Sand

[Joel9293]

My bearded dragon is about 8 months or 10 is it too early to put sand at the bottom of his tank?

 

[munchkins9802]

yes it is and it is better to actually never use sand but definitely not before about 18months of age. At his age he could still get impacted from it. Continue to use a non loose substrate

 

[Joel9293]

Yeah okay then fair call, I have Lino at the moment just thought I might ask

 

[Carnivorouszoo]

I don't plan on ever using sand, it gets nasty and harbors bugs (not just feeders either O_O ) and I find it holds odors. We avoid playgrounds with sand for these reasons. So I would not want my beardie on something I would not let my human children play in. Just my thoughts

 

[jjh1]

Yeah okay then fair call, I have Lino at the moment just thought I might ask

If you want to change to something else try some slate tile easy to clean trims down the nails .... but dont ever use sand its not a good idea at any age.

 

[danmarie]

hey just throwing it out there that our bearded dragons are 3 and 4 months old and they have been on sand since we got them, at first the littler one would look like she was eating the sand but she spit it out and now doesnt even try to lick it or nothing, however we never feed our lizards their live feed in the encloser they are placed in a sep container to avoid sand getting in their system, and their veggies are placed in a bowl on a rock so that the sand doesnt get near the greens. our bearded dragons do great on it and havent got impacted from the sand. Im just saying take it or leave it just throwing it out their so you can make your own choice.

 

[Carnivorouszoo]

There's never a problem until there IS a problem. Just putting THAT out there :?

 

[DaddyGeek]

My thoughts are why risk an animals health period? Sand doesn't look that great, it isn't sanitary and no matter how old your dragon is or how long it has been on it there is always a risk of impaction. As the owner it is your responsibility to do what is best for the animal, they can't do it for themselves. This is just a general thought that I post on every sand thread I read. I will never understand why people choose to endanger their beardies lives over something so small that is so easily fixed. Below are some links to a very sad sand story and one thread that is very informative as to why it should not be used.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=142639

viewtopic.php?f=37&t=142934

viewtopic.php?f=34&t=132151