Where to buy red desert sand

[BambiniMartini]

Title pretty much says it all. I reside in VIC just fyi. If anyone could help me out with showing me some sites or shops as to where to buy decent priced red desert sand, or even offer some alternatives, that'd be fantastic thanks!

 

[Herpetology]

true desert red sand wont be cheap, anything that seems cheap is usually just red dyed beach sand

 

[dragonlover1]

lot's of pet shops sell "red" sand but you have to be careful which 1 you buy. There is a really fine powdery 1 that set's hard when it gets wet, be aware that this 1 can cause impaction. There is also a course variety that is fine. Red sand costs about $20-25 for 5kg, washed play sand (white) costs $7 for 20kg at the hardware store. I use both types and some of my enclosures have a mixture

 

[BambiniMartini]

true desert red sand wont be cheap, anything that seems cheap is usually just red dyed beach sand

Yeah I figured as much, with both those points.

lot's of pet shops sell "red" sand but you have to be careful which 1 you buy. There is a really fine powdery 1 that set's hard when it gets wet, be aware that this 1 can cause compaction. There is also a course variety that is fine. Red sand costs about $20-25 for 5kg, washed play sand (white) costs $7 for 20kg at the hardware store. I use both types and some of my enclosures have a mixture

I like the red desert sand for the aesthetic and "authenticity" (I want to use it for my ridge tail monitors) but yeah I don't think I wanna spend the extra dollar if it's literally just dyed beach sand. I reckon I'll just go with the play sand at bunnings. Have you ever had any problems with the play sand?

 

[dragonlover1]

Yeah I figured as much, with both those points.

I like the red desert sand for the aesthetic and "authenticity" (I want to use it for my ridge tail monitors) but yeah I don't think I wanna spend the extra dollar if it's literally just dyed beach sand. I reckon I'll just go with the play sand at bunnings. Have you ever had any problems with the play sand?

no problems whatsoever, just make sure you dry it out first as it's quite damp in the bag

 

[BambiniMartini]

no problems whatsoever, just make sure you dry it out first as it's quite damp in the bag

Alrighty, will do. Thanks a lot

 

[Sdaji]

I collect my own when I really want it, and generally I'll use 'play sand'.

I wouldn't use sand as a substrate for monitors. If you want to because it's pretty or whatever that's fine, it's not going to hurt them, but personally, I'd rather something cheaper, less heavy and less messy. On the 'authenticity' side of things keep in mind that wild Ackies aren't generally running around on red sand anyway. It does look great, but it only feels satisfying and 'authentic' to me if I collect it myself. Each to their own, of course!

 

[BambiniMartini]

I collect my own when I really want it, and generally I'll use 'play sand'.

I wouldn't use sand as a substrate for monitors. If you want to because it's pretty or whatever that's fine, it's not going to hurt them, but personally, I'd rather something cheaper, less heavy and less messy. On the 'authenticity' side of things keep in mind that wild Ackies aren't generally running around on red sand anyway. It does look great, but it only feels satisfying and 'authentic' to me if I collect it myself. Each to their own, of course!

Thanks for the extra insight Sdaji, much appreciated! Rather than just the aesthetic I also figured that sand would help to keep a dryer atmosphere? But if you've got a better substrate alternative I'm totally open to hearing it

 

[Sdaji]

Thanks for the extra insight Sdaji, much appreciated! Rather than just the aesthetic I also figured that sand would help to keep a dryer atmosphere? But if you've got a better substrate alternative I'm totally open to hearing it

Any particulate substrate should keep things dry. I wouldn't use a water bowl for Ackies, and considering you'll have a blasting hot spotlight in there, it should stay dry whatever substrate you use. I mostly used to keep small monitors on recycled newspaper pellets. Doesn't look great but that didn't bother me, and it was certainly more convenient than sand, especially considering I like to use a deep substrate for them. As I said, if you like sand it's a perfectly good choice, the only reasons I don't like it are the weight, expense and mess (it's inevitably going to spill out of the enclosure, get into door mechanisms, etc), none of which are bad for the lizards.

 

[dragonlover1]

I like to use sand for my V .gilleni and V.ocreatus mainly for the reason that I don't like bug hunters on course substrate

 

[snakesandmirrors]

play sand works great for me, cheap and easy to find.