Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am currently using paper towels as a substrate for my two new beardies who are both about 7 inches long. The problem is all the crickets hide underneath the paper towels. Has anyone had any experience either good or bad using bran as a substrate at this age? I know a few large breeders use sand from day one but what about bran?

Peter

Supposedly it's OK for babes. I quit using it due to other reasons. The cage furniture kept sliding all over and when my beardies pooped and drug their butts as they do, it got stuck and hardened. I had to soak them to get it off and was afraid it could cause infection.
As far as crix hiding, you could always feed in a seperate enclosure, rubbermade container, unused tank, etc.

i would stick to a non particulate substrate for young beardies, it just makes everything all much easier, feeding, cleaning, etc, and i feel its just safer for our smaller guys, although i use bran for my dragons and in my opinion for my guys its the best, i dont switch to it until they are 10 inches. Just give your baby a hide box if you use paper so he has somewhere to escape to and sleep in at night as he will not be able to burrow like he would in a particulate type substrate. Hope that helps a little =)