What do you use for substrate?

[CDN-Cresties]

Hi, what do you guys/girls use for substrate for your cresties?
Thanks

-Steve-

[HeatherRose]

I use repticarpet....I like it, it's easy to clean too.

I used to have mossy stuff from PetSmart, but my gecko could never find it's food because it had so many places to hide :P

What do you use?

[CDN-Cresties]

I use to use this rain forest bedding stuff but i noticed that one of my geckos got a mouth full of it and was having a tough time putting it down. I helped him out by watering him, so he would drink. That seemed to work. Im currently using paper towel, i dont want the risk of my cresties choking :( How much is repti carpet, i never heard of it before. Can you fill me in on the details please.
Thanks

-Steve-

[HeatherRose]

I know, when I had moss my crestie would get it in her mouth too...I switched because she couldn't find her food though.

it's like really thick felt...not as soft. My crestie HAS hooked a tooth or two in it catching food, but is fine. That's the only downside I'd think.

Enough to carpet a ten gallon cost me 15$, I THINK. I know it was cheap, or I wouldn't have gotten it. It comes in a few colours, and you can cut it to fit your enclosure properly. it's easy to clean, you can have an extra sheet of it around and rotate them on a weekly basis or whenever you clean. Clean it, wring it out and put it back :)

Or you can go with Astroturf and get it at a hardware store :) get a few pieces and change them completely once and a while.

[ohh_kristina]

$15 for repticarpet for a ten gallon tank?! Wow. I paid $4 at my reptile shop for a sheet of it and it was actually too big for my ten gallon tank..I had to cut it down. Look around some more, you are paying way way too much!

-Kristina

[HeatherRose]

I lied then...it's probably less.....

Yup, I cut mine down too...

I COMPLETELY forget the price...but it WAS cheap. :D

[Wuntu Menny]

I use a custom soil mix, live plants rooted in the substrate, and top it with sphagnum. Cleaning is a little more time consuming, but I like the naturalistic enclosures best.

WM

[CDN-Cresties]

I just made the switch to paper towel. It doesnt look natural but its the best thing for my cresties right now. I dont want any of my geckos to choke on the substrate when they make those lunging dives for prey. Ill post pics soon of their enclosures. :D

-Steve-

[Wuntu Menny]

I'm also one of those idiots that dish feeds most of his animals. Time consuming, but it eliminates the accidental ingestion problem.

WM

[CDN-Cresties]

Im going to do that too, im just waiting for some margarine bowls to be emptied out :D. Do you pull the legs off of the crix?
Thanks

-Steve-

[angel]

I use coconut bark, it comes compresed in a package and you add water to it to make it expand. It ends up looking kind of like soil, but its not as messy. I also use it for my frogs.

[sara]

Paper towel is by far my favorite substrate for cresteds, but I also use j-cloth on occasion for little guys since it can handle higher humidity and over-zealous feeding responses better than pt. It also provides better contrast for dusted insects.

[Wuntu Menny]

Crestie: Yeah, I pinch the hind legs on their crix most of the time. Laborious, but hey, less chitin, right? My usual feeding dishes are heavy ceramics that the geckos can't tip over when they do the big ambush flop. Sometimes I'll use a huge dish that the bugs can't jump out of.

Angel: The coconut coir is really handy stuff too. I've used it before in temporary setups and displays and was quite happy with it. I also use it as a major component of my fire skink substrate. It just doesn't contain the nutrients to support the live plants in my permanent enclosures.

WM

[JasonBrennan]

I use cypress mulch for just about everything I have. If they are not on cypress, then they are on newpaper (quarantined new animals, for example). I get cypress for $2.17/2 cu. ft (44 lbs)

[Wuntu Menny]

I've been looking for a good source for inexpensive cypress mulch. Where do you get yours so cheap?

Also, I'm assuming that 44 lbs is wet weight, isn't it? That's pretty heavy for 2 cubes.

WM

[CDN-Cresties]

Awesome idea, im going to try that, thanks :D

-Steve-

[Jazzey]

I use repticarpet.
Jazzey

[ColleenT]

i use repticarpet, the brown color(that was all they had. )