substrate

[Helikaon]

hey everyone just wondering if anyone has ever used something similar to "pony pellets" as a substrate? i use it liek a few vets that i know of as a decent kitty litter. i also use it as a substrate for my rats and mice. do you think it would be suitable. in theory it could be digested fine not problems at all with impaction. they have a very high absorption so they are similar to breeders choice.

the only thing i can see wrong with it may be the fact that it is made out of technically edible material so therefore can go off. so it would probably need to be replaced more frequently then say breeders choice or harry s practice mix. oh this stuff has very little dust as well unlike some other food pellets which have a lot.

ah well it was just a side thought when i was cleanign out my rat breeder cages today

cheers
H.

[Fatal_S]

I've never used anything like that, but I'd say my main problem would be that since it's food, any bugs (escaped feeders, random ants, etc) could live off of it. Yuck. I also don't like the idea of a BTS living in rotting food.

However, you do already use it for your other critters, and since it's used as a cat litter it can obviously handle BTS waste. You would probably have to change it fairly often though.

[Herptiles.net]

By "pony pellets" do you mean it's some kind of food? If your skink decides it's tasty, it could seriously unbalance the diet. What is it made of, exactly? It should be written on the package (hopefully).

Also, don't be disillusioned to think that what's safe for rodents as substrate is also safe for reptiles. Rodents can chew and break things down into very small pieces that are not big impaction risks, reptiles do not have that benefit, they tend to swallow things whole or in large, mostly unchewed morsels.

I agree with Fatal on the rotten food note...

[Lisa]

I don't know what pony pellets are, but when I was having a hard time sourcing Dr Harry's, the local petshop suggested this as an alternative and gave me a free sample bag. It looks like BC only brown. I never ended up using it because Harry's came back on the shelves.

[Helikaon]

heheeh im not to sure if you guys understand what pony pellets are. the only reason it goes "off" so to speak is after they get wet. its simply a pellet made mostly of cellulose and the nutritional value is undeniably crap. now i would say feeders could feed off of it if you leave live feeders in the enclosure though if they ate some pellets its better then them chewing on your bluey. when this stuff gets wet it just disintegrates so i doubt impaction would occur unless a bluey gained a taste for it and ate a lotttttttttttttttttt!! once again its just a thought.

[blueyophile]

I never ended up using it because Harry's came back on the shelves.

Can you tell me which store you found Dr Harry's in when it came back on the shelves?

I've been trying to locate a source here in Brisbane. I used to get it at Woolworths, but I haven't been able to find it of late. Tried the local Coles as well, but no luck (they are supposed to stock a home brand product which is similar.)

[zakkhogan]

i mainly use beech woodchips for substrate, but in the feeding corner i have a patch of calcium sand, i know its not the greatest but i figure is better than lynyrd eating his woodchips (which he has).

I do feed in a bowl but if he drops it out side id rather eat the calcium sand as its less of a impaction risk

[Helikaon]

bleuyophile i am not sure why you cant find dr harrys pet litter my local woollies at booval had some on shelf yesterday and i picked up a bag. though honestly it isnt that much different from breeders choice.

[Blotch]

H - You reckon it's not that much different? Man I compared the 2 and found that Dr Harrys has Little to no dust whereas BC had a fair bit building up under all the substrate. On top of that, DH is softer, and it doesn't make noise when they dig into it either.

Kinda petty differences, but when they are in your bedroom and you hear them moving around when you're trying to sleep - it gets annoying.

[Helikaon]

true true i havnt had them in my bedroom since i got this place. i can imagine harrys mix would be more comfortable for the skinks to and lets just state it its cheaper then breeders choice to. i have just started useing it with my shingles to reduce humidity. seems to be alright.

[Blotch]

wow - I found BC to be cheaper!!!

It's like $4 Maybe a little more for a 15ltr bag of DH and like $6 for 35ltrs of BC. sucks for me if it's the other way around for you.

[Helikaon]

darn you it might be cheaper then bc here but the products seem to be way cheaper in your area i payed 8 bucks something for harrys mix 15 litre. and its like 11 bucks for breeders choice 15 litre. how come its so darn expensive up here?

[Blotch]

hmm - Maybe I got my prices mixed up. I'll dbl check soon and let you know.

[blueyophile]

bleuyophile i am not sure why you cant find dr harrys pet litter my local woollies at booval had some on shelf yesterday and i picked up a bag. though honestly it isnt that much different from breeders choice.

I'm not sure why either -- it seems that not all stores consistently stock the same items.

Glad to hear it's at Booval Woolies though. I might have to make the trip if I can't locate anything closer.

Did they have a few bags still left on the shelf when you were in?

[Richard.C]

i cant bring my self to using that type of substrate,i use sand or fake grass or a mix of both and use flat rock ect for basking places and bark ect for hiding places,sand is fine to use if u feed them away from the sand areas as well,i just dont like the look of that pellet stuff,each to there own i guess,im still experimenting for the right indoor substrate,im not entirely happy with the straight sand substrate im using at the moment,but have a few ideas in mind

[Helikaon]

yeah its the indoor ones that are difficult. i like to have something easy to clean and i also personally dont like spot cleaning. i use newspaper most of the time but yes it doesn't exactly give them much stimulus plus its not best for grip. at the moment i am just worried about keeping humidity down so this harrys practise stuff seems to be good. we'll se i guess probably try a few different things.

oh and yes there were a few left on the shelf at booval.

[Herptiles.net]

Calcium sand isn't much better. The stuff clumps like crazy when it's wet (like in a stomach), and ingesting too much can act like an antacid overdose... plain sand is much safer.

Why not just feed on a dish?

[Lisa]

I never ended up using it because Harry's came back on the shelves.

Can you tell me which store you found Dr Harry's in when it came back on the shelves?

I've been trying to locate a source here in Brisbane. I used to get it at Woolworths, but I haven't been able to find it of late. Tried the local Coles as well, but no luck (they are supposed to stock a home brand product which is similar.)

Some months back here in Sydney, all the Harry's and the Coles brand just vanished off the shelves. I travelled far and wide but couldn't find it.

I ended up ringing the company that makes it and there was indeed a problem with distribution or manufacture (I was beginning to think it might be a cyclical product as it's made from old phone books so it would only be available when new phone books came out and everyone threw their old ones out, or even that someone else had got the contract to make different products from it).

Anyway, they advised that it would be back on the shelves of Woolies/Safeway down here by mid March - which it was, but not back at IGA or Coles until June. I don't shop at Coles, but I know that IGA still doesn't have it back down here. My local Petbarn has never stocked it, only Breeder's Choice (which I tried and didn't like).

So it might be the same issue up there. I've started to stock up now, just in case of further shortages. I currently have 13 of the 15 litre bags in my spare room. They make a great obstacle course for the blueys, they love climbing all over them and knocking them down!