junior is to the point where he has outgrown the 20 gallon long aquarium, and, as i don't yet live in a place where i can have him in the yard in a pen (as i'd ideally like to some day), my boyfriend and i were thinking of getting one of those one-piece molded plastic sandboxes and making a wood frame to go over it to attach his lamps to. the round kiddie pools are a bit cheaper, but the square sandbox shape is more space-efficient, and the one i'm looking at is a pretty nice 5 by 3 foot approxmate size. should do him for a good while.
my issue now is BEDDING.
i've been using bed-a-beast thus far, and i love the stuff (and i believe junior does, also). it's not too rough, and if he eats it, it's nothing that can impact his system -- it just passes on through (believe me, you can tell when he's been eating it). the stuff is a bit too pricey for filling a whole sandbox, though. i've heard of folks using various bark types, but i'm afraid the pieces would be too big and would cause impaction when he inevitably eats some of it. i've also heard of mulch -- is that smaller pieces, and softer?
what about untreated/unfertilized soil? any ideas on availability? that's what i think i'm leaning most toward so i can plant some nonpoisonous stuff in there for him to play with, hide under, and tear up. 
