kingofnobbys":3g4gpmpw said:I think that stuff is a high impaction risk.... and is nothing like the soils bearded dragons live on in their natural range.
Stres":2nsg9lqz said:Designed for beardies and other arid reptiles iv never once found a single stone or stick in this stuff and when mixed with a bit of clay forms a nice compact substrate allowing the dragon to do its natural Behaviour like dig and burrow (somewhat) without falling to pieces. Arcadia seem to always be looking further into replicating lizards natural environments and supplements to provide the best for captive lizards and iv had zero issues so far using there products and they seem highly recommended in the u.k
Like all these companies , their lighting division will be entirely different to the substrates division , and they will be interested in marketing products because they see a market and there is money to be made from these and they will not necessary have staff who have even seen the soils and habitat most reptiles live in naturally.Stres":3fe2426s said:kingofnobbys":3fe2426s said:I think that stuff is a high impaction risk.... and is nothing like the soils bearded dragons live on in their natural range.
Hi kingofnobbys whilst im aware from your posts that your not an advocate of bioactive setups for beardies I'm sure you have heard or come across Arcadia lighting which seems to be rated as one of the top two companies for reptile lighting.
http://www.arcadiareptile.com
They are a company that bases all products on natural re-creation from food/supplements to substrate.
I personally doubt (but could be wrong) that a company with a good reputation would recommend this type of substrate for beardies, especially if they thought it would put them at a higher risk of impaction than say using a garden centre soil that is only sterilised and lime free which is what many bioactive setups use.
With the sterilized garden centre soil you have to spend hours sifting it to remove small stones, broken pieces of tree Etc which is one of the reasons iv used this.
Iv seen many other people use and recommend this substrate for beardies in bioactive setups, but will do further research to make sure.
That's why you use isopods that can handle the conditions. Mold and fungus really only grow in humid conditions, and if they do grow for whatever reason, that's what the springtails are for.Gormagon":2q244scs said:I feel that bioactive would be fine for snakes, frogs and, tropical lizards but, not for desert creatures. The desert is not as forgiving as tropical areas. Not as humid and, wouldn't support the creatures used in a bioactive setting.
The humidity would be my biggest concern because it promotes mold and, bacteria growth.
You can put your dragon on whatever you want, its your dragon but, I will continue to to do my non-particle substrate use and, recommendations.
Aesthetics is just a bonus. It's incredibly stimulating for the dragons too! My guy's personality has changed so much from tile vs now. And you just get the bugs once lol. They reproduce on their own in the tankGormagon":3755txag said:Seems like a lot of trouble to go through (buying extra bugs, mixing this and that and, the impaction risk) just for aesthetics.
Yes, I too would want a cool looking viv but, not at the risk of my dragons health.
Gormagon":kweb0zkn said:I feel that bioactive would be fine for snakes, frogs and, tropical lizards but, not for desert creatures. The desert is not as forgiving as tropical areas. Not as humid and, wouldn't support the creatures used in a bioactive setting.
The humidity would be my biggest concern because it promotes mold and, bacteria growth.
You can put your dragon on whatever you want, its your dragon but, I will continue to to do my non-particle substrate use and, recommendations.
Taterbug":ylzr3og4 said:Gormagon":ylzr3og4 said:I feel that bioactive would be fine for snakes, frogs and, tropical lizards but, not for desert creatures. The desert is not as forgiving as tropical areas. Not as humid and, wouldn't support the creatures used in a bioactive setting.
The humidity would be my biggest concern because it promotes mold and, bacteria growth.
You can put your dragon on whatever you want, its your dragon but, I will continue to to do my non-particle substrate use and, recommendations.
Feelings vs the facts are pretty different; if your setup is humid and damp and moldy it’s becuase you have it set up wrong. As I mentioned before I struggle more with my humid and temperate setup than my arid ones. I have isopods, roaches, worms and morio beetles breeding well enough in my dragon tank to use them to supplement my other tanks. I’ve only bought bugs for bioactive once and that was springtails for the humid setup since the wild ones I collect don’t like it that warm and humid.
While your other concerns are certainly valid depending on your opinions and risk tolerance... the humidity argument people keep using is blatantly false.
Health and enrichment are really deeply tied together. There are a few studies in other animals demonstrating that enrichment and enriching environments improve cognitive function, promote natural behaviors and result in less stress in a captive environment. There is a reason some species would simply die outright if kept like bearded dragons.
Keeping things clean and safe, and keeping the animal healthy aren’t always the same. Bioactive and naturalistic setups (you can get close without soil but it would be a pain) are much more the end game of husbandry than simply for aesthetics. Mostbeasts examples are great ones of how an enriching environment really makes for a happier inhabitant.
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