Thrive natural calcium sand

[Bearded joey]

Hello so our boy is 7 months old and now A little over 18" long and in a 40gal thrive enclosure he's been on carpet since we got him, he is wanting to dig and he likes climbing so we bought 40lbs of thrive all natural calcium sand substrate to put on the bottom of his enclosure and we also got a new coconut fiber mat and because there is so many good and bad reviews about impaction we are trying the mat and he does not like it, it's been 2 days now and he's been sleeping on his basking net instead of in his hide where he normally sleeps should I use the sand to line the bottom of the enclosure or just stick with carpet? T.I.A.

 

[DorgEndo]

Calcium sand is a problem because calcium clumps in moisture, that's the impaction risk and it should never be used

A dig box with a mix of play sand and organic top soil works well for digging. Just sand won't make a good dig area since it collapses, no way to hold the shape. A bin for digging, or one part of the enclosure for digging is nice.

You can use slate tile as the flooring as it is reusable, washable, won't harbor bacteria. Safer and costs less in the long run. I've used terra cotta tiles too. They also hold heat just like the natural areas of Australia where beardies are from.

 

[xp29]

Calcium sand is a problem because calcium clumps in moisture, that's the impaction risk and it should never be used

A dig box with a mix of play sand and organic top soil works well for digging. Just sand won't make a good dig area since it collapses, no way to hold the shape. A bin for digging, or one part of the enclosure for digging is nice.

You can use slate tile as the flooring as it is reusable, washable, won't harbor bacteria. Safer and costs less in the long run. I've used terra cotta tiles too. They also hold heat just like the natural areas of Australia where beardies are from.

I agree wirh everything you said

 

[Bearded joey]

Thank you

 

[KarrieRee]

Please get either some textured NON adhesive shelf liner or a mat from zen habitats those are for 4x2 tanks tho so I would recommend the shelf liner for now-- something w/ texture for non slippage- easy to clean- vinegar and water 50/ 50 cut to the size of the tank insects cannot get underneath

 

[Drache613]

Moved by Moderator from General to Enclosures

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How are things going with your substrate choices? All great suggestions, you can use non adhesive
shelf liner, textured or non textured tiles like slate tiles, rubber mats, or colored felt are good.
They are easy to keep clean too.

Tracie