Uro bedding

[Rebecca]

Has anyone ever tried using something like aspen bedding or something like that?? I just thought it would be neat to try but, I can't find anyone info on if it would be bad for them or not. Any ideas people??

[Ptindy]

I think it would be bad. Eating crickets off of aspen bedding wouldn't be very easy.

[Rebecca]

Uros don't eat crickets they eat veggies.

[manville]

Originally posted by Ptindy
I think it would be bad. Eating crickets off of aspen bedding wouldn't be very easy.

By saying that, you dont even know about them.

[Rhonda]

I don't think aspen substrate would be a good choice. It is not natural for the species and I would be concerned they might ingest too much. I use play sand. It is cheap, easy to spot clean and is similar to their natural habitat.

[ChokeOnSmoke]

I think Ptindy was probably referring to Uroplatus instead of Uromastyx

[Jawz]

i had mine on bird seed....relatively cheap and if they ever eat it...well its food basicly so it doesnt hurt as long as u take out sunflowers hulls.

[Nicki]

I like washed playsand the best. It works perfectly, no problems with it. And it's super-cheap and easy to keep clean.

[Rebecca]

I have mine on playsand right now. it looks great. But the reason I want to change it is because to move my tank it takes 3 grown adults. The cage is huge it's 4'L x 3'H x 2.5W, (rough estimate) not including the legs. It also has like 60lbs of sand so it has lots of digging area. I like to change my room around and it is a pain in just so meny ways how heavy the tank is. I wanted something light that would not hurt it or anything like that. I figured that I could use that so we both are happy. I might try the bird seed though. Has anyone else done that other then jawz??

[Jawz]

Opinions vary on the ideal bedding. It's a common misconception that Uromastyx prefer sand and come from a sandy environment. In fact they tend to avoid overly sandy locales in the wild, preferring clay/sand or loam mixes, rocky outcrops or other soils better suited to holding a burrow without collapsing. If you use sand, make sure it is a natural sand (rounded edges) like beach sand or washed playground sand. Man made sand (from crushing gravel) has jagged edges which easily interlock, leading to gut impactions in animals that swallow it. We personally don't like sand and restrict it's use to the nest boxes. We've tried bark, which the Uros loved but the dust produced was unacceptable and picking out fecal pellets was far too labor intensive. We then tried rabbit pellets (alfalfa), but the problems were essentially the same as bark but with more odor.

We finally switched to high quality wild bird seed (predominately millet/sorghum seed with the sunflower seeds sifted out) several years ago and have been extremely pleased with the results. The Uro's can snack on the seed throughout the day, it's generally dust and odor free, and sticks to fresh fecal pellets, quickly drying them. Seeds which the Uro's crack before swallowing are digested while uncracked seeds pass whole, acting as much needed roughage. The fecal pellets can be quickly sifted out of the cage with a 1/4" mesh hardware wire sieve (easy to make from a cat litter scoop), allowing us to easily maintain a large number of Uromastyx without needing additional hired help. The seed is good for several months per cage, then with one final cleaning, can be fed to our other livestock (Fallow deer) or wild birds. If the Uros drag damp sand into the bedding or pile bedding in the nest box, the seeds sprout, unlike rabbit pellets, which mold. As a side note, we've also looked into using calcium carbonate sand (Calci-sand, T-Rex), but other Uro keepers have told us the dust produced is too great to be acceptable bedding. The fine dust has a tendency to get into the eyes as well, potentially causing significant irritation/injury. It is particularly dangerous to use around hatchlings and juveniles. There is also some concern calcium-based sands act like giant anti-acid tablets, upsetting the digestion process. Ground walnut shell has also been suggested as a good bedding, and is listed as an attractive, digestible, odor free, safe bedding by the manufacturers. While we agree it's quite attractive, it is otherwise a nightmare of a product. Walnut shell is composed primarily of lignins which in fact are not digestible by vertebrates, and the crushing process basically leaves most the resulting pieces with jagged edges. These edges have been indicated in the deaths of several Uromastyx -necropsies revealing their stomachs had been extensively lacerated by ingested bedding. All in all, we suggest avoiding it. Similarly, ground corn-cob is too dangerous to use. While it has smooth edges, it's extremely hydrophilic and if swallowed absorbs water from the gut and greatly swells. This can easily lead to fatal impactions and as Uromastyx don't normally drink water, even small amounts inadvertently ingested can easily dehydrate smaller specimens. Bed-a-Beast (shredded coconut husks) are used by some with good success, but again fecal pellets have to be removed one by one by hand and it tends to be quite dusty. We are currently using it cut 50 -50 with sand in our nest boxes as it has the desirable characteristic of being pH neutral. It also comes as chucks which we are currently testing out as bedding for our Butterfly agamas. So far it seems to be is an attractive, low dust, no odor bedding, but fecal pellets do have to be individually removed.

[Gillards]

I don't think Aspen would be a very good idea. Uromastyx taste everything. and I don't think aspen would go very well with them.
Lorraine