Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi there, I will be getting two Saharans in the next few weeks and I am setting up their new home now. I've read that sand isn't great because of the impaction factor and that alfalfa pellets smell and decompose easily. I decided on bird seed, white millet to be exact, and was wondering if anyone else has used this, to what success and whether or not there is a better substrate.

Thanks

My substrate was a mixture of fine playsand and millet (finch seed), however I had trouble with my uro constantly eating the seeds out of the mixture. I was worried about the uro getting impacted or dehydrated from constantly munching on the dry seeds. (even though they are really small)
Just keep an eye on the guy, and make sure he's walking on it, and not constantly eating it!
Also, they can end up 'swimming' in the seed if you make it too deep. The seed doesn't pack that tightly, and sometimes it can be hard for the guys to walk on. You may have to experiment to get it right.
good luck
alli

I use half playsand half peat moss. It's really really cheap, safe, looks nice, is natural, holds shape OK and takes pretty good care of odor.
-----
Mark Martinez
University of Florida

I was going to use the millet because of what I read, and it only cost me $20 for 50 Lbs of it, which would last me forever. I do like the sounds of mixing it with something else though, I guess I'll just play around until I find something I like and works well. Thanks for the input.

If you mix the millet with something else they may start to pick out the millet and eat it and swallow whatever else is in there which isn't so bad, but isn't good either.

FYI, 50 lbs of playsand is $2.50 and 40lbs of peat is $8.
-----
Mark Martinez
University of Florida

I have been using the millet for some time and love it, even though it is expensive. I was talking to a long time breeder of uros yesterday and sent him pictures of my rainbow bentis. He asked me what substrate I was using and when I said millet, he didn't like it. He said eating too much millet would raise protein levels and the seeds could cause impaction! I give up! For those of you who use the 50/50 playsand peat mix, does this look like sand or what? Is it easy to clean up? Thanks for any input.

Pam

The 50/50 mix looks like really clean dirt. Its kinda something you have to see. It's just really sandy soil, like what we sometimes have here in Florida. It looks kinda nice I think.

As far as clean up, if you are familiar with the form, color, and slight odor of their feces (and its different parts), it becomes easy to pick out with any old sifter. Since the peat sometimes looks like little feces, cleanup is definetely something that becomes easier with time.

I don't like millet, it's kind of like covering your living room with grain. It will get moldy and may even sprout.
-----
Mark Martinez
University of Florida

Personally I prefer playsand. Have not tried millet or birdseed.
On the playsand you can lay some flat peices of rock/stone. On this you place the foodbowl.
-----
Hello from the Netherlands... this is my Uro-Website

If anybody has fishtanks, they will understand what I mean, but I sort of think the substrate debate is like the debate for the best filtering system for your fishtank. It depends on the person, and the animal, and the setup which is best. Some people have no trouble with seeds, some have a lot. Some people prefer protein skimmers, some people don't have one (like me). I think there are definite NO's to substrate (ie, walnut shell, bark), but there are a lot of IT COULD WORK's as well. My advice is, find out what is best for you and your lizard. Mine is doing great on a 50/50 sand millet mixture. He doesn't eat too much seed, and its easy to pick out pellets. I've never had an impaction problem, and I've never had sprouting seeds or mold or mess. Though some people would totally condemn my setup.
Just do what is best for you. Monitor your lizard's progress or impediments, and go with the flow.....
and don't forget to have fun!
alli

On a suggestion from Lindsay Pike, we decided to put our Uros on "filtration sand" which is available at home depot and the like. 50 lb bags are $5 and the sand is very uniform, no big chunks for them to swallow and get impacted. We use 2-3 bags to fill our 65 gallon tank. they LOVE this sand. they toss it all over the place and dig like little madmen. one has taken to digging all the way down through our 4-6 inches of substrate to the bottom in one corner of the cage. i keep pushing it back over and she keeps digging it right back up!! i think she thinks it's a game
we've found so far that they barely eat it at all, if any. cleaning it is pretty easy as the poo represents the only clumps that can be found in the substrate.