Reptile & Amphibian Forums

is repti-sand a good Substrate to use for bedding?

I don't know what repti-sand is but calci-sand is bad. If you want to use sand I use the Lighthouse Brand playsand from Toys R Us with no problems for my adults and sub adults.

Even if it was good compare the price, for the price of about 5lbs of the pet store sand you can get a big'ol bag of playsand.

I know there is one kind of sand on sale in pet stores that is made out of crushed granite (stone) which may not be bad...check the label. If it says anything about being made out of or includes calcium, don't buy it. However, as the other poster indicates, a bag of washed children's playsand is much cheaper and comes in 50 pound bags, for about $5. Paying that much or more for one tenth of the volume you can get for washed playsand, doesn't really make sense to me.
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PHLdyPayne

Crushed granite has very sharp edges. Playsand has smooth rounded edges.

repti-sand is perfectly safe! i use the red sand in one of my vivariums to give it an outback-look. repti-sand is expensive, but is REAL red sand, instead of cheap brands that use crushed brick, which is very unhealthy for your dragon for several reasons: it has sharp edges, is VERY dusty (it wil get in the longues of your dragon) and will color your dragons legs red. repti-sand is real red sand, has smooth edges and is colored due the oxidation of the iron-elements in the sand. However, if you want to use the nutral-color (beige) you can use washed play-sand, which is so much cheaper.

here's how the red repti-sand looks like in my viv (click to enlarge):

its fine to use, but too damn expensive. it also dyes your dragons skin colors if you use the colored sand. not very nice looking if you ask me. just buy a 5 lb bag of playsand for home depot, sift it, run it through water to wash it real well, bake it in the oven to kill all bacteria that may be in it, and there ya go.

i however hate sand all together. i just use white non-adhesive shelf liner from walmart, duck brand to be exact. and ive even started back to good ole newspaper. easiest thing to use, and the cheapest. not pretty but oh well
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Beach Beardies

2.4. bearded dragons
1.0. Turquoise x Sunburst Veiled Chameleon
1.1. Sugar Gliders
0.2. Felines *queen athena and missy*

Hoi hi
i got it to one time 7 years ago.
il put mellow yellow on that sand .
after vew weeks his feets start to color red and was not nice to see on a sandfire gold with red feets.
so i take the sand out .
after couple of sheddings it finaly go away .
so am not so fan of the reptisand .
i must say its looking very nice in youre terra

byeeeeee
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www.dragoncave.nl

hi b22,

that must have been another brand you had. i have my tiger-gold on repti-sand for half a year and her legs are still yellow as always i once too used another brand and yes, my beardies legs turned out red after a few days, so i got rid of the sand. later i found out it was not sand but crushed brick. the red repti-sand is just real sand and the oxide-color in impossible to stick to your beardie

kearress

you may be right with the light color you are using, but with repti-sand, and any other sand, that is colored, like reds, yellows, etc, can and will get on your dragon. i used the red reptisand and this happened, and it was REPTISAND. it is possible, and it did, and still does happen.
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Beach Beardies

2.4. bearded dragons
1.0. Turquoise x Sunburst Veiled Chameleon
1.1. Sugar Gliders
0.2. Felines *queen athena and missy*

hmmmmm..... strange it does not happen with the red repti-sand i am using right now... no sign of it AT ALL and i am using it for over half a year now...

may have something to do with the color youre using, or maybe they finally got enough complaints to change their product
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Beach Beardies

2.4. bearded dragons
1.0. Turquoise x Sunburst Veiled Chameleon
1.1. Sugar Gliders
0.2. Felines *queen athena and missy*

i remember standing in a totally red desert in australia... thinking how i could bring a backpack full of it back to holland... that would have saved me so much money

anyway, i can only say that the red repti-sand is working for me. i have had no problems with it at all, except the price that is...