Bedding

Bedding is the “floor” of your reptile or amphibian enclosure and plays a big role in humidity, cleanliness, and natural behaviours like digging and nesting. In this category you’ll find dry options like sand, aspen and soft desert beddings for arid setups, plus moisture-holding choices like coconut fiber, cypress mulch, bark and soil mixes for tropical or planted habitats. For young animals or messy eaters, simpler liners and easy-clean substrates can reduce impaction risk and make spot-cleaning straightforward.

Desert species usually do best on sand, aspen or clay-style substrates that stay dry, while tropical species need coco fiber, mulch and soil that hold humidity. Use only a moderate layer of bedding over any under-tank heater and rely on overhead heat or properly sized heat pads and panels to create safe gradients, and keep an eye on conditions with thermometers and thermostats.

Choosing Bedding

• Dry setups (desert / low humidity): sand, aspen-type shavings and soft white desert beddings for bearded dragons, many snakes and other arid-climate reptiles.
• Humid setups (tropical / high humidity): coconut fiber, cypress mulch, bark and soil mixes that hold moisture for ball pythons, geckos and frogs.
• Simple vs planted: easy-clean chips and shavings for basic enclosures, richer coco/soil mixes for naturalistic or planted builds.
• Hides & humidity support: pair deeper substrates with secure shelters from caves and hiding spots and use larger bowls, drippers or misters from bowls, drippers, misters, and humidifiers when running humid substrates.

Featured Products

Tropical & Humid Substrates

• Zoo Med Forest Floor Cypress Mulch 4 quart — Moisture-retaining mulch for tropical reptiles and amphibians.
• Zoo Med Eco Earth Brick — Compressed coconut-fiber brick that hydrates into a humid, loose substrate.
• Zoo Med Eco Earth 8 quarts — Ready-to-use loose coco coir for humid or bio-style terrariums.

Dry & Desert Bedding

• 4.38 cubic foot Aspen bedding — Bulk, dust-reduced aspen shavings for dry snake and lizard enclosures.
• Bulk Desert Soft White Bedding 20 lbs — Soft, clumping desert bedding that keeps arid setups clean and bright.
• Zoo Med 20lb Desert Sand White — Natural undyed sand for digging and basking in desert-style habitats.

Plantable & Bioactive Mixes

• Zoo Med ReptiSoil 10 quarts — Peat, soil, sand and carbon blend for live plants and egg-laying sites.
• Zoo Med Repti Bark 4 Quart — Fir bark chips that help maintain humidity in naturalistic or planted enclosures.