SAND GOOD OR NOT!!??

[RamboRocky]

im a new owner of 2 baby bearded dragons i was told that if i had sand in the terrarium they could swallow the sand and cause problems.

Bearded dragons come from the deserts of Australia tho... so its their natural habitat... once they get older i thought it would be cool to put sand in their tank so they could burrow in the sand and maybe sand retains heat... i dont know tho...

i need pros/cons of sand and how big a dragon would need to be to have sand in the tank.
Thanks.

 

[jsnow08]

a lot of people will tell you sand is the worst thing ever, but if you use it right, sand is just fine to use.

i wouldnt put a dragon on sand till they are about 12-14 inches.
When you do put them on sand just be smart about it. Have their food bowl elevated off the sand, and feed them live food outside the cage (in another container or a rubbermaid tote, thats what i do) so they dont eat any sand. If you see your dragons licking up sand frequently then i would take the sand out.

sand is also great for dragons who like to burrow and dig plus it just looks better.

 

[peera]

The type of dessert bearded dragons live on is hardpan clay, not sand. In the wild dragons also have only a 4-5 year life span, which is half that of a properly cared for pet, with impaction being a major killer. I've given my dragons sandboxes before and they really couldn't care less about burrowing unless the tank is too hot. One of the primary reasons for cautioning against sand isn't just impaction, but sand easily becomes a bacteria breeding ground when they poop because a scoop doesn't get all the liquid part out and also if food gets lost in it. Think of it as having your dragon live in a litter box. Personally, I've never seen any pro's to it. Slate tiles look nice (and if you get the right colors, looks more realistic to their real environment than sand), are very easy to clean, and you don't have to buy new ones every month.

 

[Aznrainbowdime]

I'm a new owner as well and I've had Mj for 3 weeks now. SHes only 6 inches long. I bought her tank, sand,.. etc before I found this website and didnt know sand was not good for babies. Alot of ppl told me its not.. but I keep close eye on her... I take her out when I feed her crickets.. and veggies in her bowl. I do wanna cahnge to reptile carpet.. but so far i've had no prob with sand

 

[MyLittleFoot]

I use tile because I saw my beardie constantly licking the sand. Tile is also easier to clean especially now that my baby is bigger and makes a bigger mess all I have to do is take the tile out and clean it with hot water and soap and it's clean and not have to worry about her walking around in bacteria infested sand.

 

[CarlCanibal]

I mix fine sand and soil (with no fertilizer) with water to a muddy mass. This mass is then beeing packed hard in layers in the terrarium. When the mass dryes out, it will become a hard substrate that`s not far from their natural enviroment. It`s even good to burrow in, and my female burrowed a really nice egg-laying den in this substrate. The risk for impaction is also minimal.
In my opinion, reptiles who is well cared for, should be kept in an as natural enviroment as possible - with a natural set-up you can never go wrong in my eyes.
If your BD is eating of the substrate, it`s not the substrate that is wrong, it`s probably your keeping. BD`s rarely eat of the substrate when they are fed right amounts of food (with a high variety of veggies/fruits/berries and insects properly gut loaded) and sufficient amounts of trace minerals, vitamins and calcium. Calcium intake have to be seen in relationship of properly UV lights and amount of calcium given.

 

[Aznrainbowdime]

ok where can i get good tiles from ???

 

[peera]

Home Depot, Lowes, Ace... pretty much any hardware store or building supply store has at least some tile. And of course there are specialty flooring stores.

 

[Lara]

ive had my baby for four years, and she's lived in sand her whole life, and i havent experienced any problems. although it's very hard to clean the entire cage.
i dont really want to put tiles and such in the cage, but i would like something easier to clean that still looks natural.

 

[Aznrainbowdime]

yes I agree.. sand is a pain in the A$$ to clean ! I can literally clean at 8 pm... by morning it'll be filthy !!

I need to start looking at tiles... I'll go to home depot this weekend or next week... as I've seen many pixz on here tiles look so much better and i bet easier to clean as well.

Oh not to mention I have white calcium sand.. so yeahh.. VERY DIRTY !!!!

 

[peera]

ive had my baby for four years, and she's lived in sand her whole life, and i havent experienced any problems.

Yeah, and neither of my adults ever had UVB light before I got them (3&7 years) and they got away without MDB (although Dora's jaw is a little crooked) Does that mean UVB lights are worthless? No, it means they were lucky. I don't mean to be snarky, but really... just because you haven't had a problem yet doesn't mean you won't ever. Have you had a fecal and/or X-ray done? If you haven't, then you don't know what's going on inside of her.

Also, in new information, I was reading my baby book today and it cautioned against putting your child on play sand because some batches have been known to have asbestos in them. So even the "safe" sand carries at least 3 risks.

 

[herps4ever]

How come people sand alfa pellets are not good :?:

 

[Aznrainbowdime]

Also, in new information, I was reading my baby book today and it cautioned against putting your child on play sand because some batches have been known to have asbestos in them. So even the "safe" sand carries at least 3 risks.

What's asbestos ?

 

[peera]

Ever seen that pink padding inside a wall? That's a type of asbestos. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asbestos

 

[peera]

How come people sand alfa pellets are not good :?:

Once again, it's a major bacteria risk. Think about it, what happens to veggies when you leave them outside the refrigerator? They grow mold. When the pellets get moist, bacteria starts breeding.