Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey all! I have been reading the forums for a while and I never decided to register untill now. I have a few questions... While purchasing supplies for my bearded I was deciding on the substrate. I decided not to use sand for fear of impaction. Yet I wanted something that looked better than paper towels. I ended up buying Kaytee Reptile Bedding and Litter. It seems to be pretty good. It says it helps reduce bacterial growth and is made from alfalfa which is suppossed to be perfectly digestable for them. They are little cylinder shaped pellets about the length of half a mealworm. On the back of the package it says

"KAYTEE Reptile Bedding and Little can be safely consumed because it is made from natural alfalfa, a digestible fibrous component of herbivorous reptiles' diet, and a totally passable component for carnivourus reptiles"

I bought the bedding from petco and it was what they were using to house their beardeds with. I just wanted your guys' opinion on the stuff and if you have ever used it.

Thanks for all your help!
-Billy

(P.S. - What does n/p stand for? I know it means something to the effect of "read what I wrote for the topic" but its been bugging me about what it stood for!)

ah, and here is a link to the product

http://reptilesupplydepot.com/product.php/7185900562.html

Sometimes the question can be answered in the topic.

I've never used the alfalfa pellets, but it sounds safe. What isn't safe are the sands with Calcium added to them. Many people use bran flakes too.
Do those pellets smell like hay? Just curious.
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www.classylizard.com

I don't know if this applies here but I know that puting alfalfa in tegu pens is a no no due to bacterial growth when it gets wet. I don't know how fresh it would stay if it gets wet from a water bowl or misting or from urates. I would also question how much of the substrate breaks apart and turns to a dust. If the binding agent is stong enough to hold it together, how hard is it to digest.

Just some thoughts as I am totally unfamiliar with the product.
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Bennett

www.beardiedragon.com

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Signature edited for TOS violation.

Edited on August 22, 2004 at 23:42:23 by phwyvern.

the package says its digestable and anti-bacterial of some sort. i put it in water and it kinda desinigrated. it also says to remove wet peices asap

the real risk is bacteria/parasite growth when the dragon poos on it. If spot cleaned regularly and having the entire batch cleaned out once a month or more often, it shouldn't be too much a problem, though I would still recommend using non-stick shelf liner for something safer and more decorative. (shelf liner comes in all kinds of colours and patterns). Plastic tableclothe is good too. Both area easy to spot clean and in the case of the shelf liner, it can be taken out and completely disinfected and air dried every month, then reused Plastic tablecloth, just thoss out and use a new piece, as its not very expensive.

The other concern I would have with the alfalfa pellets is chocking and inpection. It shouldn't be used with small dragons and babies, as those pellets may get lodged in the throat past the throat, especialy if they swell up any before breaking down.

I cut 2 pieces per enclosure, change them out weekly with spot cleaning in between....the shelf liner can be washed in your washing machine....I do a bunch at a time wtih a soap and some bleach, but you could throw it in with your whites so it gets a little bleach for disinfecting as well....just make sure you air dry completely before folding and putting away for the next use so any remaining bleach fumes are disapated and you don't get mold growing in the folded liner pieces.
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Tracey
Tracey's Beardies
www.beardiecrazy.com
"Whining is not only graceless, but can be dangerous.
It can alert a brute that a victim is in the neighborhood" ~Maya Angelou

I personally use Rabbit food pellets (which are alfalfa pellets) & I'm sure they are much cheaper than substrate pellets. $7.00 / 50lb bag..

Now, I only use it on adult dragons for several reasons.

Babies poo will fall down within it & you'll never see it to remove it.

Babies need a lot of misting. water & pellets = mold, fungus, etc. A NO NO

The Pellets swell a little when wet. Babies tummies aren't too big so you wouldn't want too much swelling going on in there.

Now, for adults, I do sometimes see them munching on the pellets and no problems so far. 2yrs now. They don't get misted, they get the weekly soaks & soaked RepCal pellets. Their poo is so much bigger, it just sits on top & any wet stuff clumps the pellets together so when you scoop it out, it's fairly easy to get the whole clump in one or two scoop. Then you can move the untouched stuff to the side, wet a napkin with Nolvasan and wipe the cage.

The pellets also get a stale smell in about a month so you know it's time to change them. It's hard to explain the smell. It's not gross or anything, it's just a different smell.

I hope that helps.
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Joel R

Coming some day.
www.SpikesAndScales.com

"the shelf liner can be washed in your washing machine....I do a bunch at a time wtih a soap and some bleach"

I never thought of that! I've been anchoring it down in the bathtub to soak then spraying it off with the showerhead, such a pain! Your method sounds so much easier, I could even do a second rinse to get all the residue off. So you just use a little laundry soap and a little bleach?
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Amanda
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2.0 bearded dragons (Ocho / Domo-kun)
1.0 pictus gecko (Nicodemus)
0.1 kingsnake (Rio)
0.0.1 tarantula (Calcifer)
1.0 ferret (Playstation)
1.0 cat (Wally)
0.1 dog (Tima)

yep, laundry detergent and bleach....and I rinse twice...then hang to dry....lol...I was doing much of what you were, but with 40 tanks to do it was getting time consuming, so I thought I'd try a couple of pieces....figured if they got ruined it was worth a try....but it worked....what a time saver....
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Tracey
Tracey's Beardies
www.beardiecrazy.com
"Whining is not only graceless, but can be dangerous.
It can alert a brute that a victim is in the neighborhood" ~Maya Angelou