Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello all, just wondering what some other anole owners prefer for bedding. As a kid I used gravel, not knowing any better (although my anoles were healthy, happy and long lived anyway). I decided sveral months ago to have an anole again, and started him with Repti-Bark, the problem with it being that if he does not eat his cricket right away, the stuff is in such large pieces that they just burrow into it and hide, some he catches, other he doesn't- they die under something and he misses his meal. So I thought I would try "jungle bark" which looked much finer at the bottom of the package (about the only part not covered by the label). It's filled with little hairs, coconut fiber I assume, when he eats he invariably catches one of these in his mouth, this morning he couldn't get it out and swallowed it, can't be good for his intestines. I removed it, put repti-bark back. So how about organic compost? Looking for something fine, moisture retentive, and containing nothing that would harm him. Any input appreciated, thanks.

Organic potting soil (without fertilizer or Perlite) or organic compost are both very good. They are absorbant and usually fine grained. You can pass them through a sieve of 1/4" hardware cloth and microwave it for about 10 minutes or bake it in the oven at 300 degrees for about 20 minutes to remove an "nasties" that might have gotten into the bag (like sowbugs or slugs). It will compact enough that crickets can't burrow into it but remain fluffy enough for female Anoles to bury their eggs in it. It also has the advantage of being the almost perfect substrate for planting live foliage directly into it.

Another advantage of a naturalistic setup with live plants is that the anole's droppings will fertilize the plants and any escaped crickets that die will just decompose and feed the soil, too. Slugs are awful, but sow bugs and springtails are great for consuming dead plant matter. I deliberately added both.
-----
Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1 Saharan Uros (Joe and Arthur)
3.0 Mali Uros (Spike, Turtle, and Tank)
1.1 Ornate Uros (Scuttlebutt and Shazzbot)
1.1 Collared Lizard (Ripcord and Rorschach)
2.0 Green Anoles (Bowser and Sprocket)
1.1 Chubby Housecats (Roscolux and Jenny)

I use ABG mix. It has pretty good structure, doesn't compact quickly, and my plants go nuts in it. The name is actually a term applied by someone who found out Atlanta Botanical Gardens recipe, and you can find alterations t it on Google. I found a website that premixes it. My plants go nuts in it. But, at the same time, I can nearly hand-feed my anole; I break one hind leg on the crix during feeding time, put it in a small container and put it near her so she can see them struggling, then she just dives down in the container and bags whichever one she wants. In regard to the whole her poop fertilizing the plants thing, I've had to actually uproot the plants to get them cleaned more often than the feces landing on the soil to even become fertilizer. And I had an issue where leaving crix in the enclosure resulted in some of my plants being destroyed.