Sand in Vivs... Yes or no???

Hey guys,

I've recently taken on a 10 year old female Beardie from a friend and after reading some info online, I'm concerned a little so looking for some advice. I'm a first time Beardie Mum so still unsure on some details.

He's had her since she was a hatchling and says she has always had sand in her tank and never anything else. There's some places I've seen saying that this could potentially be dangerous for the Beardie so now I'm a bit worried.

If it does require changing, will she freak out cause it's what she's known for so long? And if it does require changing, any particular stuff you guys recommend?

Thanks in advance guys!

Not a good substrate for a bearded dragon , yes I know there are breeders and "experienced" keepers (here in Australia) who claim (Bunnings) Playsand is perfectly ok even for the youngest hatchlings and who claim they never have impaction problems or other issues due to the sand.

If your dragon has spent it's entire life on sand , and if it is healthy and likes digging , and it's NOT CalciSand or VitaSand or beach sand , and doesn't clump when wet , and doesn't react when wet (to form accretions (like concrete) then it's "probably" OK to let her stay on sand.
If the sand is reactive or it clumps when wet , it can be extremely dangerous for even an adult bearded dragon if any winds up ingested stuck to damp food or when the dragon catches a feeder insect and eats it.

Just bear in mind sand is a perfect medium for germs to grow (bacteria, viruses and moulds love it especially when urates and yet poos and water allowed to seep down through it and it's not properly spot cleaned and not regularly completely renewed (I'd say at least fortnightly).

I don't recommend sand of any kind for any bearded dragon , see here for the kind of ground wild bearded dragons live on : viewtopic.php?f=34&t=244236