ackie substrate- ok???

[fabregasreptiles]

Hey,

i was using sand for my ackies as substrate a while ago but this made the enclosure very dry so the vet told me to put kitty litter as substrate as this works well. i have been using kitty litter as the ackies substrate but when they eat crickets, they also eat a bit of the kitty litter. is this ok for them to eat the kitty litter or could it cause impaction???

thanks

 

[monitordude]

i keep mine on sand and it works fine, never had any problems.

 

[ozziepythons]

I have a few acanthurus and I haven't been totally happy with any substrate, sand, breeders choice, newspaper, ground wallnuts, etc. Since they enjoy digging my largest female lives on sand, she occasionally gets some on her crickets but not enough to cause impaction, but she is stained red from it. Juveniles live on shredded newspaper as they get crickets all mushy and cover them in sand... not a good idea for babies. I might try large gravel next and see how it works.
Kitty litter could cause impaction so be warned, however just experiment with different types until your happy.

 

[fabregasreptiles]

yeh. at the moment they r on kitty litter and it seems soft though. they are eating it when they eat the crickets so i am scared of impaction but my vet said that she kept her lace monitor on kitty litter without any problems. anyone else have suggestions if kitty litter is ok for ackies as substrate. i hope they dont cause impaction though

 

[monitordude]

maybe gravel as mentioned by ozziepythons?

 

[cris]

It would probably depend on the kitter litter you use, some could be harmful although i dont know much about kitty litter.

I would just use dirt and maybe some leaves as substrate although i dont keep ackies.

 

[pythrulz]

Some sort of bark mulch from bunnings should do though let it dry a bit because it smells doesnt affect the lizards just us

 

[Tristis]

there is nothing wrong with keeping ackies on sand, what do you think they live on in the wild???
some kitty litters are dry and sucks humidity out of the air.

 

[monitordude]

there is nothing wrong with keeping ackies on sand, what do you think they live on in the wild???
some kitty litters are dry and sucks humidity out of the air.

+1

 

[ozziepythons]

there is nothing wrong with keeping ackies on sand, what do you think they live on in the wild???
some kitty litters are dry and sucks humidity out of the air.

They live in rock outcrops and scree slopes, not sand swales and dunes.

 

[Tristis]

i never said the live in sand dunes, you dont find rock outcrop surrounded by kitty litter do you???
the soil where you find ackies is not rich in organic matter, it is poor sandy and rocky.

 

[varanophile]

i never said the live in sand dunes, you dont find rock outcrop surrounded by kitty litter do you???
the soil where you find ackies is not rich in organic matter, it is poor sandy and rocky.

Agreed. Sand is the way to go. You want a substrate that can hold moisture and allow them to burrow.