Hey heather I used dechlorinated water for substrate and water dish. No calcium powder yet, have been super busy but I will be picking up some very soon. I removed the paper towels from their new home, I heard most brands are dangerous since they are bleached. I even took out the old log and replaced it with a piece of driftwood. So yeah, I got them in a large plastic enclosure with no substrate, only driftwood and water dish... That's it. I'm too sketched out to add anything else in the enclosure. What do u think it was? Btw... It was actually 5 of them that were sick, I separated them from the others in a critter cage. Two died yesterday , but the other three seem to be doing much better, they are getting their golden skin tone back