#sand substrate

The Axolotl Gang hideout v3.I-don’t-even-know.It currently has a little extra water to bufffer against the new substrate that can be tricky.The sand is very fine playground sand, and I just followed the water bottle method in so many youtube videos. I had been aging it at least. So I’ll beee keeping a close eye on the water parameters.

The HOB filter IS running again.l never drained it and it wasn’t off for all that long, so there shouldn’t be any problem there.

Do you Vacuum your substrate or tank bottom?

Have you questioned if you are doing it right in this hobby? Are you wondering if you might be alone on an island trying to figure out how to maintain your tank? Don’t worry, there is google for that and YouTube right? The problem is in defining your search properly and then trusting what you are reading. I am a trusted source of information and I will give you my opinion on How and when to…

However, instead of leaping on someone who uses sand, how about offering a -good- viable alternative?

I say this with 100% seriousness because you guys are super rad but saying NO. IS BAD. isn't helpful.

There are a lot of burrowing reptiles.

Did you know that bearded dragons are burrowers? HARD CORE BURROWERS?

Sand is actually really bad for that because it's not especially stable but you know what? YOU CAN'T BURROW IN PAPER TOWEL EITHER YOU GUYS.

Appropriate loose substrates are not the devil (note that loose and particulate aren't the same but there ARE STILL SITUATIONS WHERE PARTICULATE SUBSTRATES ARE APPROPRIATE)

If you see someone using sand, a friendly "Hey friend, did you know that can be pretty risky if your animal is not specialised for living on sand?" is a great place to start BUT if you're only going to say NO IS BAD DON'T DO PUT ON TILE, your husbandry advice is right next to 'frustratingly useless' and only misses it by about a hair's width.

Beardies, as the most recent example, like to burrow! It's a natural impulse! YOU SHOULD PROVIDE FOR THIS.

Tile and paper towels are great if you want quick clean and easy but they're the mental stimulation equivalent of a wet flannel and this is not fair.