Sand

[Sadie0223]

Hello,


i have a 8 month old bearded dragon she is a little. And i was wondering at what age can you use sand or what would you recommend ( play sand, crushed walnut sand, etc. ) i don't wanna keep using paper towel because when she goes after the dubia Roaches she eat the paper towel too!!!!!

 

[Terry15]

You should get some of the shelf/drawer liner that has the rubberized backing. I'm going to switch to that soon. I've got the carpet, but it would be easier to keep the tank clean with the liner.

 

[GoneForLunch]

Well if she is eatin the paper towel when she goes for her food, I don't recommend sand at all because she is almost guaranteed to eat it on accident. I would try maybe some tile. I use newspaper, but I don't have the same issue, so my next guess would be tile or a repti carpet. But I heard the carpet can smell and hold their smell, so you would have to look into that.

 

[Sadie0223]

i will not use reptile carpet last time i did she ripped her nail off

 

[GoneForLunch]

i will not use reptile carpet last time i did she ripped her nail off

I'm sorry to hear that, from what I read on it people seemed to like it. I just stick to newspaper. Easy to clean and replace. Maybe someone has a better suggestion for you than I do. Are you against using tile?

 

[Sadie0223]

I'm sorry to hear that, from what I read on it people seemed to like it. I just stick to newspaper. Easy to clean and replace. Maybe someone has a better suggestion for you than I do. Are you against using tile?[/quote]

i have never used it before

 

[ruben0311]

if you are going to use sand, you need to think about it's feeding habits... with that said you can try making a sectioned off area for the sand, where you would not be feeding him so there is no risk of accidental ingestion. Temperatures need to be high and hydration is key in order to facilitate the ease of passing the sand if he does take some in... Fred's floor is about 5/6th slate tile and 1/6th sand which is surrounded by brick in order to ensure none is tossed around. Fred only sleeps on the sand and is never really on it otherwise.

far left end of floor is sand about 1 inch deep with UTH for warmth. all his feeding is done on the tile though.

 

[Sadie0223]

that is a cool set up

 

[ruben0311]

thanks, still gotta get his linear UVB tube but never had any problems with the coil UVB so gonna use it till it degrades. I also added another heat lamp to even out the temps for the cool side, but yeah he loves going to sleep on the sand... the barrier is essential as he will dig himself a bed everynight and otherwise the sand would be flying around everywhere.

 

[Rampagingraptor]

Just use textured tile or shelf liner if you are having problems with your beardie ingesting the substrate and its just paper towels!
Also, NEVER use crushed walnuts for beardies (or pretty much any animal). They are indigestible and have been known to cause internal bleeding problems due to ingestion. If you want a loose substrate, use playsand. I would suggest this as a corner thing or something like this sorta like Ruben did.
Wait, are you ripping it to shreds and throwing it in? Cause I really can't think of any other reason your beardie would be eating the paper towels. Just curious, no offense intended.

 

[Sadie0223]

no its ok and no i am not shredding it up i am leaving it as it comes when she eat live food she goes after it then she might get a little corner in her mouth and eat it with the bug on accident or she will split it out

 

[popsickle18]

I would not use any loose substrate. There is just too many chances that it could digested and cause issues. I went to my local home improvement store with my cage bottom dimensions and they cut some tiles for me! It makes for super easy clean up also when they poo. Depending on the tile you pick, it can be quite pretty

 

[ruben0311]

In addition to just keeping a small section as sand you can also just feed in a separate container... however you do choose to go just remember that they "smell" by licking things, so having high heats available for them to get a good basking in is essential with loose substrate. have fun playing around with your setups and make sure there are plenty of hard surfaces in addition to the sand... remember in the wild it's not just soft loose sand, it's mainly hard packed and rocky with trees and shrubs

 

[Sadie0223]

i will try when i move here to her 44 gallon