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Desert substrate

laanxx99

laanxx99

New member
Does anyone know anything about this stuff called Desert Substrate? It says on the bag that it is for lizards and snakes. It is supposed to mimic sand but it is actually made of finely crushed walnut shell. Anyone had success using this for their substrate? My leopard gecko loves the stuff so I bought a ton of it when it was on sale. I was thinking about putting it in the Kernels viv but I wanted to see what all of you thought first. Anyone got any ideas?
 
Its like sand. I wouldn't use it because it can still get in the underscales of a snakes belly. I'd say stick with Aspen, news paper, paper towel, or that coconut bark stuff. I personally us aspen and love it. I use it on alll my animals, snakes to rodents.
 
I've used it in the past. From what I remember, the kernels are a lot larger than sand granules, so I wouldn't worry about it getting stuck between scales (I never had that problems). I also believe it says digestable on the bag-which was one of the reasons why I had tried it out. But, the main negative aspect that I found was its drying-out property. It really lowers the humidity in a viv--literally sucking the water out from the air and snakes (the snake I have had on it always looked 'ashy', and if sprayed with water (or the water bowl knocks over/splashes) it has a tendency to mold rather quickly.
 
This stuff is the bane of discussion at the Beardie forum I frequent- apparently it is an incredible impaction risk, so not great if your snake will be eating of it. It's not, as the package claims, digestible.
 
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