Hi Chris! Glad you made it over!

You don't need to invest in granite! I use limestone garden stones that you can buy cheaply at nurseries, and I soak each piece in Clorox for a few minutes and rinse really well before I put it in the enclosure. That kills any parasites or potentially harmful organisms that might be lurking in the stone. Chucks need a nice big flat surface to bask on so that their bellies and backs warm up. Don't use a heat rock, though. I am sure others have other ideas. I think some people use big rocks, but I don't have anything like that here. I stack the limestone in such a way that there is a cave under the basking spot, and I stack stones that way in various other places in the enclosure to give them a choice. They prefer the warm cave, but they do wander into the others.

I use tile for substrate, and it works well. I don't like sand, particularly for babies, as I have seen too many impactions in rescues. You should not use any loose substrate for the baby. Just use paper towels or tile at least until you move it into the larger enclosure.

No bugs. Chucks might occasionally eat a bug here and there, but their diet really should be mostly vegetation. Do you shave those lists that I posted for you?

Well, there are some very knowledgeable chuck keepers here. If you have questions, ask away!

Oh, BTW, We LOVE pics!

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