How much sand

[CHUCKmfnNORRIS]

i just got a 90 gallon tank for my 3 bearded dragons and don't know how much sand to use.

 

[ewstokes]

you actually shouldnt use sand. it causes impaction. look up the dangers of sand in the forum and you'll find tons of hits. try using tile with a texture to it or slate tile.

 

[diggerdrake]

also you should not house them in the same tank

 

[Freeie]

Tile works sooo much better very easy to wipe clean

 

[Catalyst]

How old and large are your dragons? If they're young/small then you'll want to definitely stick with something solid since small dragons are easily impacted by loose substrates. Paper towels, nonadhesive shelf liner, reptile carpet, and texture slate or ceramic tiles are all great options.

If your dragons are all adults, then loose substrates are more of a possibility although there are still risks (impaction if they're prone to licking it, bacterial growth from their poop, etc.). I would suggest reading up on the different substrates before making an educated decision. If you do go with a loose substrate, you can use either sifted silica free children's playsand or a coconut fiber bedding like bed-a-beast or ecoearth. I'd make it a couple of inches deep, and make sure to clean up any poops (and the substrate surrounding them since it soaks up the moisture) ASAP. You'll have to change out the substrate entirely every couple of months at least since even the best cleaning can't get all of the bacteria spread by the poop. I use ecoearth with my dragon because she's an adult, she doesn't lick her substrate, she only eats out of a bowl, and she poops in the bath tub, not in the tank, so the overall risk is minimal.

 

[CHUCKmfnNORRIS]

they are all full sized adults. i had them in a 60 gallon tank and it was not big enough. i use the calci-sand so that if they do get any in there system it causes less harm than other sand. i give them fresh food and water every day. i just need to know haw many pounds of sand to use for my 90 gallon tank.

 

[underoath7896]

calcium sand is the worst of them all since calcium bonds together it would be more prone to impaction and housing full grown beardies in just one 90 gallon is not a very good idea they fight for territory

 

[Catalyst]

i use the calci-sand so that if they do get any in there system it causes less harm than other sand.

Unfortunately this isn't true. Calcium based sands harden when they get wet into something like cement or rocks and this can block up your dragon's intestines quite badly. Plus, the added calcium in the sand makes it more likely that your dragon will try to lick at the sand and ingest it. While there's a lot of room for differing opinions and husbandry, you'll find that the keepers on this board pretty much universally advise against calcium sand and crushed walnut shells as being dangerous bedding for dragons of any age. It would be safer to use sifted silica free children's playsand (which is much cheaper and which doesn't clump up the way calcium sand does), or if you really like the fine grain sands you could go with a reptisand or something similar which has no added vitamins or calcium.

I don't use sand at all in my girl's tank (too dusty and too much of a hassle) so I couldn't tell you how many pounds it will take to fill your tank.

As mentioned above, your tank is on the small side for 3 adult dragons. It's recommended that a single dragon have an enclosure with 6-8 square feet of floor space and at least 18 inches in width. That works out to a 75g tank per dragon (4 ft x 18 inches wide), and something much larger if you're to try and house three together (also not advised for various reasons - dominance issues, stress, overbreeding and harassment if they're mixed genders, etc.). You need space for multiple basking and feeding spots to reduce competition between the animals.

This isn't meant as an attack on you or anything, just trying to help improve the quality of your dragons' lives and help out a fellow hobbyist. There's a lot to keeping these guys healthy and happy and unfortunately there's also a ton of bad or outdated information out there.

 

[TheVirus]

"How much" sand depends on what your trying to accomplish. To just have sand in there, I would say 3-4 inches.

 

[CHUCKmfnNORRIS]

i use the calci-sand so that if they do get any in there system it causes less harm than other sand.

Unfortunately this isn't true. Calcium based sands harden when they get wet into something like cement or rocks and this can block up your dragon's intestines quite badly. Plus, the added calcium in the sand makes it more likely that your dragon will try to lick at the sand and ingest it. While there's a lot of room for differing opinions and husbandry, you'll find that the keepers on this board pretty much universally advise against calcium sand and crushed walnut shells as being dangerous bedding for dragons of any age. It would be safer to use sifted silica free children's playsand (which is much cheaper and which doesn't clump up the way calcium sand does), or if you really like the fine grain sands you could go with a reptisand or something similar which has no added vitamins or calcium.

I don't use sand at all in my girl's tank (too dusty and too much of a hassle) so I couldn't tell you how many pounds it will take to fill your tank.

As mentioned above, your tank is on the small side for 3 adult dragons. It's recommended that a single dragon have an enclosure with 6-8 square feet of floor space and at least 18 inches in width. That works out to a 75g tank per dragon (4 ft x 18 inches wide), and something much larger if you're to try and house three together (also not advised for various reasons - dominance issues, stress, overbreeding and harassment if they're mixed genders, etc.). You need space for multiple basking and feeding spots to reduce competition between the animals.

This isn't meant as an attack on you or anything, just trying to help improve the quality of your dragons' lives and help out a fellow hobbyist. There's a lot to keeping these guys healthy and happy and unfortunately there's also a ton of bad or outdated information out there.

it was my local pet store that told me the best would be calsi-sand. as for a large enough space for the 3 of them only 2 are going to be in the 90 not all 3. i remember someone saying to tile the bottom of the tank. is this true?

 

[underoath7896]

tile is the best way to go and u dont have to grout it or anything just lay it in there and its alot cheaper just get some stile with some texture (not the realy smotth ones

 

[Catalyst]

Tile works great, just make sure it has a nice amount of texture to it. Slate is a popular option because it looks naturalistic, and ceramic is another commonly used type. You can grout the tiles in if you'd like, or just cut them to fit and lay them in loose. If you leave them loose, it'll be easier to pull the tiles out to clean them and if you ever want to move the tank.