Beardies do live on sand in the wild.

We keep seeing posts where people claim that they don't live on sand and the natural range of beardies is tightly compacted soil, clay rocks, etc. Here is a veterinarian in Australia with the analysis from a lab that confirms that much of their territory is sand.

.https://www.facebook.com/BeardieVet/videos/293343184599851/

Hello!

Great find. They do have a very diverse living area, indeed.

Tracie

Interesting but I'd still VERY highly recommend against loose substrates. It's just too much of a risk Imo. The video was interesting though. :study:

Good info. Their natural range is certainly quite large and varied. I think the real question is how can we best translate their vast natural habitat to provide them with the best conditions in a (relatively) small tank with artificial lighting. I think that a properly maintained bioactive substrate with top notch lighting is a good way to go if you have the space. I think sand in a small tank is difficult to keep sanitary, especially if they poop in the tank or if food gets into the sand which is why I usually recommend a solid substrate - just easier to clean/sanitize. I think there are a lot of good options and no one "right" way of building their setups. It certainly warrants further discussion, testing, and exchange of experience and opinions. Thanks for posting this video, it's valuable info for sure. I'd like to get back to Australia soon to do further testing and observation of their habitat and behavior. My data so far is limited to South Australia in and around Adelaide.

I love the Beardie Vet! He's doing a lot of awesome stuff!

Interesting video! That still looks vastly different than the sand I've seen in pet stores. Someone should bag up the stuff and start selling it :lol:

Yes , a small area of their natural range includes sandy "soils", see this where I already addressed this - viewtopic.php?f=34&t=244236 , less than 10% of the natural range is even remotely sandy.

The guy in the video is "cherry picking" , taking an outlier and claiming it's the general rule.

Pastella":2819m28z said:

Interesting video! That still looks vastly different than the sand I've seen in pet stores. Someone should bag up the stuff and start selling it :lol:

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Here (in Australia) there some companies who do bag the stuff and sell it …. I personally would not be taken in by the sales pitches of these people. Most the stuff I've seen in pet shops looks like dyed beach sand (ie someone mixed red powder with the sand and called it Desert Sand).

Clue is "Mulga" country. Here is where he was regarding the presence of Mulga woodlands (not all this is sandy) :

The vet was merely debunking the myth that has been passed around + accepted by so many people, misinformed as to the fact that beardies DO live on much loose substrate, including nearly pure sand. Nothing deceptive about it. Just like in the U.S squirrels live in many types of trees, etc.

We have all read very, very many posts where someone has repeated this exact phrase " beardies don't live on sand in the wild ." But in fact, they do, along with good old dirt, rocks, pebbles, etc.

AHBD":2iril7s0 said:

The vet was merely debunking the myth that has been passed around + accepted by so many people, misinformed as to the fact that beardies DO live on much loose substrate, including nearly pure sand. Nothing deceptive about it. Just like in the U.S squirrels live in many types of trees, etc.

We have all read very, very many posts where someone has repeated this exact phrase " beardies don't live on sand in the wild ." But in fact, they do, along with good old dirt, rocks, pebbles, etc.

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True .

However many people (maybe most) when you mention central Australia visualize something like the Sahara or the high altitude sandy deserts found in the USA....