Making your own reptile substrate has a number of benefits. It is fundamentally more healthy for your pet, as it better replicates their natural environment. A nature substrate better controls humidity of the enclosure, often a crucial detail to support healthy shedding. Additionally, it is typically easier to maintain. It requires less frequent changing when compared to alternatives such as wood shavings or newspaper.

And finally, it’s way cheaper.

Now you may be asking yourself, why don’t pet stores recommend this method? It’s simple: they don’t want you to make things yourself and save money, they want you to buy it from them.

So how do you make it? It couldn’t be easier:

Mix equal parts garden soil and playground sand. Both can be purchased from almost every hardware store in existence. Cover the bottom of your enclosure in this mixture as you would with any other substrate and you’re good to go.

Be sure to follow your standard cleaning procedure, and remove any dropping/stools as soon as possible. Enjoy.