Substrate Advise.

Eldemarco":3vmzqoti said:

I just got a juvenile Beardie (only 4-5" long). I made a mistake and got ground walnut shells as a substrate for it, and I'm looking to change it out before any damage is done. I used slate stone to cover most of the walnut shells, and will be feeding in a separate area to minimize risk for now.

Walnut shells are lethal , they need to be ditched (into the trash can) IMMEDIATELY. They are not suitable for ANY REPTILE to be forced to live on.

So here is my question:
1. Is play sand safe for a beardie this small?
<<< a lot of beardie breeders and keepers here in AUSTRALIA use Bunnings' PlaySand even for the youngest hatchlings , they claim they have no issue with impaction using this material.
They also fall into the trap of thinking the natural range of bearded dragons in the wild is sandy. This is only so for about 10% of the natural range of bearded dragons.
My preference for hatchlings is to use kitchen grade paper towels as the bedding. Makes for very easy clean up and if you put it down in a few layers, it's not hard on there arms & legs when they leap about.

2. If it is, does anyone have a link to order said sand.
<<< If you are in Australia , try Bunnings or Mitre10 , comes in a 20 kg bag.
https://www.bunnings.com.au/richgro-20kg-play-sand_p3022506 (this is essentially sand taken from river banks , is silica sand which has no sharp corners)

3. When the beardie grows larger, is it ever considered safe to use calcium sand, or any other loose substrate?
<<<< Calcium Sand aka VitaSand aka CalciSand is NEVER safe for any lizards to live on PERIOD.
<<<< better off sticking to either paper towels or loosely laid tiles.

Sorry for all the questions. I'm used to keeping Ball Pythons, and other than a leopard gecko which I had on slate tile, this is my first lizard.

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