I think sand is better for my bearded dragon

[Mirakai]

So I am not sure yet, but I will tell you why. My bearded dragon grew up on sifted play sand. I got her at 2 months from a breeder who said all of his dragons lived on play sand and he never had one get impacted. I got her the reptile supershow in Los Angeles last year and she was one of the best looking juvenile bearded dragons there. My breeder seemed to at least know how to breed good looking dragons. He had many of them.

So after I got her at 2 months I began using one of those big bags of sifted play sand. It was extremily easy to clean (just scoop out and replace as necessary with plastic cup). It was also absorbent so the poop never made a big mess. And my bearded dragon liked to dig in it and sleep in it. She also pooped in one corner consistently, as she seemed to designate that area for her poop.

After 7 months of her life (living on sand all this time she was fine) I switched her to a 40 gallon breeder with slate tile and maybe just a few inches of tightly fit sand because I couldn't get tile to cover it all completely. One of the first things I noticed is that she chose to want to sleep with her head resting on the sand area (she has a hammock too), she still prefers to sleep with her head resting on the sand.

Then the second thing I noticed, she has been hesitating to poop a lot more on the tile. On the sand she used to go everyday, but it seems like the tile is making her hesitate to poop. Because I've been out a lot more and sometimes the poop is there for around 4 hours before I can get to it. The sand would dry it up a lot quicker than tile. It also seems like a lot more difficult of a task to clean poop from tile.

I have to go through several paper towels, wipes, and spray plenty of "Healthy Habitat" from petco to get rid of the smell and disinfect. Even with that spray it seems to me the tile is smelling more than the sand would. I should also mention when I kept her on sand that I put her food dish on a bigger square of wax paper. This made it so the food would fall on the wax paper if she dropped it, and thus eat a lot less sand.

I know all the stigma on these boards about using play sand, and I am a competitive practical person. I like to do what works best. But I am starting to think sand would be more beneficial to me and my dragon. According to my breeder that's what he uses for many years of successful breeding without any trouble. I also heard from female petco employee who had a dragon for 8 years that it lived happily on play sand. But anyways what do you guys think? Don't be shy, if you have successful stories with play sand or horror stories with it feel free to share. I am not sure really if I should try to stick with tile or go back to the play sand.

 

[Grogshla]

Dragons can safely live on play sand or desert sand. They can also live safely on tile. It't totally up to the owner. Normally people will house their hatchies on tile until they are fully grown. Then they can switch them over to sand. Hatchies can be clumsy eaters but i see no problem on sand. Personally i think tiles are much cleaner as bacteria can breed in the sand (it's hard to get all the poop and liquid out from the sand). I also think that tile holds the heat much better when the lights are swithed off and provide a gentle temperature gradient from lights on to off and vice versa.
I personally house geckos on play sand and desert sand and have never had any problems.

 

[Jess]

Hi there

I had a similar issue with slate tile: It absorbs the "juices" if it isn't sealed!
Personally, I am not a fan of sand. My "horror story" was rescuing a baby beardie that was going to be put to sleep, because some particle substrate got in his eye, and he developed a massive abscess and an eye infection. My current beardie also used to be housed on sand, and he is dyed this awful dirty orange color.

Here is what I recommend: Use non-adhesive shelf liner as your main substrate. It is 100% waterproof and easy to wipe off, and there is NO smell at all. I have been using my piece of shelf liner for 6 + months, and I can stick my head in my viv and smell absolutely nothing. You can stick Velcro tape in the corners to keep it down, so no bugs can get under it. And since she loves sand so much, you can make her a little "sand box" for her to dig in! Take a small never-been-used cat litter box, a plastic shoe box, or a XL reptile dish and fill it with sand for her to dig in and sleep in.
If she doesn't like to poop on non-sand material, can you "train" her to poop in her bath instead?

 

[izz]

Ive got my beautiful boy on red dessert sand,it also brings his almost fluro orange out.
On thursday i went to a reptile breeder and he said.....


Any Bearded Dargon over 12 inches CAN be kept on sand Without the risk of impaction.Because they are bigger the sand they lick goes through them. .
I knew this, i only wanted to change from sand is because it gets caught in the tracts of the sliding glass.

So if you want to keep your beardie on sand then do so.

 

[Jess]

Not to be Debby Downer here, but a beardie's size doesn't save it from impaction. At a vet clinic I observe at, they had to operate on a huge dragon that was at least 24" long (My Dudley is a big boy, but this guy made Dud look like a midget LOL) and 5 years old, because he ate so much sand that he would have had to be put to sleep with out the surgery. It was so packed in there, they were worried his intestines would rupture while they were breaking up the impaction when they opened him up.They ended up adopting him as the clinic pet, because his owner couldn't afford his surgery.

 

[izz]

But i thought that was true!!,mine doesn't lick sand that much tho oh and before anyone buys the reptile litter from i think zilla (hey that rhymes!!),DO NOT BUY IT,it is grounded wallnut shells,the are big impacters of beardies.

 

[Jess]

Nope. I mean, once they are 16" + they generally are less likely to be impacted by anything because their digestive tract staightens out more, but there will ALWAYS be a risk. If you do choose to use sand, then that is up to you, but don't deny the fact that they can be impacted by it no matter how big or old they are. Be aware of the risks. :wink:

That vet clinic has a lot of beardie patients, and I know that they see a number of sand impactions.

 

[Mirakai]

Thanks for all the replies so far everyone.

Hi there

I had a similar issue with slate tile: It absorbs the "juices" if it isn't sealed!
Personally, I am not a fan of sand. My "horror story" was rescuing a baby beardie that was going to be put to sleep, because some particle substrate got in his eye, and he developed a massive abscess and an eye infection. My current beardie also used to be housed on sand, and he is dyed this awful dirty orange color.

Here is what I recommend: Use non-adhesive shelf liner as your main substrate. It is 100% waterproof and easy to wipe off, and there is NO smell at all. I have been using my piece of shelf liner for 6 + months, and I can stick my head in my viv and smell absolutely nothing. You can stick Velcro tape in the corners to keep it down, so no bugs can get under it. And since she loves sand so much, you can make her a little "sand box" for her to dig in! Take a small never-been-used cat litter box, a plastic shoe box, or a XL reptile dish and fill it with sand for her to dig in and sleep in.
If she doesn't like to poop on non-sand material, can you "train" her to poop in her bath instead?

Thanks for that suggestion Jess! The non-adhesive shelf liner sounds good. Do you have any tips on picking it, should I go to lowes or home depot for that? And with what tool should I cut it with to fit my tank?

 

[Jess]

No problemo, I love my shelf liner!

You can get it anywhere- Menards, Lowes, Target, Walmart, Fleetfarm... It's about $5 a role (about 4' x 2', usually), and you want the solid kind without any holes. It comes in a lot of different colors and designs too.
You can just cut it with a regular scissors. It is very easy to cut through, so no special tools needed.
Here is what my viv looks like with shelf liner, if you want to know how it will turn out:

 

[coastergirl946]

I flat out REFUSE to use any kind of sand (or any loose substrate for that matter!) after seeing my boyfriend's beardie suffer FIVE calcium sand impactions (yes, five)..
With the first impaction he black bearded in pain,
the second one he collapsed in pain with a black beard and stress marks and nearly prolapsed.. and he stopped breathing for several seconds,
the third he collapsed in pain with a black beard and stress marks and threw up,
the fourth was a repeat of the third and he stopped breathing again for several seconds,
and the fifth he prolapsed.
THAT is what sand can do to a dragon.
The sand was removed after the third impaction, but he is still in pain and stress while he is pooping, and there was sand in his urates last weekend that caused his prolapse.. we removed the sand over 2 months ago.
The reason I write this is because his dragon is 3 1/2 years old, so what you heard about older dragons being at less of a risk of impaction is complete bull. It does not matter how old they are.. impaction is always a risk. They lick everything in their enclosure even if you do not feed them on the sand.
I absolutely do not see the sense in not caring if your pet eats undigestible rocks after seeing my boyfriend's dragon suffer the way he did. No sand is digestible, and I will leave it at that. He's lucky to be alive after everything he has been through.

 

[jharris08]

not only is the whole sand debate about health risks to our dragons legit, when I first started and did have sand.. it was absolutely horrible for allergies and there was dust EVERYWHERE...made the room nasty as soon as the dragon started moving around. def would not use sand since there is a handful of other great substrates to use.

 

[ocrage]

you could always just leave a little area towards one end of the tank where their is sand. say like the width of the tank + like 4-6 inches away from the far side of the glass. just a little area your dragon can poop and sleep since she prefers sand for that.

 

[Melendez0213]

After much research Ive decided NOT to go with sand. I did try it ONCE and as soon as I put one of my beardies on it she started licking it and I immediately took her out and put her back on tile... I am just too scared to risk it....

Susana

 

[coastergirl946]

Curt passed away tonight from complications from previous sand impactions. He was only 3 1/2 years old. I really don't know what else to say to convince people not to use sand.. once you realize what's happened, the damage has been done and it's already too late.

 

[Cocky]

I house my bearded dragons on Desert Sand, from the moment I changed it and then put my beardie back the change in behaviour was astonishing, he became alot more active, digging and generally a happier dragon.

He basks on it and sometimes sleeps on it, before whilst he was on tiles he barely touched the floor as was always on the logs and branches, now he will happily roam around the floor.

I have 2 areas that are sand stone, 1 underneath his feeding and drinking bowls and another on the hot side near the glass, but they are not very large and mainly for his nails.

It is sifted and cleaned regular and he poops and eats fine and always has, I am aware of the concerns and risks of ANY loose substrate.

Also for holding the heat in the viv its a great insulator.