New owner, vivarium substrate

[Peterg]

Hello, I am setting up my vivarium to get a bearded dragon. Been researching for about 5 weeks now, this website has helped so much so thank you.
As for the bottom of the vivarium, what do people reccomend? Been told desert sand is a good subsrate to use however there are many horror storys i have read for sand.
An idea of a beardie I might be getting is around 5-6 inch long from pets at home, unsure of age. Not actually looking to buy one for a few more weeks tho as i wanna get everything set up however most beardies from pets at home are that size. Any advice on substrate/something for the bottom of tank would be awesome thank you. I am UK based as well.

 

[Claudiusx]

I like flooring tiles myself.
I'd stick to solid substrates as opposed to loose substrates personally.

-Brandon

 

[CaramelBeet]

Solid flooring is better, especially for a 5-6 inch dragon (who is just a baby with a very small digestive tract, which is easily blocked).
There are lots of options. Newspaper/paper towel works well (especially for little ones who tend to have very frequent bowel movements) and is easy to take out and replace whenever. Tile also works, and so does reptile carpet (although that's a bit harder to clean). Really anything that can't accidentally be eaten and is non-toxic is fine.

 

[Peterg]

Thank you for your replies. Think i am going to go with kitchen roll/paper towels and some slate tiles. Would you reccomend anything under the kitchen roll? Or just on sheet straight onto the wooden bottom?
I havent had the lights on yet and my night time temps are mid 50's so I am thinking either a heat mat or ceramic bulb, will this effect the substrate i use?