Im new to owning water dragons , and im not sure on what i should use for substrate. At 1st i was using yesturdays news , because i had some left over. But i think that it was too dry, so i tryed some expandable coc. fiber stuff , like the bed a beast. It has been bringing up the humidity, but i have noticed that it might be too moist, because i have noticed some mold under there water dish. I scooped that out. Also it is so darn messy, they get it all in there water. I have there new bigger cage comming in the mail, and i was wondering what i should use. Should i stick with this stuff. I also heard that it can get mites ??? That has me worried about this substrate. I also bought a fogger that im going to put in there new cage, so should i go back to yesturdays news? Or try something new? I can use all the help i can get . thanks alot
-amanda
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what substrate should i use for my WD'S?
Replies (11)
The best substrate I have found is indoor/outdoor carpeting or shelf liner. Newspaper ink isn't good for them, so only use paper if you get it unprinted. You can buy the end of newspaper rolls from your local paper sometimes. Coconut bark is messy, and mine always had mites.
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Well the stuff i used was called yesturdays news. Its cat litter made of newspaper but its compacted, looks like rabbit pellets basically.You can use for litter with all kinds of animals . I never had a problem with it, except humidty problems, but since i bought a fogger i think i might go back to the yesturdays news. Its pretty kool stuff !!!!
-amanda
p.s the link to the website is below!!
Link
Also i use the unscented stuff!!!
hmm, thats interesting, I've never seen that before. I don't know how digestable it is for a dragon, that would be my main concern. Anything that swells up when wet is generally bad, because it can cause impactions even if the dragon could digest it eventually. My dragons never ate their substrate tho, so it might work fine.
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Hey someone has mentioned coconut bark??? How is that different then coconut fiber?? How safe is it??
The bark is usually chunks of coconut bark instead of shredded stuff. I used it for awhile and it works pretty good, but it can get mites and gets nasty after awhile. It usually doesn't get dragged into the water area tho, which is nice.
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I am just gonna stick with the yesturdays news stuff. Maybe later i will try some bark. The whole mite thing is a little too scary. Thanks for all your help !!
amanda -
Np
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Yes, it molds, carries mites, and gets dragged into the water area. Mites aren't really scary, they dont hurt the dragon any, but they are pretty disgusting to have in your house.
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IT DOESNT MOLD AND IT COMES IN THE PACKAGE DRY WHERE OTHERS ARE WET AND THE BARK PROBABLY HAS BACTERIA AND MITES AND SUCH, AND IVE BEEN USING THIS STUFF FOR 2 YEARS AND IT HASNT MOLDED AND I HAVENT HAD ONE CASE OF MITES YET. HAVE ANY QUESTIONS BOUT IT JUST ASK.
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CHONG188
a cheap bedding to use is a mixture of 2/3 peat moss based potting soil and 1/3 sand. that's what i used for my water dragons and it seemed to do just fine.
