# substrate



## REPTILE*FREAK (May 9, 2011)

im am getting a baby tegu from varnyard when they hatch and i was wondering what would be a good substrate for baby tegu?


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## TheTeguGurl (May 9, 2011)

Cypress mulch is the best.!!!!!


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## james.w (May 9, 2011)

I am trying out a soil/sand mix in my 8' enclosure for my All American. I like it better already, and my Gu seems to like it too.


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## Strange_Evil (May 9, 2011)

Yeah according to everything i read,Cypress mulch is by far the best substrate,it holds humidity and burrows great,i switched my Curly tails over to it! I use small bags you can find at petco, But you can go to somewhere like your local walmart or Acer hardware and find some for really cheap(i had no luck,and got stuck buying Petco bags). At other stores like Walmart and Home Depot,i hear you get a really huge bag for like $4! 

I am going to try a Eco earth and Cypress mulch mix,because things will get pricey just using small bags of cypress from petco,and according to a few others that will be good as a substrate.

Remember there is a world of substrates you can use. So if your not satisfied with cypress just experiment around until you find what works for you. Just make sure you get all natural cypress mulch,nothing added.


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## Bubblz Calhoun (May 9, 2011)

_For babies I use Eco Earth and a mixture of Eco and Soil for larger tegus._


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## REPTILE*FREAK (May 9, 2011)

ok thanks every body for the help and have anybody had any problems with them eating the cypress mulch


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## james.w (May 9, 2011)

REPTILE*FREAK said:


> ok thanks every body for the help and have anybody had any problems with them eating the cypress mulch



My AA would eat it every once in a while when he was on cypress. 


sarefina said:


> Cypress mulch is the best.!!!!!



what else have you tried for comparison?


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## REPTILE*FREAK (May 9, 2011)

Bubblz Calhoun said:


> _For babies I use Eco Earth and a mixture of Eco and Soil for larger tegus._



do the eco earth keep good humidity

i havent got it yet im getting one when they hatch at varnyard i just want to have everything ready


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## reptastic (May 9, 2011)

I use a eco earth/ cypress mulch mixture and for some odd reason it seems to work much better than either substrates when used single, it holds a burrow very well and it hasnt clasped yet(unless one of the gu's tear it down lol) and the humidity stays high


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## Orion (May 9, 2011)

Eco-Earth holds the humidity high. I did have a Tegu eat some and get impacted.


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## Bubblz Calhoun (May 9, 2011)

Orion said:


> Eco-Earth holds the humidity high. I did have a Tegu eat some and get impacted.



_What proof do you have that it was the Eco Earth that caused the impaction and not something else? Were you using the ground up Eco, the chips or a mixture of something?

Not to say that it can't happen but it's highly unlikely and other factors would contribute to that before the Eco Earth does. _


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## reptastic (May 9, 2011)

I havnt seen Rayne take any bites of the eco earth, but he has passed some a few times , adding cod liver oil seems to help push it along also every now and then i add some olive oil to their food, also if their temps are high enough impaction shouldnt be a problem, impacting could stem from quite a few things


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## REPTILE*FREAK (May 9, 2011)

ok thanks every body for helping out


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## Orion (May 9, 2011)

Hey Bubblz, I saw her eating it and I have the x-rays and over 2000 dollars in vet bills. She came out of hibernation last year and just started eating it, I immediately switched her to newspaper but it was too late. I was and still use the compressed coconut fiber for my 2 other Tegus. Its been over 9 months and I am just putting her in an enclosure with the Eco-Earth again. She made a full recovery after surgery. She is doing well and the scar on her stomach is almost gone.


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## Bubblz Calhoun (May 9, 2011)

_I'm glad your tegu made it through and has recovered. I hadn't seen or read your thread about Tiny until now and if Eco Earth was the cause of everything. Then that and the circumstances around it is something that should be known so that others can avoid it.

I haven't had a problem with it and hadn't heard of anyone else having issues with it besides being a little messy when removing the tegu. Had I known,.. obviously I wouldn't have asked._


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## herpgirl2510 (May 10, 2011)

I have one half of my enclosure is hemlock no cypress around here and the other 1/2 sad/dirt(top soil). He loves to dig in the dirt side he made himself a deep little burrow uner some filedstone he sleeps in.The burrow does not collapse like one made of mulch woud. Pretty funny I came home to a trashed enclosure from him digging it but I bet he enjoyed himself.


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## Orion (May 10, 2011)

Bubblz Calhoun said:


> _I'm glad your tegu made it through and has recovered. I hadn't seen or read your thread about Tiny until now and if Eco Earth was the cause of everything. Then that and the circumstances around it is something that should be known so that others can avoid it.
> 
> I haven't had a problem with it and hadn't heard of anyone else having issues with it besides being a little messy when removing the tegu. Had I known,.. obviously I wouldn't have asked._



Its all cool B. You cant be expected to know everyones story. My large male (Bob) eats the Cypress I mixed in with the Eco-Earth, so as Tegus go I dont think there is a best solution...I think they will eat everything. Tiny eats anything white also. She ate 3 pieces of plastic I didnt know until they passed and I had to fight her for a cigarette butt she found outside the other day. As for the Eco-Earth I just bought 30 bricks, I love the stuff. I holds moisture and my Tegus seem to like it. Tiny doesn't seem to be interested in eating it any more.


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## Drumsinthenight (May 13, 2011)

I like double milled cypress with a lil sand or top soil mixed in.


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## Toby_H (May 13, 2011)

I love Eco Earth (Pulverized Coconut Shell) as a general substrate and it works great for Tegus, especially young ones...

But Eco Earth is far to expensive to use and regularly change in huge enclosures. Cypress mulch is far less expensive and has all of the benefits of Eco Earth other than it's larger in particle size. Which means it holds larger burrows better but is also damaging if eaten. 

I feed in the enclosure on a raised flat (no substrate) platform. I've never had a problem with ingesting mulch.


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