Best Substrate For Chameleons

Do you want to set up your chameleon tank perfectly?

Are you wondering what to put on the bottom of your chameleon tank?

A substrate isn’t a significant concern for chameleons, but using the right stuff is still important.

While there are hundreds of substrate options for reptiles, you need to know the best substrate for chameleons.

The best substrate for chameleon should be toxic-free and resistant to mold in high humidity environments. Our picks for the best substrate for chameleons are:

Check the rest of the article for information on a chameleon substrate and reviews of the best products we recommend.

What To Look For In Chameleon Substrate

This section will talk about the aspects of Chameleon substrate you need to be aware of when shopping for one.

The picks on our list all have these elements in place to a certain degree.

If you want to go outside our list, you must ensure these are in place.

But save yourself some trouble and pick one of the ones we recommend.

Toxic-free

At the baseline of all good substrates, it must be toxic-free.

No chemicals should be used to process the substrate at any point.

Even with a thorough cleaning, some of these chemicals may stick around.

This is especially true when the substrate is exposed to high humidity environments such as the ones in a chameleon cage.

When wet or humid, the chemicals may end up seeping into the air or in contact with the pet.

This can cause severe deformities, illnesses, and possibly even death.

While you may be able to save some money shopping at a hardware store, they should be avoided.

We recommend only buying substrates from pet stores or online pet retailers.

All the recommended products come from a respected pet brand and are entirely toxin-free.

Material

Several materials work well with chameleons.

A substrate is usually split into two groups: soil-based and Wood-based.

They are good options in either category, but the best ones are usually made of wood or plants.

Common ones include cedar and coconut shavings.

It’s still important to make sure these materials are entirely chemical-free.

While other reptiles need to be concerned about the size of the material, chameleons don’t need to worry about this.

Chameleons don’t eat on the ground.

For this reason, they eat crickets with their tongue, and they aren’t very likely to accidentally in just a piece of the substrate.

Clumping Properties

As an owner, one of the best reasons to use a substrate is to help clean up the urate and droppings easier.

Some substrate will clump around the droppings making it simple to scope the dropping out.

Others won’t do this as much, and clean-up is a little messier.

While this property doesn’t make the substrate any healthier, it does make your life as an owner a lot easier.

The best way to tell about this element is to talk to actual users.

We did the hard work for you from experience and speaking to others, so reading the detailed reviews allow for more information on this feature.

Self-purifying

Some substrate materials have a unique quality of trapping and even killing bacteria.

This is an important feature to watch out for, especially if you’re busy and don’t have time to get to droppings immediately.

A substrate-killing bacteria may be just what you need to help prevent disease.

Some materials are better than others, such as coconut.

Our reviews below will mention what the manufacturer says about this element and what others have experienced.

Mold-resistance

Along the same lines, you want to watch out for substrate which tends to collect mold.

This isn’t a big concern with desert reptiles and dry, humid environments.

Since chameleons come from the tropical rainforest, they need a high humidity cage.

Check out the best misting systems for chameleons for more information and recommended products and keeping the humidity up.

One of the significant downsides of high humidity is an increased risk of mold.

Some substrate materials are more likely to gather mold in such environments.

Chameleons are already more likely to develop respiratory infections, so making sure you cut down on mold is essential for their healthy life.

Again, check the reviews below for more information on how this particular substrate handles mold.

Review Of The Best Substrate For Chameleons

Below is a detailed review of each of the products we recommend.

Use this information to help you decide which one you want to get.

In each subsection, we will also mention the general price point of each substrate.

Because pricing changes so often, we won’t mention exact pricing.

The best way to check for exact pricing is to click the button in each section.

ReptiChip Premium Coconut Reptile Substrate

The medium-priced substrate option is made for reptiles and other burrowing critters.

As such, it’s entirely safe for all pets and free from chemicals.

The substrate is made from compressed coconut husk.

As a material, coconut has many good qualities as a substrate.

For one, it’s all-natural and found in tropical environments like the ones chameleons live in.

Another way is how it’s suitable for burrowing.

Chameleons don’t typically burrow, although females will look to burrow when they need to lay eggs.

Coconut also has some serious anti-bacterial properties.

Trapped droppings won’t spread their germs throughout the air.

Coconut is also resistant to mold and will even increase the humidity in the cage.

This saves you time and stress from getting the relative humidity up.

Pros For This Product:

• Good value
• Safe from mold and it decreases bacteria
• Natural and non-toxic

Cons For This Product:

• It doesn’t clump around droppings as well
• It releases a red color when wet (the bottom of your cage may stain)

Zoo Med Coconut Fiber Substrate

The Eco Earth packed coconut substrate is another excellent option at a medium-price point.

Eco Earth provides this product in different bundles to meet your pet’s needs.

The sizes available are:

• Single 8-quart block
• Single 24-quart bag
• 3-pack of 8-quart bags

If you give this substrate a go and enjoy it, we recommend returning to buy the bigger bundle (you get more bang for your buck).

Or go for the giant bundle immediately and see how useful it is.

As another coconut fiber, you get all the benefits we’ve discussed before, such as natural, toxic-free, anti-bacterial, resistant to mold, and increasing the humidity of the cage.

But on top of all this, the Zoo Med substrate also clumps and traps the droppings well.

It even breaks down a lot of it before you scoop it out.

Pros For This Product:

• Good value
• Strong anti-bacterial and mold resistant
• Clumps around droppings making clean up easier
• Simulates natural chameleon environment and raises humidity

Cons For This Product:

• Block option needs to be broken apart instead of just spread which is a messy process

Zilla Reptile Substrate Liner

The Zilla Reptile substrate liner is more of a bedding or reptile carpet than an actual substrate.

But the product’s much lower price and long life make it the most cost-effective option.

The reptile carpet is still entirely safe for chameleons to use.

When it is dirty, all you need to do is take it out and clean it.

Cut the liner from its original size to fit your cage exactly.

It loses what it gains in lower price, long life, and user-friendliness in the clean-up process.

Droppings and urate won’t be trapped or clumped together.

The liner also won’t provide any natural anti-bacterial or mold-fighting properties.

But if the price is your goal, this is a viable option.

Pros For This Product:

• Great value
• Long life of the liner
• Cut to exact cage dimensions

Cons For This Product:

• No natural cleaning properties
• It doesn’t clump up droppings

Reptile Prime Coconut Fiber Bedding

The Reptile Prime bedding is a premium substrate at a higher price.

But the more expensive creation of this substrate results in a more effective and cleaner product than most others offer.

Reptile Prime makes this substrate with reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates in mind.

This means they know the product needs to be bug-free, non-toxic, and completely clean for these pets to use.

Whether you want to use this with desert creatures like the bearded dragon or tropical reptiles like the chameleon, this is a good option.

In tropical environments like the chameleon needs, this works just as well.

It may even help make your life easier.

As with other coconut beddings, this one will retain humidity while resisting mold well.

But the excellent way this coconut fiber was processed does both of these jobs better than most other products.

The higher price may turn you off of this product, though.

It’s ultimately up to what you can swing, but this product is solid.

It clumps around droppings well and even breaks them down.

Pros For This Product:

• High-quality manufacturing
• Non-toxic and all-natural
• Retains humidity, breaks down droppings
• Resistant to mold

Cons For This Product:

•  Higher price

Zoo Med Repti Bark Substrate

Zoo Med’s Repti bark is a medium-priced wood option for someone looking for a substrate to help make clean-up as easy as possible.

They offer this in a ton of different bundles, including the following:

• 2 Pack of 4-quart bags
• 4 Pack of 4-quart bags
• 6 Pack of 4-quart bags
• 8-quart bag
• 10-quart bag
• 24-quart bag

This substrate is made for reptiles such as the chameleon and is entirely non-toxic.

Unlike many other suitable bedding materials, this one is made from the bark of fir trees.

It may not be as natural to the chameleon’s tropical environment, but it does have some good ability to break down droppings.

The top of the list of qualities for this substrate is its absorbent power.

When this substrate comes into contact with droppings, it clumps right up.

This substrate cleans up droppings like nothing.

All you have to do is scoop out the clumps when they form.

For all this good stuff, it tends to gather mold when sprayed too much.

Keep an eye on it as you clean.

Replace the bark around every six months or when you see mold starting to form.

Pros For This Product:

• Great value
• Easy to clean
• All natural; no toxins or chemicals

Cons For This Product:

• It May have mites inside (but can be replaced)
• It gathers mold at times

Commonly Asked Questions

Is coconut fiber safe for chameleons?

Yes! Coconut fiber is one of the cleanest and safest beddings for almost any pet.

It’s natural and has cleansing properties.

What live plants can I put in with a chameleon?

Non-toxic and generally neutral plants are all OK for chameleons.

These are a few safe ones to choose from:

• Weeping Fig
• Rubber Tree
• Yucca
• Hibiscus
• Jade Plant

Do I need anything in the bottom of my chameleon cage?

Technically, no.

But without something to absorb the droppings, there’s a higher chance for mold and bacteria to spread around the cage.

Conclusion

We hope you enjoyed this review of the best substrate for chameleons.

There are many options, but if you wanted something more natural-looking, any of these would be suitable for your situation.

All you need to do now is to look at the products and pick one to buy.

The substrate won’t have a massive impact on the chameleon’s health, but it will genuinely impact how easy it is to clean the chameleon’s cage.