Beardie Substrates

[bulionz]

yer ive got central hatchies i just use white sand its better then the red sand and not so dustie i havnt had a problem with it and looks great

 

[notechistiger]

... I reiterate; it's all fine and dandy until your animal dies.

 

[gravitation]

... I reiterate; it's all fine and dandy until your animal dies.

Got brains.

I don't give a hoot where you all got your sand or what colour it is, it's all dangerous.
And yeah what notechistiger said you gonna lay your beardeds on a freeway?
Wonder if he'll make it? either way you're gambling with the lizards life.

 

[lemonz]

its not a risk, and as i said there before, NO NEED TO BE BITCHY! omfg, everyone. EVERYONE. has there own opinin, not nesecerily going to cause impaction, it may! and, it not risking there life just so your enclusure looks like ****. mine does. but its better, with newpaper and cat litter type things, live food can hide, so in a way its better for more than one way. and i never said that in thw wild, they live all there life. there are numerous problems they can encounter. just like, all im saying is that i havent had any problems, but when people reply with "yet" you dont have to say that. you could just let your opinion come through nicely. im not saying your doing a bad thing by advising us. its a good thing, just the bitchiness bout it. anyway, everyone hadve a great day and enjoy your beardiees!

 

[Emzie]

im not ever going to try sand but it there a substrate that is safe that they can dig in? mine try and dig all the time but they are on newspaper

 

[lemonz]

bitchyness

Haha yeah but you can hardly compare using sand as your pets substrate to leaving your house.
The point is why would you risk putting your dragon through immense pain plus death all because you want their enclosure to look pretty.

Selfish stupid ignorant thing to do, ESPECIALLY when you are aware of what can result.

so im ignorent selfish and stupid am i? ha. the bitchiness comes out. just be like a normal human being. if its not too much. GET OVER THE FACT THAT OTHER PEOPLE HAVE DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES! seriously, i can report you to aps for saying that, all over a stupid little reason. the fact that you can be all high and mighty just because you have lost them. and saying you dont care about the ones in the wild that get run over..shows how much you love your beardies.

 

[Kirby]

Lemonz, your the one being rude, agressive, and "bitchy" if anyone is getting reported, it would be you.

your the one making this agressive, and an arguement.

it IS possible, and happens very regularly. you should feel lucky if anything. if you dont beleive impation is real or happens, you need more experience in reptiles..

 

[Kurama]

Emzie, a substrate that you can use that enables dragons to dig is breeders choice. I use newspaper with breeders choice on top covering a section of the enclosure.

I have raised many healthy dragons on sand for years, only reason i dont use it anymore is because its messy and harder to keep clean that other substrates.

 

[Chris1]

red desert sand isnt actually calci sand, the stuff i use is just red sand brought down from teh red centre and bagged,..it can be confusing since u can also get red calci sand,...

i use that fro my adults (the bagged stuff), and they grew up on it as hatchies,..

BUT

to be on the totally safe side i raised my last hatchies on newspaper and moved them to bunnings playsand at around 6 months old.

i recommend newspaper or paper towels, not only because of impaction risks, but little ones poo 2-3 times a day and since they constantly taste their enviroments re-injesting bacteria form pooing on sand can make them sick.

i love a natural setting and my dragons love to dig, so i say bunnings palysand is a good middle ground, very unlikely to impact, looks nice and is great fro digging.

a bigger cause of impactions is incorrect temps, my dragons pass the playsand as granulated as it went in.

 

[notechistiger]

lemonz, I'm sorry, but you're sounding like a complete idiot (not saying you are). Please stop twisting what we're all trying to tell you and listen to us. Why on earth would you want to risk your dragons in any way?

For keepers, it's extremely difficult to diagnose impaction, and by the time you think to take it to the vet, your dragon could be on its last legs. Then, if you and the vet actually do manage to catch it in time, there comes an often dangerous and expensive surgery, and your dragon may not survive that!

Can you definitively say that impaction will never happen to your dragons? No, you can't. UNLESS you eliminate the possibility by not using sand in the first place!

Now, I'm not at all trying to be rude, but you're fifteen. How much experience have you had caring for your dragons? It wasn't a question, because you only got them a little while ago. When you've got older and wiser (which comes with experience) people telling you that you're risking your dragon, and you ignore it, you will have no right to blame anyone but yourself. The term "I told you so" springs to mind.

It's absolutely awesome that you're into reptiles and wanting to look after them, but if you're not prepared to take advice when it's given, then perhaps you should consider another hobby. They have needs. And that's the biggest difference for them living in the wild; we have to provide those needs. If we don't, then they can die. Simple as that.

 

[NotoriouS]

now now settle down kiddies

I used to have beardies in the past and I kept them on fake grass - very easy to use and looks much better than newspaper. It's easy to clean, looks nice, and no risk of impaction due to it. This argument about using sand is quite repetitive - I personally would not risk it. You have many options available, why choose the doubtful one? But hey, if someone wants to use it, just advise them of the pro and cons of using it and let them get on with it. No point being rude when giving advice - beats the purpose of trying to help someone.

But yea - I would recommend fake grass. With the little experience that I had with keeping beardies, it worked like a charm. Anyways, best of luck!

 

[falconboy]

The 3 best substrates IMO are tiles, tiles and tiles in that order.

 

[CodeRed]

I wonder how many people that recommend sand for lizards have actually lost one due to impaction? It's all fine and dandy until your animal dies.

Ive raised quite a few lawsoni on sand and havent had any problems. Even the hatchlings are fine on sand if you feed them in a bowl.

 

[lemonz]

lemonz, I'm sorry, but you're sounding like a complete idiot (not saying you are). Please stop twisting what we're all trying to tell you and listen to us. Why on earth would you want to risk your dragons in any way?

For keepers, it's extremely difficult to diagnose impaction, and by the time you think to take it to the vet, your dragon could be on its last legs. Then, if you and the vet actually do manage to catch it in time, there comes an often dangerous and expensive surgery, and your dragon may not survive that!

Can you definitively say that impaction will never happen to your dragons? No, you can't. UNLESS you eliminate the possibility by not using sand in the first place!

Now, I'm not at all trying to be rude, but you're fifteen. How much experience have you had caring for your dragons? It wasn't a question, because you only got them a little while ago. When you've got older and wiser (which comes with experience) people telling you that you're risking your dragon, and you ignore it, you will have no right to blame anyone but yourself. The term "I told you so" springs to mind.

It's absolutely awesome that you're into reptiles and wanting to look after them, but if you're not prepared to take advice when it's given, then perhaps you should consider another hobby. They have needs. And that's the biggest difference for them living in the wild; we have to provide those needs. If we don't, then they can die. Simple as that.

Just because i am 15 and only got them recently, doesnt mean i am little experienced, my friend ahs been breeding henrilawsonii for years, and ive grown up with them, waiting for the day mum would let me get some of my own. that day came. ive also had blue tongues and geckoes before that. sorry if i came across bitchy, and being hipoctitcle(how ever you spell that) i was just trying to take the advice, but leave it at the same time, and all i was trying to say was that everyone has there opinions. I absolutely love my beardies. i wouldn't risk there saftey for the world, i was just trying to get my point across. sorry for being repetative with this, what should we call it...."debate". Other substrates you coulduse are mulch/bark chips.

 

[LullabyLizard]

Keep with the newspaper

 

[benashki]

:? Im so glad i found this thread..aside from the cat fighting lol..:lol:

I have my beardies on paper towel and am carefully watching temps!! I DID have them on redsand (pet shop bought) yesterday for the travel home.. Im hoping thats ok?...i quickly removed them lastnight after reading these threads.

Is impaction something that happens over time or can i have caused damage already?

 

[=bECS=]

Are you all insane? Why would you risk impaction of your beloved beardies?
It can happen, it does happen, quite frequently i might add.

I have lost beardies to impaction a loooooong time ago thanks to moronic herp store clerks that told me yeah yeah it's fine.

DO NOT USE SAND.

Safe, easy options; Newspaper based kitty litter, tiles, and newspaper obviously.
There is a relatively new product that i use made of wood chippings, but it looks like kitty litter.
It's safe and very very good with soaking up smells and moisture, i think it looks good too.

I forget the name of the product but you should be able to get it from most herp stores.
Here is a picture of the substrate.

Funny, i recall several occasions where people have had their dragons impacted and sometimes die due to using substrate like yours as well............
At the end of the day its up to the owners what they choose to use, and the safest would have to be either paper towel or newspaper.
Everyone else spouting off about something else being dangerous, then recommending stuff like astroturf etc, all this has the potential to be dangerous as well.

Alot comes down to feeding on the substrate etc........... and if u use astro turf, make sure you have trimmed any loose threads and dusted off any excess grassy bit

 

[benashki]

i was told today that a dish of water may not be safe,and that i should stick to spraying them,and possibly with a little calcium in the water..

With regards to feeding on the substrate,can you elaborate?

 

[lemonz]

Are you all insane? Why would you risk impaction of your beloved beardies?
It can happen, it does happen, quite frequently i might add.

I have lost beardies to impaction a loooooong time ago thanks to moronic herp store clerks that told me yeah yeah it's fine.

DO NOT USE SAND.

Safe, easy options; Newspaper based kitty litter, tiles, and newspaper obviously.
There is a relatively new product that i use made of wood chippings, but it looks like kitty litter.
It's safe and very very good with soaking up smells and moisture, i think it looks good too.

I forget the name of the product but you should be able to get it from most herp stores.
Here is a picture of the substrate.

The picture looks like your beardie is on rabbit pellots

 

[CodeRed]

I feed mine mealworms too.