Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Anyone use excavator clay in their beardie cage? I was just wondering because i figure clay would not hold the mositure as much maybe like a half cage so he can dig and create his own hide but also have a side with a nice log and stuff so he can hang in the sun? Just wondering if its a good idea. Any pros and cons that you can think of would be great.

I have used this before but I used it to build cage furinture like basking plateforms and things to climb on. It turns hard but degrades after times and leaves particles that can be consumed. I stop using it for this reason as if ingested could cause impaction problems. I would not use it as a main substate because of this and that it would get messy when they go to bathroom on it... Just my experience hope this helps
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1.1 spider
0.2 pastel
0.1 pastel het ghost
1.0 mojave het ghost
0.1 lesser
1.0 lemon blast
0.1 fire

Yeah helps a lot thanks.

Clay is the exact opposite type of soil to use. It is a good example of a reptile dry goods company completely missing the point in a new product.

Like making a cold refreshing drink. From bleach.
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robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles

Always been leery of this product. Having used clay myself for art purposes, I know first hand what its like. As a substrate my biggest concern was what happens when it dries?

Clay does hold water well but under hot lamps I worried it would dry out fast and form a rather hard crusted mass which would suck any moisture into its core like a sponge. Thus, it would harbor bacteria, providing it a nice home to breed. Not to mention once dry it would produce a huge amount of dust if dug into.

Once its partially dry or completely dry and hard, I would expect it is a nightmare to remove from a cage.

The picture on the bag (I have yet to see any of this stuff locally...none of the petstores here carry it or never had it in stock when I looked.) so I couldn't get a closer look at it, but it seems to be rather coarse, thus making it just as great if not greater an impact risk than crushed walnut or calcium sand.

Another concern is the quality of the clay. Clay and stoneware (which is basically a coarser claw for sculpture work/pottery) are regulated for art use to have little to no silica content. Silica if inhaled causing damage to lungs over time. Even then it is recommended to wear a mask when working with dry clay to stop inhaling the fine dust.

Clay is fine if its fired and glazed to seal it. Unfired or unglazed, its very porous and crumbles easily when dry. It probably be better to use Excavator substrate like you would use stoneware, borrow a kiln and fire it, glaze it then use it in your cage. May be great for using the 'Raku' style of firing/glazing.
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PHLdyPayne

Thats for the infor robyn and phd thanks for the pottery 101 class.