Lay Box Substrate

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Viperbsd

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Hi, I’m getting prepared for my Bearded Dragon, Ahsoka, to lay infertile eggs. I was wondering if I can use the Vitamin-Fortified Calcium Carbonate Vita-Sand as the digging substrate? I plan on putting the sand in a rubbermaid container. It’s orange sand, so it looks similar to what they would dig in Australia.

Thanks
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Hi there, it may be best not to use it because you need to make it damp and beardies are more inclined to eat it [ leading to possible impaction ] because it may taste good or if they are low on calcium. I've made quite a few layboxes with either sand [ children's play sand from Lowe's ] or a sand /topsoil mix. Or sand with coco fiber. Then you need to add enough water so that it holds it's shape when the beardie digs her cave. You can check youtube, there are several good tutorials on making layboxes.
 

Viperbsd

Member
Original Poster
AHBD":24ngqo7j said:
Hi there, it may be best not to use it because you need to make it damp and beardies are more inclined to eat it [ leading to possible impaction ] because it may taste good or if they are low on calcium. I've made quite a few layboxes with either sand [ children's play sand from Lowe's ] or a sand /topsoil mix. Or sand with coco fiber. Then you need to add enough water so that it holds it's shape when the beardie digs her cave. You can check youtube, there are several good tutorials on making layboxes.

Thank you!
 

Shaun78

Hatchling Member
Viperbsd":370aetlx said:
Hi, I’m getting prepared for my Bearded Dragon, Ahsoka, to lay infertile eggs. I was wondering if I can use the Vitamin-Fortified Calcium Carbonate Vita-Sand as the digging substrate? I plan on putting the sand in a rubbermaid container. It’s orange sand, so it looks similar to what they would dig in Australia.

Thanks
Off topic but I love the name of your dragon. Dressing her up as a jedi for Halloween?
 

Viperbsd

Member
Original Poster
Shaun78":1m6ry57l said:
Viperbsd":1m6ry57l said:
Hi, I’m getting prepared for my Bearded Dragon, Ahsoka, to lay infertile eggs. I was wondering if I can use the Vitamin-Fortified Calcium Carbonate Vita-Sand as the digging substrate? I plan on putting the sand in a rubbermaid container. It’s orange sand, so it looks similar to what they would dig in Australia.

Thanks
Off topic but I love the name of your dragon. Dressing her up as a jedi for Halloween?

Haha! Yep!!!
 

Viperbsd

Member
Original Poster
AHBD":2czby9qp said:
Hi there, it may be best not to use it because you need to make it damp and beardies are more inclined to eat it [ leading to possible impaction ] because it may taste good or if they are low on calcium. I've made quite a few layboxes with either sand [ children's play sand from Lowe's ] or a sand /topsoil mix. Or sand with coco fiber. Then you need to add enough water so that it holds it's shape when the beardie digs her cave. You can check youtube, there are several good tutorials on making layboxes.

Can I place the laybox inside her little hideout in the vivarium? Thats where she was digging at the ground.
 

Viperbsd

Member
Original Poster
AHBD":2qv5syud said:
Yes, that should be fine.

Is it okay that she licks the sand? I think she wasn’t doing it to eat it, but like navigating. Here is her making a huge mess in her vivarium. She must want to lay.
107552-5743816146.jpg
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
They always taste substrate, it's totally normal. There's too much paranoia about sand, I had beardie living on it for years as many other keepers did . In Australia beardie owners often keep them on sand as well. Anyway, yea they have a great time flinging it around. Do you have a bigger plastic box ? This is what I used and if you cut the hole in the top they can't throw all the sand out.

https://www.beardeddragon.org/media/29933/full

Your girl may still use the small one but a bigger one would be better. If you can cover the sides with cardboard somehow she will feel safer, like she's in a cave.
 

Viperbsd

Member
Original Poster
AHBD":3h98a154 said:
They always taste substrate, it's totally normal. There's too much paranoia about sand, I had beardie living on it for years as many other keepers did . In Australia beardie owners often keep them on sand as well. Anyway, yea they have a great time flinging it around. Do you have a bigger plastic box ? This is what I used and if you cut the hole in the top they can't throw all the sand out.

https://www.beardeddragon.org/media/29933/full

Your girl may still use the small one but a bigger one would be better. If you can cover the sides with cardboard somehow she will feel safer, like she's in a cave.

I could probably get a bigger one. Do you think thats enough sand? Shes already reached the bottom of the container
 

Viperbsd

Member
Original Poster
Is there any other reason my beardie would be digging? She started doing it recently, but I don’t feel any eggs when I rub her belly. When she is in the laybox, she is constantly digging, but she doesn’t lay any eggs.
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
They usually prefer a bigger + deeper box but they are soooo unpredictable. Sometimes even with a perfect laybox they will decide to lay somewhere else. And sometimes they just have the urge to dig for hours despite not even having eggs to lay.
 

Viperbsd

Member
Original Poster
AHBD":3cpjgmrb said:
They usually prefer a bigger + deeper box but they are soooo unpredictable. Sometimes even with a perfect laybox they will decide to lay somewhere else. And sometimes they just have the urge to dig for hours despite not even having eggs to lay.

Yeah, I’ve just decided to let her play in the sand box for about an hour every day, then I’ll wash her off after. She loves drilling the sand with her little snout, it’s so adorable. I reckon it’s also a good workout too!
 
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