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What are you guys using for substrate?

Tas Aug 23, 2006 02:11 PM

I have been using paper towels but they are a little bit of a pain not to mention the amount of rolls I go through. I have a 4x2x2 cage and since they almost always poop right in between the two sheets that I basically have to replace the whole thing everyday. I have contact paper on the floor already and was wondering if I should just let them go on that and wipe it clean or do you guys have any suggestions.

I like sand because all you have to do it scoop it up, but I tired it and feel that they all a little too young for it. They are not that acurate when they hunt.

I appreciate your suggestions, and when I get home I will post pics of the cage I made. Thanks for your help in the past that allowed me to think some of it through.

Replies (4)

CheriS Aug 24, 2006 03:04 AM

Sand can be really nasty and unhealthy for young dragons, besides not dafe as they will ingest it. We use a combo set up of starting off with papertowels for babies, then add non adhesive shelf liner over the entire bottom with a small area of paper towel still for them to poo on. Next we add a small poece of Premium reptile turf carpet (washes and holds it shape/quality really good)while still leaving a folded paper towel in the corner and then when they are older they get a sand box added into their enclosure to play or dig in.

This set up paper trains them, always is clean and odor free and the dragons rarely have any parasite issues.

Here is a photo of the babies set up before they get the Sandbox at around 6 months old and that just is in a small area of the enclosure. AS you can see they are very content and the enclosure is clean looking


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Tas Aug 24, 2006 08:00 AM

That sounds like a nice setup but can they be trained to poo only on the paper towel or at least 90% of the time. Your post sounds like it. How do you train them to do that or is it natural to poo in the same area I haven't noticed much of a pattern with my guys. Thanks again.

I see that you are using powersun do you like it?

CheriS Aug 25, 2006 07:41 AM

That PowerSun box is really old and I think came from a show, I have sample packs of Cricketfood.com gutload that we give away at the shows.... so I do not use PowerSuns anymore and have not for about 3 years now.

We have changed over almost all the enclosures to the MegaRay's which I really love, we used the ZooMed Active UVB/heat prior, but the MEgaRay has a better ballast life on theirs and they lenght of good usable UVB output is amazing. I have some that are over a year old and still producing acceptible UVB amounts and I never had the other last that long.... the PowerSuns rarely lasted 3-6 months before burning out!

RE: paper trainging them- I have 15 Adult dragons now and everyone of them but one will ONLY go on thier papertowel area I would say 95% of the time. One will only go in his bath.

IF you start the babies on paper towels and slowly add the shelf liner with a paper towel area, then the carpet piece with a papertowem area, they do get trained. As babies if they go on their carpet, we removed the carpet for a day and night..... the babies love soft things and they learn not to soil the carpet or it is taken away.

I have a friend that has her dragons trained to only poo on a piece of sod that she replaced every few months! So, I think they are very much like a cat and can be trained to only go in one place.
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tas Aug 25, 2006 07:47 AM

could be trained to go in a certian area. Thanks a lot.

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