Reptile & Amphibian Forums

does anyone know of a url where i can find out about the pros and cons about calci sand?

I'm not sure about a website, but there was a discussion on this topic a couple of days ago. I'll try to sum it up

Calci-Sand
Pro's
Sand
Con's
Expensive
Large grain size can lead to impaction

Carribean Play Sand
Pro's
*Calcium Carbonate based
*Very fine grain size
*Inexpensive
*Available at Home Depot
Con's
*limited availability (sold under SouthDown brand name)

Regular Play Sand
Pro's
*Inexpensive
Con's
*Fine silica dust causes respiratory problems
*Somewhat large grain size

If you're willing to pay the price of calci-sand, why not go to the aquatics section and get the oolitic sand? It's also calcium carbonate based but much much finer and probably less likely to cause impaction. The Southdown Carribean Playsand AND oolitic sand (sugar sized) are identical products. The calci-sand is the same product with LARGER grain size.

Calcium carbonate sand is quite controversial, but I think most people would agree that it is not digestible. The benefits of the smaller grain size is that it's smaller and easier to pass while the larger grains are more likely to stay in your bearded dragon and build up leading to impaction.

Is regular playsand the same thing as washed playsand? I bought a bag of washed playsand, but am now worried about the cons that you listed

This is the way I understand things. The recommended washed play sand is the Southdown which is very fine. I live in the West Coast and that's not readily available. People who live on the east coast and certain areas of the United States have no problem getting the Southdown from their local Home Depot.

I guess I should get back on topic. The regular play sand is about the same grain size as the calci-sand. The main difference is that the calci-sand has a calcium carbonate base and the play sand has a silica base. A lot of people say that the silica base tend to have sharp edges which I doubt is true.

If I was to rate them on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being the safest. It'd be like this.

Southdown/oolitic/sugar sized reef sand (2)
Calci Sand (7)
Regular Playsand (7)

Of course I'm no expert and these are just my opinions. I have used the regular play sand in my planted aquariums for years and the oolitic sand in my coral reef and seahorse tanks for years also, so I have some ideas on the differences between the two.

I forgot to add, if you sift your regular play sand and than wash it until the water is crystal clear, you remove alot if not all of the dust and really reduce the risks of respiratory problems. Of course this is alot more work and you have to dry the sand also.

I used calci sand when it first came out. I am a pet store manager and we do sell alot of it in our store mainly due to the different colots available. BUT... the first clutch one of my females laid after being on the calci sand was strange. I am not sure why, but the egg shells had little red dots all over them (same color as the calci sand) and that spooked me enough not to use it in my breeding program. Plus, no reptile should be injesting sand in the first place so I am not sure what true benifit the "calcium" content holds.