he knows what he's talking about...it took me a while to realize that, so just trust me when I say it's worth trying his ideas. I know you probably have some concerns about dirt as a substrate, and I think I can clear a few simple ones up for you right now, and the faq should deal with the rest.
-Where to get it- If you have any good dirts locally (either straight from the ground or at a landscaping supply company), you can get it there. I have never heard of any legitimate reason to sterilize it even though it's coming from the wild. Just dig it up from a place you know doesn't have any chemicals in it, and make sure there's nothing bad in it (garbage, broken glass, harmful insects, small animals, dead animals, etc. etc.). It should be pretty simple to do that when you experiment with the dirt. Always experiment with it before you put it in with a reptile. Dig around with it, add water, put a heat lamp over it. Do all this in a rubbermaid container or something similar for a while before putting it in a cage with animals. If you don't have a good local soil, you can make a pretty decent store bought soil using the directions on pro exotics site.
-impaction- Let's face it, we keepers have been trying to pin impaction on substrate for a while. Sure, there are some truely bad substrate choices out there, but impactions don't happen in the wild, so it's obvious that if an impaction occurs it's the fault of the keeper. Usually stress, parasite problems (which comes from stress), low basking temps (135f and higher surface basking temps are good for uros), dehydration, or using a substrate that's inadequate for the species, will lead to problems. If you keep your animals in a healthy, hot, stress free environment, and you give them all the right tools, impactions don't happen.
-don't have enough space for 1-2 feet of soil?- Well, I know robyn is really adamate about having a full burrowing substrate, but I'm more realistic in thinking that many people don't have the space or cages to fit that much soil. Or in my case, your parents say no. There are other things you can do to try to fulfill some of your lizards' dirt needs. One idea (as shown on the deer fern farms website) is to create a nest box out of a rubbermaid container and flexible plastic hose. Fill it with dirt and it gives your uro a quiet place to relax in the humidity, and it allows them a bare minimum of digging activities. Another idea which I use for mine is to take one section of a retes stack (as shown on pro exotics website), and bury it (or a couple consequtive ones) in the dirt, with only an entrance hole dug out, so the uro can dig underneath it. A similar idea is to just put some dirt in the tank, then throw down a piece of plywood, then put dirt over that and dig a little entrance hole under the plywood, so they can dig underneath it with the wood as their ceiling. I plan on using both the nesting box idea and this one in my new cages when they get completely/finish offgasing. Besides that, I also use a thin layer of soil for my uro, as well as my bearded dragon. They just like it better than the other substrates.
They're some good ideas, but definately not as good as a full digging setup, so if you have the ability, I would go with it. I only have the ability in my new cages to get, at most, around 8" of soil in, and I haven't yet found a soil that will hold a dependable burrow at only 8" deep. When I do I'll give it a shot though.
If you have any other questions about it, go to proexotics.com and check the faq. I obviously couldn't cover everthing that goes into dirt as a substrate, but I gave you a good starting point. I think once you start looking into it, you'll realize that this is the aspect to keeping these lizards that we've been missing for quite some time. They live in the desert, but they can't survive in a completely dry environment, so in the wild they go underground to maintain hydration, and that's something I feel we should provide in captivity.
Thanks!
layer of soil around my uro's cage and my beardie's cage, and I like it a lot. As long as you keep water in it, it doesn't get dusty or messy, and it doesn't get kicked around except in digging activities (my uro loves to go down into her fake burrow...the buried retes stack thing I mentioned earlier....and just dig around). Plus, it's easy to spot clean, and it doesn't get all smelly. Of course, if you don't get a good soil, all of the things I mentioned can turn out just the opposite, which is why it's very important that you choose wisely. Also, the packed soil gives your animals a firm footing that they seem to like. A uro's feet are not designed for walking on millet, so they tend to sink in as they walk.