Sand substrate

[Sheila3300]

I got my beardie on Saturday, after a lot of research of course. I was worried about sand substrate, so the guy at the reptile store gave me Zillo sand, since the beardie is for school, I could not use the walnut shell based one. He said it is fine for them, but I am getting more worried the more I read about sand. I thought I would just use this one now, since it is already in the tank, and in a few months change the substrate to something else.
Is that okay, any advice would be appreciated?
As well what would be a good substrate for the future? I was told the carpet gets very dirty and stained after awhile.

 

[GizmosGrammie]

I have tile in the bottom of my tank covered in non adhesive shelf liner as the tile was too slick for my beardie to walk on. She avoided moving around because she would slip too much. I just bought the Exo Terra tank & when I switch over may just use the shelf liner & leave the tile out.

My sister in law's beardie has always (7 yrs) been on sand with no problem. Personally I don't find sand appealing to clean poo out off especially since my beardie's poo's are usually expelled with fluid.

 

[Sheila3300]

Thank you for you reply. I don't feed him live crickets either, he gets super worms, so he is not eating off the sand. I think I may change it after, just to ease my mind.
His poo so far is not that watery.

 

[CooperDragon]

I agree that a lot of dragons are kept on sand without a problem but it does pose risks. The sand can be ingested either accidentally or on purpose which can cause impaction. Sand impactions are not fun to deal with. The bigger problem in my mind is keeping the sand clean. If your dragon poops in the sand the moisture soaks into it and can harbor bacteria and cause sickness. Old food can also harbor bacteria if it sits in the sand. I've found it much easier to use solid substrates because they can't be ingested and are much easier to spot clean and sanitize. I agree with you about the repti carpet. It needs to be cleaned quite frequently and gets shabby after a bit so it's good to have several sets if you go that route which gets expensive.

 

[Sheila3300]

Cooper dragon what do you use for substrate?
In a month I am on holidays so thought I could use that time to clean out the tank and put something new in.

 

[CooperDragon]

I have ceramic tile. Two tiles at the bottom of the tank. Got a set of 6 at Lowe's for about $10 and they cut them to size (18x18'') for free at the store. If one set gets dirty I take them out and put in new ones giving me time to clean and bake the dirty ones. Works pretty well for me. The shelf liner is good too because it's cheap to replace and is easy to clean and sanitize with some F10SC.

 

[GizmosGrammie]

CooperDragon did you rough your tile up at all? I have 2 18x18 tiles in my tank as well & Gizmo didn't seem happy on it; her feet slipped so much. I bought the least slick tile I could find at Lowes. I've been thinking of lightly sanding it but don't know if that will damage it.

 

[CooperDragon]

My guys didn't seem to have trouble moving around on it so I didn't make any changes. Putting the shelf liner down over it is fine if that helps. You could try sanding it with some rough sandpaper or scoring it somehow. I'd just make sure to rinse it well so no loose particles are left. I'm not sure how easy that would be but it's worth a shot, especially if you have a few sets available.

 

[FreeJersey]

You could also use natural slate tiles, they have plenty of texture, so no slipping.

 

[Sheila3300]

Thank you. Slate sounds like a good idea, nice color and texture. Does it bother bearded dragons when you change their substrate on them?

 

[Sheila3300]

Also wondering about sleeping. Do they sleep on the cold tile? Mine sleeps in his cave on the sand right now. When I change it, what do I put down for bedding in his cave?

 

[CooperDragon]

Any major changes to their environment have the potential to cause stress but even when it occurs it's not usually very long term. Sometimes they'll sleep on the tile. They aren't too picky when it comes to plopping down for the night. They'll often fall asleep on their basking branch or area too. If you want, you can put down some fleece to make it more comfortable.

 

[Sheila3300]

Thank you.
Actually last night he slept on the bit of carpet I laid down near his food and water bowls, may use that in the cave.