Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi I have a new pet European legless lizard and I wanted to see what the best bedding is to keep it on. I have it on walnut sand but it looks
Like its sticking to its eyes and in the nostrils, that cant be comfortable.
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Pituophis c. annectans
Senticolis t. intermedia
Rhinechis scalaris
Elaphe bairdi
Lampropeltis zonata
Lampropeltis t. campbelli
Lampropeltis m. thayeri

I would put it on paper towels until you are sure that the eyes are not irritated or even infected. If substrate is sticking to the eyes, they could be oozing. Walnut is not a good substrate for anything, IMO, and I really don't like sand either.

When I kept an American legless, I kept it on organic garden soil with a bit of sand mixed in, and threw a thin layer of bark over it, then provided lots of secure hides. You have to make sure the soil is organic so that it doesn't contain fertilizers and pesticides.

Hi Ryan,
We keep ours in shredded aspen. I think ZooMed sells it under the name Snake Bedding. It's a different texture from shaved aspen, which is much cheaper. We pour in a lot and pack it down by hand to about 5-6" high. The lizard likes it because she can tunnel and actually construct a burrow that holds its shape. It's cool because we can watch her plan where she wants to have an entryway in which to hang out, such as positioning herself to hunt whatever falls into her mealworm bowl. Originally, mixed in peat, but it just made her look dirty and seemed to get in her eyes. We also tried mixing in orchid bark but it made the substrate less able to hold the shape of her tunnels.
Every morning we mist the enclosure and spray enough water that some dribbles off the rocks. When she's going into a shed, we spray a bit more. This seems to result in the right amount of ground moisture and humidity for her -- not too much.
Another reason I like the aspen is that it is a non-toxic, fast growing wood and therefore more renewable and sustainably grown and harvested than a lot of the alternatives.
Hope that helps.