subtrates

[mayhem131]

i have just got a 2yr old bearded dragon. he came with his own viv.i have looked all over the net and eveyone says dont use sand dont use bark dont use this or that.what is the best to use.the viv he came with has bark in it and he is in perfect condition.if i change it will it upset him as he is use to bark.is sand ok or not please help i seem to be going round in circles with this one

 

[GoFast]

http://www.google.com/custom?q=best+substrate&sa=Google+Search&sitesearch=BeardedDragon.org&domains=BeardedDragon.org&client=pub-5530445384043711&forid=1&ie=ISO-8859-1&oe=ISO-8859-1&safe=active&cof=GALT%3A%23008000%3BGL%3A1%3BDIV%3A%23057405%3BVLC%3A663399%3BAH%3Acenter%3BBGC%3AFFFFFF%3BLBGC%3A057405%3BALC%3A057405%3BLC%3A057405%3BT%3A000000%3BGFNT%3A0000FF%3BGIMP%3A0000FF%3BLH%3A50%3BLW%3A288%3BL%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fimages.beardeddragon.org%2Fimages%2FbdragonBanner_midsmall.jpg%3BS%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2F%3BFORID%3A1%3B&hl=en

 

[mayhem131]

ok so tile seems to be good and i can see why. but will this upset the dragon if he has been used to bark or will he not care.

 

[Claudiusx]

It might make him a little bit stressed for a couple days but after a couple days he should be fine. In the long run making him a lil stressed to keep him on tile as apposed to keeping him on that bark is well worth it.

-Brandon

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

I agree! Your beardie should be fine with the transition from bark to tile.

 

[Member0420]

I have read that you can use sand and things like that as long as you feed them in another location so that they will not eat any of the substrate. I personally would go for sand for looks and hey thye come from sandy ares (not all) so it shouldn't hurt.

 

[Claudiusx]

Well them eating it isnt the only problem. The dust that gets kicked up each time they take a step gets into their lungs and causes respiratory problems. Sand also harbors bacteria, is heavy, and is expensive to have to replace every week, which you should do if you use it because of all the bacteria from your lil poopers poops lol.

That is usually why people use sand, it looks nice, but in my opinion (and im not trying to change yours) i would rather keep my beardie safe then think hes tank looks cool.

p.s. I'm also not implying that you don't try to keep your beardie safe, thats just my opinion about sand. Glad thats all cleared up lol

-Brandon

 

[Member0420]

But I heard you could wahs the sand to minimize the dust and bacteria. But yes sand would be high maint and tile does look nice as well and is ton easy to clean. i dunno i just thought I'd try to mimic its natural state. But I see what your saying.

 

[Claudiusx]

I also wanted to add, you can go to home depot and get custom cut tile to fit your tank for around $7. Thats $7 for your beardies entire life on substrate, instead of around $50 a month on sand. And when the tile gets dirty you can just wipe it with a cleaner and its done.

-Brandon

 

[ABLuvsKatie]

I'm in the same boat, mayhem. We adopted an 18 mo old female who's been on sand her whole life. I have planned to make changes in her tank gradually but, with all the reading I'm doing - for her sake AND mine (for clean up!), I think the first thing I'll change will be the sand. The tank she's in, which I'd also eventually like to upgrade, is 12" x 30". I've got one 12" tile left over from something I think I'll put in under her basking area to hold in heat...but that would leave the other end, where her food is, on sand. :-( I guess if her temperatures are OK as it is, should I put the tile under the side where her food is?