Is Air dry clay okay for beardies?

[xMaxthekidd]

my bearded dragon keeps hanging out on the opposite end of my tank from the bulb and I think he needs a hideout. (The beardie in question is actually my brother’s and we don’t have a hide yet.) I was wondering if air dry clay would be an effective medium to sculpt one from? I would seal it of course but would that stop it from crumbling if he scratches it?

 

[KarrieRee]

my bearded dragon keeps hanging out on the opposite end of my tank from the bulb and I think he needs a hideout. (The beardie in question is actually my brother’s and we don’t have a hide yet.) I was wondering if air dry clay would be an effective medium to sculpt one from? I would seal it of course but would that stop it from crumbling if he scratches it?

Is he basking? We need CooperDragon to help on the hide thing
@CooperDragon

 

[xMaxthekidd]

Is he basking? We need CooperDragon to help on the hide thing
@CooperDragon

Not much, I’ll find him on the other side of the cage near the bulb on one of his sticks sometimes though. It might be a temparature issue.

 

[KarrieRee]

Not much, I’ll find him on the other side of the cage near the bulb on one of his sticks sometimes though. It might be a temparature issue.

Could be temp issue bulb issue or UVB issue-- please go over how your taking those surface basking temps No stick ons they are inaccurate you want 2 digital probe thermometers --- IR guns are good but certain materials will throw them off --- colored off white or yellowish bulb or daytime bulbs are not good for basking - you want a clear solid bright white bulb -- NO coils for UVB

 

[CooperDragon]

I'm not sure if the clay would be too brittle, but I doubt it would be harmful and might be worth a try if that's what you have on hand. You don't necessarily need to have a hide made out of clay. Any kind of cozy shady spot can work. I often find my dragon sleeping curled up under a cross of two driftwood pieces that creates a shady area he can squeeze into. I think it's more about security and (less than basking) temperature that are the keys rather than a specific material - so there's lots of good options.

 

[xMaxthekidd]

Could be temp issue bulb issue or UVB issue-- please go over how your taking those surface basking temps No stick ons they are inaccurate you want 2 digital probe thermometers --- IR guns are good but certain materials will throw them off --- colored off white or yellowish bulb or daytime bulbs are not good for basking - you want a clear solid bright white bulb -- NO coils for UVB

Do you have any reccomendations for thermometers? i think the ones my brother has are stick on

 

[J4ckdaw-]

Do you have any reccomendations for thermometers? i think the ones my brother has are stick on

Replacing your brother’s thermometers should be done asap, get two digital probe thermometers and place one on either side of the tank. You can move the probe to measure the most accurate temps.

 

[Ha12041437]

Is das air dry clay safe for my leopard gecko?

 

[ChileanTaco]

What is the "air dry clay" made of? Could you post a link to the product?
"Clay" might be actual clay, but often the name is used more generally (e.g. polymer clay is in fact plastic).

 

[Ha12041437]

Water, inorganic fillers and vegetable bindings its made of that.

 

[ChileanTaco]

I would rather not use it, to be on the safe side. (Regarding: What happens when your pets lick it, what happens when it gets wet in the humidity, is it prone to mold?)
What do you like to build? There are other options that are considered safe, but to recommend something it would be good to know what you like to make. One safe option is e.g. using burrowing clay. I like it for e.g. hides that can be modified by the animal, or to cover the area around a plant. Stone imitations can be made from concrete, or from styrofoam and expansion foam and tile glue (the tile glue is something similar to cement, and the styrofoam and expansion foam must be completely covered by the tile glue).
All of them are considered safe when dried out, and all of them are not prone to mold.
I sometimes combine them, e.g. making a hide from concrete or styrofoam+expansion foam+tile glue to have an "artificial stone", and then add a thick layer of burrowing clay so the reptile can shape it especially at the opening and its base.

 

[Ha12041437]

I would like to make a hide with it.

 

[Ha12041437]

Do you have anything you suggest that’s safe ??

 

[ChileanTaco]

What I mentioned above is considered safe. For a hide, you could for example start with a box out of styrofoam, cover it in expansion foam (to give it more volume and make it rounder), and then cover it in tile glue. You could leave out the step with the expansion foam.

Another way to make a hide is using concrete. For this, you use two bowls you set into each other. For the opening on the side, so you don't get a bowl with no opening, you stuff something in that can be easily removed, like paper.

For both versions: Once dried, you could add Excavator® Clay Burrowing Substrate | Zoo Med Laboratories, Inc.

There are plenty of tutorials online e.g. on youtube which you can find when you search for example for "concrete reptile hide". This might give a better impression on how it works than only verbal description.

 

[Ha12041437]

Thank you