Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey everyone,

I'm Paul. I am planning on purchasing either 1 or 2 beardies very soon. I am very familiar with caring, but I do have a few questions that are going to be refreshers.

1. Is this tank going to be ok for baby beardies, or do I have to start smaller? I'd REALLY rather put them in the big tank unless it's a big harm. The tank is a 55 Gal. 6' Long X 1' Wide.

2. My last beardie died from impaction of the large intestine because he digested some of his bedding, which was a light wood shaving bedding recommended by the pet store (I was young and stupid). Should I do a "Calci-Substrate" product? It boasts "100% digestable, reduced impaction likiliness." Or I've heard people posting about "Play Sand" Is this better, and where can I get it? Home Depot?

Reguardless, I think I might use a feeder tank with a newspaper bedding, but I don't want to unless necessary and the smarter way to go. That's All Folks

Thanks for any Pointers!

1. I think a large tank is fine for small dragons. I moved some of my babies right from baby bins to 4' x 2' terrariums with no problems. Just keep in mind that a 12' deep enclosure is really too narrow for even one adult Beardie.

2. Wood shaving are never good for Beardies of any age. Never believe a pet store or manufacturer since their first motivation is to sell their product. Independant recommendations are always better. I would definately not buy any substrate (except reptile carpet)from a pet store! None of them are any good despite their claims and they are all impaction risks as well as overly expensive. It is best to start babies on something other than a loose substrate. Many use newspaper or paper towels, I never tried either. I used to use reptile carpet and was happy with it the only downside was getting it as clean as I would like. I now use non-stick shelf liner from Walmart. It's like a thin piece of foam. It is easy to clean (I use Lysol Wipes) and provides good grip for the Dragons. When they reach 12" I change then over to children's play sand. I get my sand from Toys R Us, it is Lighthouse brand and very clean and fine. I once bought a bag from Home Depot but it had a lot of foreign material and pebbles in it so it would have needed to be sifted. Others have not reported the same observation with their product.

I posted a pic. of my old prototype cage. In the front right is a rectangular section that I use as a cricket corral. You could section off a 2' section of your big tank with a board and cover the board with aluminum tape as I do so the crickets cannot climb it. The board would need to be about 2 1/2" tall. Then I use shelf liner in the cricket corral and sand in the rest of the enclosure. But again wait till their 12" before changing to sand.

Thank you for the detailed help. I will definately start them on that shelving liner, for now.

Take Care

I agree the cage you have is too narrow. Bearded dragons can grow to be anywhere between 18-22" long which means it will have a hard time turning around in that cage. I wouldn't recommend a cage less than the dragon's adult length in width though 24" is best minimum width. Also, not good to have the glass cage in front of a window, If the blinds are open during the day, the sun can heat up the cage quite quickly.
-----
PHLdyPayne