P**sed Off

[Catalyst]

Honestly, I don't think the selling of bad products has anything at all to do with whether people think that exotic pets should be banned - they're not related. There are horrible products on the shelves for any species of pet - that's why it's important to do your research and educate yourself before you go to the store. The more research I do, the more I learn, the fewer products out there I find acceptable for any of my pets (including my cats, dogs, and fish, not just the dragon).

There have been several great posts here showing pictures of a dragon's natural environment - most of them show hard baked ground, not loose sand like we'd associate with deserts. Slate tile closely approximates this type of ground.

If you're determined to use a loose substrate, it's not the most horrible thing in the world by any means, it just involves more risks than using a solid substrate. I personally use a loose substrate with my dragon because she poops in the tub (thus no way for bacteria to grow in the substrate), she eats out of a bowl that sits on a tile (so no chance of her ingesting substrate while eating), she's a full grown adult (so her intestines are full grown and more able to handle the odd piece of substrate that might be ingested), and she's no prone to licking her environment. Because of these factors, the risk is acceptable in my opinion to keep her on a loose substrate. I use bed-a-beast because it's not dusty and dirty like sand can be, and I wanted to see if she would dig given the chance. She doesn't really dig in it or seem to care one way or the other about it, and I may switch back to tiles in the future - I used them before and liked them, they're easy to keep clean, they stay warm pleasantly for the dragon, they look great (depending on the type of tile you choose), and they help to keep her nails trimmed down well.

So yes, you can use sand, you just need to be aware of all the risks involved and determine for yourself that they are acceptable for you and your dragon. We'll never recommend a loose substrate to new keepers or to anyone with a baby dragon (they're much more easily impacted), but once you've gained a bit of experience in the hobby and done a substantial amount of research, you'll find that there are few black and white rules, different things work for different people.