Best baby bearded dragon substrate

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Jds-reptiles

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I was thinking of using a sand mat from exo terra but I'm not sure what do you guys think is the best baby bearded dragon substrate.


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This is what the sand mat looks like
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keep it on paper for the first couple of weeks then put it on washed play sand (available from places like bunnings for about $7 per 20kg) don't be scared off by all the naysayers,sand is it's natural environment!
 
Our babies are raised on 'astroturf' or fake grass and find that it works very well. Easy to disinfect by soaking in appropriate disinfectant and hanging up to dry. Can be bought from Bunnings in 1.8m by 1m lengths
 
Only thing wrong with pellets,krumble,walnut husks etc.is they are large indigestible lumps which might cause impaction whereas any sand accidentally swallowed is small enough to pass through

Only if providing the correct basking temps will they pass sand. I have keep many beardies on sand big and small, if not provided with a hot spot of 40c+ some people start to experience impaction issues even without having ingested sand.

I have seen mine ingest sand lick after lick with no issues, even on course red sand (less often licked) i have had no issues apart from staining the current skin of the animal.

I am using 3 different substrates at the moment- fake grass (bunnings), news paper and paper pellets. All seem to work ok but i find sand cleans up mess's easier. The unfortunate thing is sand gets into the glass tracks and makes for a horrid noise and cleaning it out often. You will need a substrate barrier of atleast 100mm to reduce the risk of sand in the tracks.


Rick
 
Im a big fan of zilla terrarium liner found on eBay comes in green or brown. It's light and fast drying and in my opinion better than astro turf
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Please don't use sand! I can't stress this enough! Last time I checked bearded dragons don't live on sand dunes. I wouldn't risk an impaction.
 
Please don't use sand! I can't stress this enough! Last time I checked bearded dragons don't live on sand dunes. I wouldn't risk an impaction.

A lot of breeders use sand with absolutely no problems. Infact, substrates like paper towel and newspaper cause deformities of hatchlings feet and kritter krumble is worse for impaction.
 
Don't use sand. It's messy and doesn't absorb liquids. It might be its natural environment but this is captivity. You need to do what works for both you and the dragon. Use newspaper, paper towel, reptile grass like somone linked up^ there.

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A lot of breeders use sand with absolutely no problems. Infact, substrates like paper towel and newspaper cause deformities of hatchlings feet and kritter krumble is worse for impaction.

Is that so? My Beardie was raised on newspaper and he has no deformities.

I also used the newspaper pellet kitty litter and he never swallowed any of it. He spat it out if he got some in his mouth
 
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