Glossary · 🏠 Setup
Substrate
Substrate is the material lining the floor of the enclosure — chosen to suit the species (e.g. a soil/sand mix for a desert digger, a moisture-holding mix for a humid species), and to allow natural behaviour like burrowing.
The old fear of loose substrate is overstated: impaction is usually driven by dehydration, cold or poor UVB, not the substrate itself. Match it to the species, keep it clean, and let diggers dig.