Calcium Sand is the Devil.

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This will probably be my last post on this message board. I want to warn everyone who either has a bearded dragon or is thinking about getting one. DO NOT use Calcium sand.
I lost my baby bearded dragon on march 13,2013 because I had her on Calcium sand because of bad instructions at a pet store. The sand had some how got inside her like she ate it or something and it didn't pass through her body and it caused an overdose of Calcium which was also my fault for giving her liquid Calcium daily. This is Vader shortly after we got her. She was I believe a healthy little bearded dragon. She died shortly after this picture was taken. I had her for nearly a month by the time she passed away. This is all due to the use of Calcium Sand in her cage. Her on the sand. Please listen to my story and believe me, this stuff is bad. I should have done my research instead of relying on a pet store employee. If I had researched Then maybe she would still be alive today. Losing my bearded dragon was one of the most painful things I have ever had to go through and knowing it was my fault made it so much worse. Do your research before you get a animal make sure you know what you are doing. That is all. Thank you for reading this post and enjoy having your dragons.
 

bunnyrut

Gray-bearded Member
So sorry for your loss.




Is there anyway to sticky this so other people coming in can always see it?
 

diamc

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
I am so sorry this happened to your little guy. We always advise AGAINST using calci-sand and vita-sand because it since they contain calcium and vitamins, it encourages them to eat it. : The calci-sand builds up over time and then hardens in their stomachs like cement making it impossible to pass.

[I moved this thread to the Enclosure forum and made it a "sticky" for a while so it will stay toward the top of that forum to be more noticeable]
 

Oriheme

Juvie Member
diamc":xs17dvyo said:
I am so sorry this happened to your little guy. We always advise AGAINST using calci-sand and vita-sand because it since they contain calcium and vitamins, it encourages them to eat it. : The calci-sand builds up over time and then hardens in their stomachs like cement making it impossible to pass.

[I moved this thread to the Enclosure forum and made it a "sticky" for a while so it will stay toward the top of that forum to be more noticeable]


Whats a sticky?
I actually was just looking something up about sand and bearded dragons and found a xray of a dragon with sand in its belly.. it was INSANE! I have never used sand for Boba Fett and never plan to(boyfriend and I were arguing over it the other day and I looked it up to prove to him i was right teehee I like being right :wink: ) Let me add the pic I found to photobucket and I will upload it on here for everyone to see..
 
That's horrible I'm soo very sorry for your loss :( :( :( why do the stores even sell this stuff there have ben so many times where many reptilians have died, I very mad at the stores :angry5: :angry5: :angry5: :banghead: :banghead: :angry5: :banghead: :angry5: :banghead: :angry5: :banghead: :evil: :banghead: :puke:
 

David42

Member
This sand isn't as bad as everyone makes it seems, you just need to use it at the right time. I started mine after my beardie was about 6 months old. He's been going a few months now and it's perfect. I cut down just a little on his dusting of crickets knowing he'd intake a little sand. Not once has he showed any signs of impaction. Calci sand, just like any sand is fine as long as you use it at the right age. And honesty it's easier to clean than carpet or tile
 

bunnyrut

Gray-bearded Member
David42":2f3hxqzj said:
And honesty it's easier to clean than carpet or tile
i completely disagree with this.

i did use sand for a short time, once Mr Dargon was fully grown.
It wasn't easier to clean. when he pooped on it i had to really dig down into it and around it to get out any of the excrement that soaked into the sand. sand isn't easy to pick up.

it retained smells. his cage smelled from the sand and getting all of the sand out of his cage to put in new sand was more frustrating than it was worth. it would be easy to dump out, but lifting a 40 gallon breeder to do that while it has sand in it is no easy task.

plus he constantly licked it. when sand started to show in his poop when i wasn't even feeding him on it i decided that it wasn't worth the possible impaction.

Tile is easy to lift out and wash off. paper towels are easy to bunch up and throw out.

I'll stick with those and never go back to any kind of sand.
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Maybe this should be locked. There is no reason to get into another sand fighting match on basically a memorial thread.

-Brandon
 

CountofCasualty

Gray-bearded Member
I'm with Brandon. There's no need for anyone to say anything other then sorry for your loss, this poor owner! I lost my little guy too and it is completely heart breaking.
 

diamc

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
David42":kt1vqzyk said:
This sand isn't as bad as everyone makes it seems, you just need to use it at the right time. I started mine after my beardie was about 6 months old. He's been going a few months now and it's perfect. I cut down just a little on his dusting of crickets knowing he'd intake a little sand. Not once has he showed any signs of impaction. Calci sand, just like any sand is fine as long as you use it at the right age. And honesty it's easier to clean than carpet or tile
Calci-sand is the absolute WORST substrate that a beardie owner could use. When they lick it, it builds up over time and hardens in their bellies like cement that makes it impossible to pass.

Enough said. Again, this is a memorial thread about little Vader, so some respect needs to be shown to him and also the sad owner. She was nice enough to make this thread to bring it to everyone's attention to hopefully help some other beardies.
 

bunnyrut

Gray-bearded Member
VadersMama":3hd9w7jj said:
because I had her on Calcium sand because of bad instructions at a pet store.
that right there is the hardest lesson that most of us learn. listening to the pet stores.
that's how i lost Mr Dargon's sister.
babies. no bigger than your finger. "mealworms are fine. they love them"
she got impacted and died.
i went into a pet store and asked if they have phoenix worms. they told me they had butterworms, and those were the same thing. i was learning at that point and just stared at the guy. then i went home and did some research and found out they are NOT the same thing. AT ALL. he flat out lied to me to try to get a sale.
 

Brandonforty2

Juvie Member
It is not your fault. It is the fact that this stuff shouldn't be sold. It is safe but in very small amounts FOR HUMANS. They really need to advertise it correctly. Sooo sorry for your loss. I know what its like to lose a pet.
 

CiaraAlexisOnFire

Juvie Member
I'm so sorry to hear about your dragon. But now you'll never make that mistake again and I'm sure you will prevent others from making the same mistake. I wish pet stores would start telling people to use either repti-carpet or shelf liner. I still get argued with when I tell people not to use dirt or sand, especially if you feed them in your cage. Why can't people just listen? :( I'm sorry you got bad advice from a pet store. I hope you feel better and I'm sure if you get another dragon, you'll take amazing care of it.
 
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