AutumnTheBeardie":11s0a3ie said:
Hi y’all!
Because Autumn turned one this year, we bought a larger enclosure for her. I’m redoing my room to fit a desert theme, and I want to decorate Autumn’s tank to match. I don’t want to put sand or calcium sand in because it’s too dangerous. Do y’all know of an alternate substrate that looks great with the desert theme? Would clay work? (NOT potter’s clay, btw)
Thanks!
SGS
This is typical of flat landscape that is found in the natural habitat of bearded dragons :
The grass is a tough arid resistant grass called spinifex , the soils are highly weathered clay, often rich in iron but poor in organic content.
There are also drought tolerant trees , mainly acacia and mallee
You might get a good look using sandstone boulders (I'm sure you can find these at any garden centre as lots of people buy these to add borders around flower beds and to landscape, like some of these
https://anlscape.com.au/Products/sandstone-stone-rocks/sandstone-2/sandstone-flagging
and
https://anlscape.com.au/Products/sandstone-stone-rocks/bush-rock/flat-bush-rock.
As to material to go under these and around them - that's tougher - maybe clay mixed mixed red ochre , mix with water and mold to shape and let air dry …. must be completely air dried (not baked) this will be close to the soil centrals encounter in their natural range.
This is what you SHOULD be trying to reproduce to have the enclosure as authentic as possible.
http://www.territorystories.nt.gov.au/jspui/bitstream/10070/297838/1/Report_Soil_Land_Suitability_Assessment_Orange_Creek.pdf
scroll to page p50 and you'll see several examples of the natural habitat in the natural range of central bearded dragons.
Sumarised here
Red stained tilers grout between the boulders and slabs is probably the best bet....lay it fill gaps (to stop bugs from hiding) and let it set and harden , very durable and impervious.