Whats the best Substrate? Consensus on this forum please.

[RedBeard11]

I have read in a lot of places that the Vita calcium sand was good. what is the consensus on this forum (which i respect a lot) whats the best substrate, am i ok leaving the vita calcium sand..i just bought a lot of it lol

 

[Monica&Chandler]

We (my hubby and I) dont use sutstrate. We have all of our tanks floored with laminate flooring or tile. I heard sand can cause impaction. We just dont want to take the risk. We bought a bunch of laminate remnants for $20, and all you have to do is wipe it down when they do their "business".

 

[nesta's mommy]

is that the same as calci-sand? if so, remove it immediately as it has been known to harden and cause impaction.

i personally love my tile!!! easy to clean!! files nesta's nails down for me!!

 

[RedBeard11]

JEEZ lol i just bought a bunch of sand. question if there is no substrate only surface what do u clean the surface with when the beardie goes poop and what not is there a disinfectant that is safe???

 

[nesta's mommy]

vinegar and water is what i clean with.


is it calci-sand? or playsand...?? i know you can use sifted and washed playsand.

 

[lukenukem83]

Calci-sand has been reputed to cause impaction if the beardie consistently ingests it; however, based on our experience, the risk is not severe. There is still a risk (confirmed by most beardie owners/vendors), and play sand is highly recommended over calci-sand, but you should not stress to much over the sand. We've watched our beardies carefully and they have a regular poo schedule and a healthy appetite. We've also taken ours to a doctor's check-up and they are quite healthy. If you are worried about impaction, definitely get rid of the calci-sand. But if you like sand, use play sand and sift out all the large particles and the risk is significantly reduced. There is still a risk for impaction with sand, but with close monitoring you should be able to catch any problems before they become serious.

 

[VenomPrx]

playsand itself is fine, i can give you several reasons to use it over any pet store sand. principally, it doesn't clump as much as calcium or vita-sand, the clumping ability of the reptile sands the main reason for their danger of impaction. second, price. to fill a 75 gallon tank (my mind the min. for a large adult dragon) with calci sand would cost something like 30-40 dollars at 10 dollars per 10 lbs. (what my pet store charges) vs 2.99 per 25lb bag of playsand at the hardware store. cheaper, safer, not lining the pockets of massive corporations which 90% of their products look like props from bad smurf episodes (honestly, who else is tired of the mushroom covered resin half-log things?) , and most importantly, not sold in *****ic colors. yes, we all know the outback glows in the dark, the Sahara is purple, and neon green the dunes of Mediterranean beaches-can you feel the sarcasm?
bottom line, for particulates the most common product is playsand. as for solids, i vouch for ceramic tile over slate because of its durability, and not in need of sealing. this is what i currently use, for ease of cleanup. its a matter of preference.
good luck with your choice :mrgreen:

 

[vickson420]

Yes calci sand, reptisand, or vitasand are all calcium based and they do carry a serious risk of impaction.There is another thing that quite often gets over looked and that is calcium overdose.What many people dont realize is that over the years the beardie is overexposed to the calcium carbonate and even if he doesnt become impacted he can easily get hypercalcemia which is just as bad as not having enough calcium.I do agree if your looking for a partical substrate and your beardie is an adult then sifted fine playsand(non silica)would work but for babies and juvies I personally recommend ceramic or slate tile,papertowel,non adhesive shelf liner and my least favorite solid substrate is repticarpet as its hard to maintain but still better then any partical substrate.

 

[RedBeard11]

Thanks for your input everybody! We have decided to take the sand out (All $60.00 worth! Aaaargh) and go with ceramic tile. Poor Red Beard is going to wonder why in the world we keep changing his tank around. But he'll love us for it in the long run. You've all been really helpful and informative. Thanks again!

 

[lukenukem83]

Awesome! you'll have to show us pictures soon!

 

[RedBeard11]

Great once we are done with the tank we will post them. You have all been a great help. Thank you again.

 

[Raine407]

I loooove my textured ceramic tile. Easy to clean, no risk of impaction, and looks great. 8)

 

[lukenukem83]

i have to agree...i'm going to be moving to ceramic tiling here soon. it just seems the most reasonable approach to have a good-looking and easy to clean tank combined.

 

[icykronik]

i use non adhisive shelf liner. looks great, no risk of impaction, and i got it for 4.99 at walmart, crix cant get under it, and its nice and soft for my beardie

 

[Chubz]

I've always used laminate flooring sticky tile its super easy to clean especially for chubz' big poops