Fuzzyviper":1nksietv said:Aw, thank you! And yeah, the sand does look nice. There are some nice sandy colored tiles out there but I went with slate when I couldn't get the size I wanted in the sandy color. I bought mine at Lowe's but any home improvement store should have it. Make sure to measure your tank from the inside since the inside measurement is slightly smaller than the size they're sold as (36x18 = 35.5x17.5 on the inside for me). Any tile that is slightly textured or stone is a good choice so they get a grip on it. I got slate since it has lots of different colors and looks really snazzy.
Some beardies do live on sandy beaches but the outback, where the central bearded dragon (what most pet beardies are) lives, is more of a scrubland than a true desert. The ground is usually a hard-packed red soil because it is so dry. There are little scrubby bushes and trees so it's sort of like...if you've seen the savanna in African but with bare soil instead of grass. Any loose soil is very, very fine.
Some owners use sifted play sand (they sift the larger pieces out) with their adult beardies but it can be a pain since you'll have to replace the sand pretty often. Adult beardies are less likely than the babies to lick the substrate (beardies lick to explore their environment). Adults also like to dig so they're going to get sand in their veggie dish and they need to be fed in a separate container. I've seen some owners do half tile and half sand or tile with a dig box so they get a place to dig.
Hmm I really worried about the size of my dragon! Why hasn't he grown nearly as much its crazy!? Not even a foot long and hes about 8 months old I don't get it. Could the feeding of been that much of a factor. Crap haha. You think he can rebound from this?