Reptile & Amphibian Forums

in the interest of procuring a non silica play sand i'm curios to hear the brands used by keepers that care for desert lizards, more specifically bearded dragons, but sand is sand so really any desert lizards. if anyones in the new york area and can point me in the right direction it would be greatly appreciated, but even if not, a brand is equally as useful. thank you for your time.

The only truely safe sand to use in a reptile viv is the play sand that you get at the hardware store. Its used for play sand boxes, for mixing concrete, and for mixing into potting soil. It comes in a 25 lb block usually, and I would think that there are many brands depending on where you are. None of the sands sold in pet stores are good.

Once you buy the sand, you need to sift it to make sure there are no rocks in it, and wash it to remove any bacteria. Then plan to completely remove and replace it every 1-3 months or it tends to harbor bacteria.

BTW, you probably already know this, but play sand is only recommended for adult reptiles and never for babies as it poses an impaction risk for babies.

I forgot that some members here are using pool filter sand and swear by it.

hmmn, pool filter sand? that sounds promising, could anyone give some more details on it? is it large/small grained, circular or jagged? how does it differ from regular sand?

thanks for your time and help.

I use play sand myself. I've never had any problems with it.
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1.1 Mali Uromastyx (Ra, Isis)
1.0 Satanic Leaf-tail Gecko (Diablo)
0.1 Satanic Leaf-tail Gecko (R.I.P. Samael)
2.0 Tabby cats (Cloud, Magus)

Rosebuds - actually the "desert sand" they sell at some pet stores is fine for uros. I'd poke my eye out before I'd pay what they ask for it, but it's perfectly safe to use and quite nice. This is just to clarify that there IS a safe pet store sand.

VenomPrx - I use pool filter sand in one of my uro cages. It's slightly more expensive than hardware store playsand (it was $7 for 50 lbs here). It's extremely regular sized and is a natural beach sand so very, very smooth texture. You can call around to pool supply places in your area to see what they have. My local hardware places and Toys R Us that sell playsand only have HUGE grain, very irregular sand. I've tried river sand at the landscaping places, which is very smooth, but full of pebbles and rocks. I like the pool filter sand a lot, as far as sand goes.
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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1 Saharan Uros (Joe and Arthur)
3.0 Mali Uros (Spike, Turtle, and Tank)
1.1 Ornate Uros (Scuttlebutt and Shazzbot)
0.1 Collared Lizard (Rorschach)
2.0 Green Anoles (Bowser and Sprocket)
1.1 Chubby Housecats (Roscolux and Jenny)

Thanks, Torey. I'll pass that on. I use tile, myself, and love it!

I switched from ToysRUs sand to pool filter sand and I love it. the TRU sand was very larger grained and I just didn't like it. I got pool filter sand at a pool supply store and it is extremely clean and the grains are all a uniform size. I poured some out of the bag to check for dust, and it was so clean that I was able to just pour it directly into Gizmo's cage without having to sift of wash it.

I only use about 1/2" of sand, and at the rate that he pees (which is a lot!), I end up scooping out a lot of it within a month and then taking it all out and refilling it.

So... I vote for the pool filter sand as far as grain size and cleanliness.

Andi