🐾Which Substrate Should I Use In My Vivarium? 

Choosing the right substrate helps support your animal's natural behaviour, maintains humidity, and keeps the enclosure clean. Here’s a breakdown of the most common types and what they’re best for.

🌿 Soil/Bark Substrates

These mimic natural environments and allow digging or burrowing.

• Coco Coir / Soil Mix – Great for humidity and burrowing; ideal for frogs, inverts, and tropical reptiles.

• Orchid Bark / Reptile Bark – Holds moisture well; good for tropical reptiles and amphibians.

• Forest Floor Mixes – Often a combo of soil, bark, moss, and leaf litter; bioactive-friendly.

• Sand/Soil Mix – Naturalistic and safe for many desert reptiles (e.g., bearded dragons/tortoises) when used properly.

⚠️ Always avoid calcium sand or dyed sands — these can cause impaction.

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🌲 Shaving Type Substrates

• Hemp Bedding – A natural, dust-extracted substrate made from hemp stalks. It's soft, absorbent, and compostable, making it a popular eco-friendly choice. Best for snakes and small reptiles that don’t need high humidity. It’s low-dust and easy to spot-clean.

• Aspen Shavings – A popular dry substrate for snakes, especially species from arid or temperate environments. Easy to spot-clean and allows burrowing.

  ⚠️ Avoid for high-humidity species, as it moulds easily when wet.

• Lignocel (Wood Pulp / Cellulose Fibre) – A soft, fluffy substrate made from plant fibre. It’s absorbent, low-dust, and excellent for snakes and some inverts.

  Great for dry setups or where humidity needs to be controlled carefully.

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🧻 Solid Substrates

These are easy to clean and great for monitoring health.

• Paper Towels – Great for quarantine or hatchlings; disposable and hygienic.

• Reptile Carpet – Reusable and washable, though can trap bacteria if not cleaned often.

• Tiles – Excellent for arid setups; easy to clean and holds heat well.

💧 Moisture-Retaining Substrates

These are ideal for high-humidity species.

• Sphagnum Moss – Great for humid hides and boosting enclosure humidity.

• Bioactive Soil Mixes – Designed for planted vivariums with cleanup crews.

• Leaf Litter – Natural mulch layer that retains moisture and supports microfauna.

🐾 Unsafe Substrates to Avoid

• Calcium Sand / Crushed Walnut – Can cause serious impaction if ingested.

• Cedar or Pine Shavings – Contain oils that are toxic to reptiles.

• Gravel / Small Pebbles – Risk of accidental ingestion and impaction.

📌 Quick Tips

• Match substrate to the animal’s natural habitat (arid, tropical, forest, desert).

• Consider your humidity needs and cleaning routine.

• If going bioactive, research plant-safe options and drainage layers.

• Digging species love loose substrates; desert reptiles often do well on tiles or compact mixes.

• Baby/young reptiles often need no loose substrate to avoid impaction.