beareded dragon substrate

[Crazycow232]

i guess i will choose which one is cheaper, hehe

 

[dragonlover1]

i guess i will choose which one is cheaper, hehe

never choose the cheap option,I always told my kids our pets deserve the best we can give them or else we don't keep them

 

[Sel]

I just use Newspaper , although doesnt look as pretty..alot easier.
Ive always wanted to use Tiles though for the beardies, but could never find the right type i wanted..maybe will try again soon.
Sand will be messy, and will probably start smelling after awhile, even with regular poop scoops. I use bark chips for my Python, which looks great..would go alright with beardies.

 

[Crazycow232]

never choose the cheap option,I always told my kids our pets deserve the best we can give them or else we don't keep them

when i say cheap i mean between tile/sand or fake grass, which apparently, both of them are good.

 

[dragonlover1]

I just use Newspaper , although doesnt look as pretty..alot easier.
Ive always wanted to use Tiles though for the beardies, but could never find the right type i wanted..maybe will try again soon.
Sand will be messy, and will probably start smelling after awhile, even with regular poop scoops. I use bark chips for my Python, which looks great..would go alright with beardies.

Paper is a bad choice for long term substrate because beardies like to dig which helps wear their claws down where-as paper doesn't provide any friction to wear them down
wood chips would work with beardies,a bit harder to spot the poop but still not a bad substrate,I use it for my bluey.And no ; sand doesn't start to smell after a while,I have had centrals on sand for 6 years now with no dramas

 

[maddog-1979]

i just use sand now, i have used coco fibre, red plasterers sand, walnut shell, olive pit stuff in the past with no real issues , but i have found playpit sand to look the best and the easiest to keep clean. easy to spot clean with an old kitchen sieve ( do not put the sieve back in the kitchen)

coco fibre was good for odor control, red plasteres sand looked good but stained the beardies red until the next shed, walnut and olive pit were harder to clean, i have heard rumours of impaction from these but never seen it first hand myself. playpit sand is real cheap too, just take a big 50-60 ltr tub to a landscaping yard and you can fill it up for a couple of bucks, i feed them on it too, i have even seen dumb beardies eat the sand in big mouthfuls, if your temps are good and diet is good you will be extremely unlucky to have any issues with impaction from whatever substrate you choose

 

[Sel]

Paper is a bad choice for long term substrate because beardies like to dig which helps wear their claws down where-as paper doesn't provide any friction to wear them down
wood chips would work with beardies,a bit harder to spot the poop but still not a bad substrate,I use it for my bluey.And no ; sand doesn't start to smell after a while,I have had centrals on sand for 6 years now with no dramas

Well, my beardies do just fine on paper.. they are out of their tanks more than not anyway. Nothing wrong with using paper

 

[oOLaurenOo]

I have used critter crumble, its ok but I have gone back to sand. I think they like it better, they love to dig around in it. It also makes it easier to feed. I had to feed in a separate tub as the crickets just disappeared under the kriter crumble where as with sand I can put some crickets in the enclosure and they have a fantastic time hunting them down. I went down to my local river and got some river sand. If you wet in when you put it in it sets hard so they can burrow around in it to there hearts contact. You can basically sweep the poop up off the top it doesn't get buried like with play sand. And when they have dug around and destroyed it all then you just wet it down and presto! Its set hard again!

 

[Dragons_Lair]

Have to agree with Dragonlover on the sand. I too have been using it for both Bearded Dragons and Central Netted Dragons for many years now with good results. Bunnings sell 20kg bags of kids play sand for $6.75 and it’s a good clean non-dusty variety. Before I use it for the first time I always dump it into one of those big plastic storage containers and blast the hell out of it with the garden hose until any impurities rise to the surface, then pour off the excess water and let it dry in the sun for a day or two. Every few months I empty all the sand from my enclosures and repeat this procedure to remove any dust or minute particles of fecal matter that may have slipped under the radar. My tanks are all sand so I always hand feed all my pets outside their enclosures. If you go for a tiled section, try giving the insects a decent squeeze with the tweezers to cripple them a little before they hit the tiles. This will slow them down a bit and make it harder to reach the sandy area or a hiding spot within the tank. Hope this helps…

 

[snake_lover]

I use sand, my beardies absolutely love digging and making a mess. I feed them in there, just keep the veggies on a rock so that they don't run over them and pout sand in the container

 

[animal805]

I just use Newspaper , although doesnt look as pretty..alot easier.
Ive always wanted to use Tiles though for the beardies, but could never find the right type i wanted..maybe will try again soon.
Sand will be messy, and will probably start smelling after awhile, even with regular poop scoops. I use bark chips for my Python, which looks great..would go alright with beardies.

Sandstone tiles under a bed of washed and screened play sand is what I use, satisfies their natural digging instinct and keeps their claws in check. Sand does not smell if you scoop poop daily and change completely every 2-3 months.

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Well, my beardies do just fine on paper.. they are out of their tanks more than not anyway. Nothing wrong with using paper

Untill their feet become deformed. Just my opinion from things I have seen.

 

[Venomous_RBB]

I would go with sand, sand is a much better, natural product for Beardies. I have heard on three accounts of beardies losing nails/toes from fake grass (I have it for my snakes, not beardies). All three accounts have been different owners and different types of fake grass.
I would only ever have the sand/sandstone tile for my beardies.

Coir peat/kritters crumble/hemp/aspen are all too dusty for beardies and the coir peat/kritters crumble, has been known to kill beardies. Hemp and Aspen have been known to carry alot of dust and mites (not all types).

I would personally not have newspaper or any form of paper for beardies. The reason's being are:
*They love to dig
*They can get deformities(when growing up, however a few branches could help that(so they can get off the ground)
*Have bad problems with their claws/feet/toes.

I personally would chose sand, it is more natural for them, they can dig and have fun. These are just my personal experiences with these substrates, others have probably had different experiences and that is understandable, these are just mine.

Good luck with the beardies and choosing a good substrate.

 

[Sel]

Sandstone tiles under a bed of washed and screened play sand is what I use, satisfies their natural digging instinct and keeps their claws in check. Sand does not smell if you scoop poop daily and change completely every 2-3 months.

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Untill their feet become deformed. Just my opinion from things I have seen.

Mine spend most of their time on their rocks and logs, so still not a problem ..

 

[Venomous_RBB]

Mine spend most of their time on their rocks and logs, so still not a problem ..

That should be okay then, is it okay if we see a pic of your setup?
Cheers

 

[gando]

I have and been using sand for a long time and it works great.. If you want to breed she can dig and lay her eggs. Just think where they come from..

 

[Sel]

Hi again,

Can i just ask the people that use tiles what kind you use? When i was looking i was looking for slate kind of tiles that were rough, but thin and i couldnt find any at Bunnings. I have 3 lizard tanks so i guess its easier to use paper for cleaning..but tiles would look good i think.

 

[dragonlover1]

Hi again,

Can i just ask the people that use tiles what kind you use? When i was looking i was looking for slate kind of tiles that were rough, but thin and i couldnt find any at Bunnings. I have 3 lizard tanks so i guess its easier to use paper for cleaning..but tiles would look good i think.

if you use tiles you definitely want the rough type for wear, the smooth ones are too slippery and lead to stunted feet.
Try a tile outlet for more choice

 

[Sel]

Yes thats what i wanted.. but was very hard to find what i wanted. Im not silly enough to put slippery tiles in.. just wondering what kind other people use.

 

[dragonlover1]

Yes thats what i wanted.. but was very hard to find what i wanted. Im not silly enough to put slippery tiles in.. just wondering what kind other people use.

you would be amazed at what some people use,there are some really dumb people who shouldn't ever have pets

 

[disintegratus]

you would be amazed at what some people use,there are some really dumb people who shouldn't ever have pets

OT, but along that same vein: When I wash my dogs, I use regular supermarket woolwash. I've been using it for years with no issues, but these days I keep it in an old dishwashing liquid bottle as it's easier to squirt it onto the dog, there's not so much wastage. Last time I took my dogs to the hydrobath, the girl freaked out that I was using dishawashing liquid to wash them, I explained it and she had a good laugh, then told me the reason she freaked was that some people had come in with a samoyed, and were going to use straight bleach to wash him!! People are idiots!!!