# Substrate for Bearded Dragon



## Kemper1989 (Feb 14, 2005)

Alright, heres the information.
I purchased a bearded dragon about 4 months ago, and he is roughly 5-6 months old at the moment. During the period I have owned him i've spent a sh*t load of money on substrates just based on numerous people telling me whats good and whats bad. In the end, I've heard so many things that it's getting ridiculous, I'm thinking I have no idea how these reptiles live on their own without dieing from impaction. I've been from Carpet, walnut shells, calcium sand to just play sand at the moment. Right now I'm just saying screw it and sticking to Play Sand.
Now, as of right now no one has come straight out and told me that Play Sand is the worst substrate you can use, they always just kind of mumble "play sand isn't great but it's okay". What I'm really wondering is if it is actually perfectly fine for my bearded dragon to live on this stuff, or should I switch it up once again. The only thing I will say is I'm not switching back to Carpet or Newspapers. Reason being is you have to change the newspaper every day and Carpet just begins to permanently stink after awhile.
Thanks!


----------



## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

i use regular outdoors carpet for my adult it cost about 12$ to get three peices that are each large enough to cover a 65 gal (48x18) sio i can alternate them

they arnt bad to clean but im compleatly redoing the setup an i am going to try a simple slate tile (easy cleaning, looks good and would get warm under a heat light)

i just wouldnt use any sand at all (mayby when adult but not when still a juvie)


----------



## dark FrOsT (Sep 23, 2006)

when mine was little i used reptile carpet but then switched to sand ... like the zoo med stuff just be mindful about all the different colours i used a tan/orange looking sand and it died my beardie that colour ... i have also seen a blue frilled dragon why cause of blue sand ... i recently switch to walnut shell im really pleased.

for a few months i was hurting for cash and use play sand didnt have any problems i know people that only use play sand and have no problems but there is still a higher health rish with using it


----------



## skool_uo (Jul 28, 2006)

I use play sand and my beardie seems to love it. I'm not worried about impaction because he isnt a very messy eater. My concern is the dust that most likely gets into his lungs. I dont know if its harmful but i couldnt imagine it being too helpful. The tile idea sounds like a very good one.


----------



## Kemper1989 (Feb 14, 2005)

Walnut Shells are apparently the worst to use. They get stuck in their system and cuts them up really badly. But hey, if you haven't had any problems with it might as well keep using it.


----------



## dark FrOsT (Sep 23, 2006)

never heard of that happening, but its good to know. i just keep a close eye on that then.


----------



## ...Jay... (Nov 2, 2006)

From what I've been reading, most people suggest tiles because theres no chance of impactation. I use sand with no problems. It makes clean up super easy because you can use a pooper scooper.

If you use sand, dont feed crickets in their incloser. The only health risk is them eating it, and that usually happens when they miss a moving cricket and bring a tongue full of sand back. I put a wet wash cloth over the drain of my tub(so no crickets escape), then add my beardies and let them get their live food in there. Its funny because they are so used to it, that they get all excited when I put them in the tub now. If I add them first, and no crickets, they start searching the tub for crickets like "where the hell are they?"


----------



## Kemper1989 (Feb 14, 2005)

I've heard nothing but good things about tiles, so I finally purchased some the other day actually. It only cost me $5 for a 20 gallon long aquarium. It looks amazing and is a sinch cleaning up the crap. I use a paper towel then I bought baby wipes to sterilize the tiles after. I think this is definitely a must, espcially considering the price and I don't need to keep adding more substrate over time.


----------



## Fordfanatic (Feb 2, 2006)

I am currently using tiles my 75 gal with my 6 month old Beardie. I did it because i'm a noob at reptiles and wanted no chance of impactation. The only catch is it can be a pain to clean if you don't get "it" before it dries. I never glued mine down and about once a week I removed the tiles completely and put them in the hot shower for half a hour, they come out very clean. Good luck!!


----------



## dracofish (Jul 13, 2003)

I've always used Play Sand with mine and never had any problems with impaction. I actually had a colony a couple years back of several adults and raised out a few clutches of babies before getting out of breeding them (after realizing that it's a definate money and time wasting venture).

The sand seemed the easiest to maintain and least smelling (think of maintaining about 10 different cage setups and having to scoop, spray, and feed twice a day...so being fast was good).

If you have a single Beardie enclosure then the tile thing sounds pretty good.


----------



## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

i used to have sand but after changing to carpet i will never go back for an animal like a bd (mayby for a less waste producing desert species (scorpion sand boa...)


----------



## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

There's no perfect substrate and different people have had varying success with all kinds of things from paper towel and newspaper to various sands and other things all the way back to the slate tiles which seem to be the big popular thing these days.

Honestly, in the wild a beardie will encounter everything from sand to soil to rock to wood, etc etc. Some beardies definitely do die of impaction in the wild - but obviously not all of them. Obviously keeping extremely young beardies on paper towels or newspapers is a decent idea if you're going to be feeding in the enclosure. Most adults juvinles and adults shouldn't suffer major impaction issues if your temps are good. That's the biggest thing people seem to screw up on - is temps. And when in doubt a soak in a luke warm bath is always good to promote a bowel movement.

My beardie is a rescue that I got who was heavily impacted and almost died. He was sold way too young and kept on sand at improper temps. What saved him was a luke warm bath and lots of little itty bitty silk worms. He's never regained that classic "beardie appetite" though and as a result is horribly stunted. That's fine tho. He's my buddy just the same.

Right now I've been keeping him on a recycled newspaper cat litter type of substrate and have been for a long while now. I have been thinking about switching to a sand/soil/rock combo for a nice setup though and to provide variation. But that's only likely to happen if I do a custom enclosure that has some built-in "easy to clean" features.


----------



## L10452 (Nov 19, 2004)

I tried everything just like you and I've got this idea from a woman who has raised them for over 10years. She uses the bird substrate. It's like a kitty litter, but for birds. It does't smell, a sunlike color and with a pooper scooper it's great. I stuck to this method and it's the best thing I've done. All 5 of my beardies seem to dig their claws in it and sleep all the time in it. Ive got 5 adults and they love it.


----------



## LouDiB (May 22, 2006)

I used everything from playsand, to walnut shells, to those overpriced expensive bags of sand for "bearded dragons"...and never had a problem with impaction

my beardies now have a green carpet as substrate in my 75 gallon...i really dont like it...its gettin a pain to maintain and when I used sand in another cage, it never really smelled, and was easy to scoop.

I'm moving back to sand/walnut shells in a couple weeks...


----------

