Styrofoam for climbing, really want to potty train

[Caters]

So yeah, my mom is still working on that castle for my bearded dragon. She is building it out of styrofoam and then covering it with grout and putting some sand on the grout so that it like dries on and looks more like desert rocks.

I have been doing my research and I found that bearded dragons can be potty trained. I have also seen them be trained to come towards you when you call them so I think they are about as intelligent as cats and dogs.

And I have found from my research that this potty training can get to the point where the bearded dragon goes in his/her litter box. I was wondering, is there a way to speed up the process? Because I really don't want to have to clean the styrofoam climbing surface except for regular disinfection.

And I don't think I would have the room to put the quarantine tank in the vivarium and move the litter box gradually towards an area of the vivarium where I think it is ideal. I'm not going bioactive because, well 2 things:

First of all, I have found that it is likely that bearded dragons will eat any plants I put in the tank so they would have to be edible plants.

And second, I'm not from Australia nor do I know Australian flora all that well and I don't even know if it is possible to get seeds of Australian desert plants and grow them here in the USA, even just for indoors. And even if it is possible, I don't know if they would actually survive. I mean, in winter in Australia, it rarely gets freezing cold(probably has something to do with warm ocean currents) and typically reaches a minimum temperature in the 40s. Here in the US, it gets freezing cold all the time in winter. And both of these places are pretty far from the equator. And boy does it get hot in an Australian summer. Above 100 degrees hot. It gets that hot here in the US as well but not as often as in Australia. I simply don't know if Australian plants could survive with the freezing cold drafts I get in my house in winter.

 

[CooperDragon]

They can be trained to go to the bathroom via repetition/routine. This is easier to do with adults than with young dragons. I set my guy under a portable basking lamp over linoleum floor (easy to clean/sanitize) and give him breakfast and bask time every morning around the same time. He is closed into the room (with me while I make breakfast, coffee, etc) and can't leave until he goes (within reason). Once he goes, he has free reign of the house. You could develop a similar routine that will fit your schedule and house. If they like baths, sometimes offering them a bath on a regular basis at the same time helps develop the routine but it isn't necessary (and I don't recommend it if they don't like baths).

I wouldn't bother with native plants. You aren't likely to be able to get the seeds or grow them here anyway. Live plants tend to get trampled easily in small enclosures so I prefer to decorate using driftwood pieces and use photo backgrounds of their native habitat. You can grow things for them to eat in a garden though. I have collard greens, squash, and kale in my garden for my guy. You can try growing some of the items on this list perhaps http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html