which is more suitable?

[Rauf]

I've always kept my tegu's on a mix of top soil (sterilised) and garden peat. This has worked well and the tegus love burrowing and digging tunnels in it. I've been thinking about changing the substrate to garden peat topped off with some wood chips. Would this be better than my original substrate or not?

[Rick]

Peat moss and soil will work, but as you use it I am sure you realize it can be a little messier then wood chips/chunks. Mixing wood chips with peat moss would be fine depending on what 'wood' you use. I am currently out of Cypress mulch and there is none locally so for part of the winter I have been using a mix of peat moss and ReptiBark(tm). The tegus love digging in it and the ReptiBark(tm) gives it some consistancy. I personally would rather use Cypress mulch over the peat moss, only because the peat moss is a bit messy.

You wouldn't want to use pine or cedar. Pine molds easy and cedar is toxic to reptiles.

Rick

[Rauf]

ok. thanks. I'll use the peat/soil mix for now, and change it to cypress mulch if/when I find some. Is the cypress mulch ok on its own, or do you mix it with something (eg repti bark)