Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Anyone ever heard of using grass for substrate. I'm talking about live grass..i have thought about it for awhile and it sounds like it would be pretty cool..I use alot of live plants in with my atb's and was wondering if it would work. I have thought about growing a small patch in a pot and then planting it in the enclosure to see how it does.. Let me know what you think.

I think it can be done. However, Fluker makes a product that consists of a substrate on which you grow oat grass [same stuff they sell for cats to eat]. I tried some of this and was impressed with the growth of the grass if not the actually appearance of the little turf substrate stuff the grass was intended to grow on. Anyway, I tried this in an enclosure with lizards who eventually trampled the stuff flat. Also, my light intensity wasn't high enough and what wasn't trampled died pretty soon after. All together it only last a few weeks. I think ornamental grasses like Mondo grass can be used as well as other low-growing varieties that you can buy at garden centers. I've grown Mondo grass in a Ball Python enclosure in the past as well, but again light intensity was an issue and the grass being trampled. What I haven't experimented with yet is actually transplanting a tuft of hardy grass like Crab grass into an enclosure. I think a grass species that grows fairly thick and close together might do okay if you could have high enough light intensity.
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Matt Campbell
25 years herp keeping experience
Full-time zookeeper
Personal collection - 21 snakes (9 genera), 20 lizards (4 genera), 6 chelonians (2 genera)

I think i'll give it a try then.. Thanks..i am gonna use it for my amazon tree boa so i dont think it will get smashed.

Something you might consider is doing some research into some of the more dense ground covers and mosses available at garden center. They can be more hearty for low light conditions and more able to withstand a trampling. Good Luck