Ok, SO I got the new enclosure done, but I dont have enough substrate for the whole thing. I DO however, have a bag of cracked corn from Tractor Supply. Would that be safe to use? They can eat corn, so I thought it should be ok, but I want to make sure before I use it. Thanks,

are you thinking temporary or permanant?

temporary, Until I can get something else. Right now they have the walnut crap that the guy gave me with them, which I dont want to continue with either. BUT - I had an urge to get them into a larger tank TODAY, so I went to town building it, and then realized - "Hey dumby! You dont have any substrate!" lol

The problem with a substrate that they can eat is that if they happen to use it as a bathroom, then decide to eat some they can get sick. I don't know the properties of cracked corn, but if it's hard enough and easy to swallow, they could still have digestion problems with it. Personally, I'd just thin out the existing substrate to make it stretch until you get more. Or use paper towel.

Edit: Did you say all the have is the walnut substrate? Throw that out right away, and just use paper towels or newspaper. They'll be fine on that.

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"Let's eat, Grandpa!"
"Let's eat Grandpa!"

Punctuation. It saves lives.

yeah, its the crushed walnut stuff. I DO plan to get rid of it, but for now, I ended up seperating the entire enclosre, so the substrate is ONLY on one side, with rock/brick divider, and then the food will be on the other side. Hopefully this weekend I can get som normal sand for them instead, but they LOVE burrowing, so I dont want to completely take it away...

I would not use cracked corn, crushed walnuts, or what us old timers settled for 20 years ago (corn cob)

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Ken
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan

I understand that they like to burrow, but if it really is that temporary, it's safer to take the crushed walnut away. Not only is it an impaction risk, but it's one of the worst substrates, in my opinion, because it is so coarse and sharp and easy the swallow. It can really do some damage to their insides.

Trust me, they can go a few days or weeks on paper towel without having a problem. Just make sure they have a couple of hides and they'll be fine. It's better that they not have a burrow for a few days than have their insides cut up by accidentally swallowing their substrate, which they can do even if it's not near their dish. They are just less likely to if it doesn't get into their food.

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"Let's eat, Grandpa!"
"Let's eat Grandpa!"

Punctuation. It saves lives.

Corn cobs puff up nice when they get wet too.

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And grow a very nice culture of bacteria and fungus!
PeeeeeeUUUUW!

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

I like to read that you want to satisfy their instincts to burrow. Many Uro owners ignore that issue but it is an important part of husbandry for Uros I believe. Since they require a dry air for healthy skin, they also require a moist den to restore water content in their bodies. Unfortunately it's not easy to achieve this balance. By not easy I mean it will take monitoring the substrate for water levels weekly.
To begin the undertaking of creating a substrate that will facilitate burrows as well as keeping the air fairly dry. You will need a minimum of 10 inches of depth. Any shallower and the heat from above will dry out the ground and you would need to add water every day. Then you need a soil composed of the same materials that are used for monitor setups, a sandy loam.

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Mike
"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you." - Mother Teresa