [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]
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[yeto]

also...i dont know if those pellets can hurt a snake who swallows them...but i should not want to take that risk
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[Kaze]

muchas gracias. You guys are fast to respond!
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[Dr.Oviparous]

Welcome to RTB, Kaze!

For smaller/mid size boids I use cypress mulch. It’s also very inexpensive (like 1.50 for a giant bag that could probably fill your 75 gallon 3 times or so depending on how much you fill it with. larger guys I use newspaper on. just because the big guys can mess up a whole lot of substrate with one urate, and it's easier to just to R2 the newspaper than it is to remove a big chunk of cypress, and even then you never know if you got it all unless you remove half the substrate. <TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font class="pn-sub">Quote:</font><HR></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT class="pn-sub"><BLOCKQUOTE> Why not use regular play sand?
</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE> I believe Tele was referring to the beardies, you do not want to use playground sand for any BCI. -Juggalo

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	Boa Constrictor Imperator Boa Constrictor (Boa constrictor imperator). Most common is the Colombian Boa.