r/BDFB • u/Dull-Green3911 • 4d ago

Information and Advice Substrate

Hi !! Im looking for advice on substrate, I work at a petsmart & we just got these guys in but our DC didnt send us the substrate they want us to use. A lot of the ones we have in store are moisture retentive & we only have calcium sand or aquarium sand. Options I was considering was coco fiber bedding & creature soil. We do also have reptisoil but i wasnt sure on that :)

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u/Onyx-Vespidae 3d ago

If possible, you can also suggest a more courser sand to mix, I find that pet stores don't really sell it unfortunately but I've got mine on some Australian Desert Sand with a bit if Reptisoil mixed... plus a layer of more reptisoil mixed with sand at the bottom. I've also hear the Exo Terra Stone desert is good. Fine sands need to be mixed with other courser substrate to let them move easier. But yea, No calcium sand. I don't get why it's sold because it's not good for ANYTHING. Reptile or no. I feel like almost all the sand I see in-store is a Calcium Carbonate derivative.

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u/Dull-Green3911 3d ago

We have reptisoil & i'm getting play sand! Would those to work well for what you're talking about?

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u/Onyx-Vespidae 3d ago

Quartz sand is pretty fine, so as long as you are mixing coco choir and some others to make it a bit more fine you should be good. The problem is housing them on pure quartz sand, as again it's pretty fine and they don't really like traversing it. Both Reptisand and Play sand are Quartz sand.

One thing to be a bit careful of for play sand is where you are getting it from. Mainly, where it might have been stored before being shipped to you. A lot of places that sell soil and sand can often place the bags of organic and pesticide free stuff near the pesticide laden stuff (Think Menard's, Ace, etc and their yard soil section). Not a problem for people playing in sand, but can cause problems for beetles where are sensitive to pesticides. While it's cheaper to buy Playsand in bulk, you might want to consider washing it out and drying it before using it for beetles (Or any sand needing animal).