Scoria for outdoor substrate

[snohara]

Hey folks,

I'm after a well drained substrate for an outdoor pit. I've been doing some research online, and will continue to do more, but wanted to know in the meantime if anyone has ever used scoria as a substrate for bulky lizards, like blue tongues or shinglebacks?

Any experiences good or bad you might be able to share would be appreciated.

Scott.

 

[Klaery]

It would be fine but scoria is porous to a degree so any mess will be held in the substrate that little bit more than it would be in gravel etc. In practice you probably won't notice the difference but when gravel and sand are both cheaper, why not use them instead?

 

[snohara]

That's a pretty good point Klaery. I've been using sand for the last year, about 5 to 10 cm on top of a loosely paved base. Unfortunately it stays too wet for too long for my liking. I'm wanting to go to a more course substrate that would raise the animals of any settled water, and a substrate that wouldn't transport water itself into the sheltered area's, as I'm find the sand doing with my current arrangement. I think scoria is slightly more attractive than gravel, I also like the red dessert style that I was imagining I could pull off with it, but was completely forgetting about the porous nature of it, and the fact that that would hold in any mess, so thanks for the heads up on that one!

Scott.