Exo Terra Stone Desert Sonoran Ocher is a landscaping substrate in the pale ochre of North America's Sonoran Desert — natural desert soil with no added dyes or chemicals.

Why Desert Soil, Not Sand

This is the point that most keepers of arid species have never been told: real deserts are not made of loose sand. Desert soil is a mixture of sand, decomposed granite and clay, packed firm enough to hold a burrow open.

That difference matters enormously to the animal. A desert lizard on loose play sand cannot dig anything that stays dug — the tunnel collapses behind it. Stone Desert compacts when lightly moistened and holds its shape once dry, so a burrow stays a burrow, while still being loose enough to keep digging in.

The Two Microclimates It Creates

Sculpting a landscape rather than pouring a flat floor gives you both of the things an arid reptile needs:

• Cool, humid burrows at ground level, where reptiles absorb moisture through their skin while sleeping or hiding. This is how desert species stay hydrated in the wild, and it is the part most captive setups leave out entirely.
• Warm, elevated basking platforms, closer to the lamp, creating the temperature gradient a reptile needs to regulate itself.

Being an excellent heat conductor, it also holds and radiates warmth from the basking lamp much as real desert rock does.

Key Features

• Natural desert soil — no added dyes or chemicals
• Shape your own outcrops, tunnels and burrows
• Does not collapse once dry
• Stimulates natural digging and burrowing
• Excellent heat conductor
• Can also be used to secure heavy decor such as branches and rock formations
• 5 kg (11 lb)

How to Use It

1. Lightly moisten the substrate — damp enough to hold together, not wet.
2. Shape hills, burrows and basking platforms.
3. Let it dry. It will hold the shape.
4. Cover the whole floor, or landscape part of it and fill the rest with Stone Desert or Exo Terra Desert Sand.

Important

• Secure heavy decor properly. Rocks and branches must rest on the terrarium floor, not on substrate a reptile can dig out from under — collapsing rockwork crushes animals.
• Feed in a dish. Loose substrate swallowed with food can cause gut impaction, which is serious and sometimes fatal.