Best Substrate choice for bioactive enclosure?

[TakoNigiri]

I was finally able to convince my parents to let me get a beardie! I have a local pet store that sells various kinds of great substrate for cheap. I have lots of wood, bowls and hides at the ready to set up my enclosure, but I don't know what substrate I'd need to use. I know sand of any kind is garbage, but I've heard excavator clay is great for enrichment and great to create hills and tunnels with, but I'm afraid it will cause impaction (and between walnut shells, carpet, fake grass and ecoearth, it's the one substrate the store doesn't carry.) I have a spare bag of ecoearth in my room, I've heard that's good for bioactive since it's way softer and more passable than sand, walnut shells or even clay and it is good for digging (I have some in my compost bin and the worms seem to like it), though I used it for my tortoise for a long time and it's so dusty. It did work quite well though, he never had impaction or any kind of irritation in his eyes.
Also, are earthworms good for bioactive? I have a lot of worms in my compost bin I could put in, and I could put some isopods or springtails in as well. Is that a good decomposer team?
If bioactive is not optimal, they also sell a smooth reptile carpet that does not absorb moisture and is apparently easy to clean. Tile is kinda ugly, I hate cutting it and I don't extra money for tile, but I've heard linoleum liners are good too. Maybe if I can't go full bioactive, I'll have a small area with a sandbox, except instead of sand it's ecoearth or clay or something. Thanks in advance for the advice.

 

[ComicBookMama]

Congratulations on your new beardie!

I'd do a lot of research into bioactive enclosures before leaping right into trying one, honestly. From the videos I've seen on YouTube, they can be managed successfully for a beardie, but it's a LOT more than just finding the right substrate. I'd start with watching the videos The BioDude has up on YouTube (he has some that are specific to a beardie bioactive), and maybe spending some time on his site (here's an article on bioactive enclosures for beardies https://www.thebiodude.com/blogs/bi...-it-work-with-mine/ball-pythons-and-bioactive - It says ball pythons, but it's beardies.) It seems doable, but it definitely takes planning. I wouldn't plunk composter earthworms into my dragon's tank, though... I haven't heard of earthworms being used for any bioactive enclosure I've looked into so far, just springtails and isopods, and those from parasite-free cultures.

While you're looking into bioactive, you could do that dig box you were thinking of... though someone else will need to comment on what type of substrate to use in there, as I'm clueless. EcoEarth would probably be okay, I would think.

As for substrate until you go bioactive - a large number of folks on this forum are tile devotees, I think. Dark, stonelike ceramic tile is actually quite attractive (IMHO) - though I have white, and it's durable, easy to keep clean, and cheap (I tiled my 40BR tank for under $15). I've also heard of folks using non-adhesive shelf liner. I'm not sure about linoleum tiles holding up to a heat lamp, or the possibility of adhesive backing offgassing in the heat. Again, others will need to comment on that. Reptile carpet could work, provided you have a few sets of it and can swap it out to give it a good washing every week or so.

Good luck!