Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi!
Im about to upgrade my beardie glass tank to a bigger one since he is now 11" at 3 months, 2 weeks old and growing fast!
When I do so, I will use sand, rocks, etc to create a natural habitat.
But I have two questions, could you help me out?
1- Im planning to use desinfected beach sand, because here in Brazil I cant find reptile sand. Is that ok? What is best to collect, the wet sand close to the sea or the dry sand?
2- I read in the Melissa Kaplan's site on Chucks and Desert iguanas that one could use "sand mixed with larger rock particles, such as clean gravel". I think it makes sense, What do you think?
Thanks!!!!!!!

I would use the dry sand, as it will be easier to sift the larger particles out of it. Also I would avoid mixing gravel in with it. Beardies sometimes have the habit of taste testing their substrate. And you wouldnt want them ingesting a piece of gravel. After you collect the sand sift it through a fine screen. then you would want to bake it in the over to make sure it is clean. Another thing you may want to consider is if the sand is from the ocean or fresh water. Sand from the ocean has a lot of crushed coral skeletons in it. If the risks are too high you may want to consider using an alternitave substrate. Such as paper towel or shelf liners.

peace
nathan

Nathan has a great point. Dragons love eating their substrate. Because of this I use paper for the babies till they are near 12-15" then I convert to a crushed walnut substrate. Its a little easier for the adults to pass than sand is. And unlike sand I've never had impaction problems with it.

Though I have heard on the walnuts they can be sharp and cut the dragons easily. Have you had that problem?

No never. I have acctually had the best results with it. I don't use it for small dragons, just adults. I forget the brand but its a desert blend.

Keep in mind that everyone has a good experience until they have a bad one.

Crushed walnut shells are the worst substrate! You may be lucky with it. But many lizards have been severely injured or died from ingesting it.

crushed walnuts are something to avoid. Your dragon will eat them and you dragon will get impacted. I saw somewhere on a web site pictures of a disceted Bearded dragon who had died from walnut shell impactation. You would not believe the amount of substrate that can get stuck in the intestine.
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a free range dragon is a happy dragon

I have seen a lot of dragons die from walnut shells. I have also disected adult and baby dragons and man were they full of the stuff. Some were so bad it was lining thier throats and esophagus. I would avoid it at all costs.

I use paper towels with babies untill they are a couple months old . Then I switch them to sifted play sand. I Have had dragons since I was 12 and never had one die of impaction from sand.

good luck

peace,
nate
Uluru Dragons

I agree also. I can only speak from experience but i have never had any trouble using paper towels until they are 2 to 2 and a half months old and then housing them with childs playsand after that. They get on with it really well.

I recently tried to change my 4 month old beardie (11" over to sand from the paper towel, and she did more tham just taste it! She started to eat the stuff and I had to run and take her out and change her tank back to the ugly old paper towel. Does anybody have any insight as to why she might have done this? And what are some other safe substrates that I could use?

Strange, I've been breeding dragons for over 10 years and have never had an issue with the walnut. I have had impaction with sand products, and even the calcisand, but never walnut. All of the grains are rounded so I don't see how dragons are cutting themselves unless you are crushing your own shells.

Thanks for all answers!
I think this is what the forum is all about!
By the way, since I think we dont have here the "play sand" many of you mentioned, can I use the same sand that people use in aquarium?

depends on what type of sand it is.

most aquarium sands are silica sands and can cause problems in reptiles. Or if its for salt water its made out of crushed coral.

overall I would avoid using aqarium sand. Try a hardware sotore or toy store for sand that would go in a sand box.

peace,
nate
Uluru Drgons

I would also not recommend beach sand. If it is sand from a ocean water front, it can have the crushed coral in it, silica as well, and not to mention a pretty high concentration of salt. To clean it you will have to rinse it very well to wash off all the salt then disinfect it by baking in the oven. Even then, unless it is very fine, still risk it may cause problems in your dragon.

Children's play sand is easy to find here in North American, it may not be very common where you are from.

It may be better to find red-brown or tan colored non stick shelf liner, plastic table cloth or the like, instead. These pose no risk of impaction, are easy to clean and typically, are very cheap to buy. The plastic table cloth is basically the same stuff you see used on large banquet tables for wedding receptions, big events etc. and comes in big rolls which last a long time and are not very expensive overall. WIth my first dragon, that is what I used. I paid something like $20 for a roll that was a 100 feet long and about three feet wide. I used it for a good two years and still had about half the roll left. I had to sell my dragon at that time, else I would give a better ideal how long it lasted overall.

In my setup I put a layer or two of papertowel on the bottom of the cage and the plastic papertowel ontop. Tapped it down at the corners to keep it from shifting and prevent crickets from getting underneath it. Daily i would spot clean any poops the dragon had, washing the area with antibacterial soap after picking up the poop. Once a month I cleaned out the entire cage and put fresh paper towels and plastic table cloth. The paper towel gave a bit of 'cushion' to the plastic table cloth and also absorbed any fluids should it leak through holes in the plastic (holes from dragon claws, etc).
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PHLdyPayne

Wow, I never thought to use plastic on towels. That is such a good idea, easy to clean and zero impaction chances. I think I'll have to try it!

ok so play sand....can it be colored??? I mean its the same stuff only a different color. not just normal sand, will it scare the dragon too much?