Zoo Med Excavator Clay Burrowing Substrate, 10 Pounds

Must use for any naturalistic arid reptile enclosure and is my Recommendation for Leopard Geckos, Bearded Dragons, and Uromastyx. It can be used by itself or mixed with soil for a more natural and soft substrate. Excavator clay holds tunnels extremely well, while allowing reptiles to act on natural digging instincts. There is little risk for impaction or accidentally being ingested with this clay as it is compacted and has very little loose grains once wet and dried. As for cleaning, Most Arid Reptiles have a drier stool that will sit on top of the substrate and can be simply picked up with a paper towel. If the "used" area begins to smell, Simply scoop up the clay in that spot and replace. (I always save a little dry clay for this reason)To heat from belowFor reptiles that require heat from below, This can be achieved with a little creative land planning. The spot that has belly heat needs to be between 1/8th and 1/4th in thick for enough heat to penetrate. This actually works better than Repticarpet or tile as the heat is evenly distributed and retained for longer. In the attached pictures, the right half has heat on an "on/off" thermostat and is able to maintain floor heat at 88-92 Degrees at all times.To use by itselfCarefully empty into enclosure, go slow to avoid dust. Wet clay just enough to form caverns and hills, I feel it works best when combined with Driftwood, Slate, Stone or Cork bark to create better climbing opportunities and help build up hills. While drying, the clay may crack as it shrinks, just re-wet the cracks and rub smooth. To Redecorate or fix crumbling, just soak the area with a reptile safe spray bottle, and reform.To create a more naturalistic soilCombine equal parts Excavator clay and organic topsoil and moisten. Be sure there are no Fertilizers, Natural or otherwise in the soil. This mixture will not be able to form tall structures, But will hold Burrows extremely well and will be easier for reptiles to dig in.As with any Pet product PLEASE research thoroughly the needs of that specific animal before Purchasing.

For the longest time my dragon would just lay in the cool side of the tank and do absolutely nothing until I picked her up and put her under a heat lamp. If I didn't do this, she would stay there and not even eat. When I added hammocks, she would just pick a favorite hammock and then stay in the hammock.I first used a beginner kit to put a small hill in my bearded dragon's tank and watched her for a while to make sure she wasn't eating it. I seen her lick it out of curiosity a couple times, but not actually try to eat it. I waited a while to see if she had a healthy poop, as she took a few days to have one (sometimes poops more often and sometimes less often). She had a healthy bowel movement and a few more after that.She dug into the small mound of clay hoping to make a cave until all the clay collapsed since there wasn't enough. I was satisfied that she was not eating the loose clay particles and so I bought her more.She absolutely loves this stuff. Ever since adding it to her tank, she gets up on her own every morning and climbs all over her tank! It's made her so happy! She will sometimes sleep on the pile of clay I made for her, or she will bask during the day. She will dig into it a little. She will go back to the other side of the tank when she is too hot. She doesn't even want to poop in her tank now. She tries to climb out when she wants to poop so she doesn't get it dirty!I'm happy to see her be more active now, because she was healthy with no problems but just wanted to lay still all day.This is also the best price I have found for the excavation clay. So thank you so much!

This was really fun to set up, I had a great time molding it, making little caves and ramps for my leopard gecko. I love that it dries hard so she won't swallow it and get impacted, and it looks way more naturally than the paper towels I had in their previously. Basically this is a great middle ground between loose sand which is dangerous and paper towels or reptile carpet, which don't look as nice. NOTE: It took two 10 lb bags to fully cover and build up a 20 gallon terrarium

I bought the excavator clay because it is safer to use with a Mexican black kingsnake (desert snake that likes to burrow) than sand. Sand (which is want I wanted originally) is really bad for them due to impaction. I honestly don't think she is a fan because is it very hard and fairly dense, so I did a half and half tank. It wasn't very easy to use- your hands will get dirty. I don't think she will be able to burrow because of the firmness. I did build a clay hut out of it.Probably great for lizards and guys that can actually dig. Probably skip if you want your snake to burrow in it because it is very dense. Other than that. I like the look which is what I was really going for.To the right is the clay while it was freshly wet from putting it in and in the corner is the clay hut. The left is Terra Sahara from biodude for her bioactive enclosure.I'd say it's worth it

Our little girl loves this substrate. It allows her to dig to her heart's content and helps with heat distribution from the heat mat. Little Jormungundr is a very happy Giant Leopard Gecko. It's also a much better price here than at the pet store

I love this product! It is great for creating a natural landscape, lets your reptiles dig safely and can't be ingested easily. A few notes that might help other buyers out:Firstly 10lbs doesn't go very far. 10lbs would be ok for a 10gallon tank, maybe not super deep but there would be a little space to dig. I have an exo-terra terrarium that's 24" by 17" by 17" which needed 30lbs to get some landscaping. My suggestion would be to purchase at least 1lb per gallon tank you have and then if you want more digging space for your reptile(s) add an extra 10lb bag.Secondly use a mister or spray bottle to add water to this so you can mold it. It is very easy to add too much water which turns it into a mud swamp and it takes forever to dry out.