Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok so heres my problem. I recently bought a beardy set up (i had leopards before) and in the pack the substrate was Zilla Alfalfa Meal Reptile Bedding. As my beardy is a juvenile i thought this would be a good substrate. Its been 2 days since i set it all up but now i notice a lot of very tiny insects in the tank? I was concerned so i rang the store where i bought it and they said it was normal for this type of substrate and would not harm the beardy but im not so sure....please advise. Thanks

Sounds like B.S. I would take it all out and switch to paper. I suggest the kraft paper from www.uline.com , you can get it indented to give it some texture as well. They also sell unprinted newspaper, butcher paper, etc. So far I have liked the indented kraft the best.

What color are these tiny insects? Are they on the dragon as well? I would seriously get everything out, disinfect and see if there are any left over.

Are these alfalfa pellets ? First off,they can and WILL cause impaction VERY easily...many substrates sold by stores are very dangerous. Dragons are curious and like to taste. Walnut shells are even worse,just a matter of time until someone swallows and gets sick. Most of the calcium type sand is also dangerous. I have seen leopard geckos in a pet store that were dying on that stuff and when I turned the animal over,you could clearly see through the thin belly skin that the digestive tract was LOADED with the stuff. STAY AWAY !! Newspaper or paper towels are best for a young one and washed children's play sand is O.K.,although some people don't like to use it.As for thew pet store saying the bugs are harmless...what an unprofessional sales staff. Is there another store that you could go to ?

The bugs are grain mites or something like that which feeds off the alfalfa. However, the pellets are a very bad choice for bearded dragon substrate...in fact I wouldn't recommend it for any reptile. Take the stuff back to the petstore for a refund is my suggestion. If they won't give you one, toss it and clean out the cage to get rid of the bugs and switch to any of the saver (and far cheaper) substrates commonly recommended here. Things like plain newsprint, paper towel, newspaper, parcel paper (basically brown paper used to wrap parcels), non stick shelf liner, plastic table cloths or what others here have already recommended.

Oh the bugs themselves won't bother your dragon as they are not parasites and have no interest in blood etc. from your dragon as typical reptile mites would. However they can be annoying but once you clear out all the pellets and your dragon's cage, the bugs should vanish in short order.

And to answer your earlier question about D3 supplements...Rep Cal is a good brand to go with as well as Sticky Tongue brand. There are a couple others but I can't recall them myself. Just dust your dragon's insects every other day (as I believe your dragon is over 6 months...if he's not, then once a day is fine). Don't dust the vegetables. Just make sure you are feeding good sorts of greens like collards, dandelion greens, mustard greens and the like. Oh and replace one calcium dusting twice a week for under 6 month old dragons with a multivitamin and once a week for older dragons.
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PHLdyPayne

Personally I'd bring the substrate back. They should have told you when you bought it that it attracted bugs if it was normal. Most likely the bugs came in the bag which is what I'd tell them.

It can't be comfortable for the dragon to have bugs crawling on it's eyes and in it's ears regardless of whether they bite or not.