Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ooooookaaaaay!

my beardie was a rescue. i was told the original owner had her in a tank full of other babies and a larger one bit her head, crushing one side and making her blind in that eye. i belive she has neuro problems aswell because she definatly does some strange things. pluss it doesnt seem that she sees too well out of her good eye.

her bad eye is slightly open, she cant move the eyelids open or shut.
i tried to use sand and later cocofiber but it was too fine and she got it gunked in her eye causing infections. i had to get her medication to clear it up.

i had those repti carpets for other types of lizards many years ago but they always got their claws stuck in the fibers so i wont even bother trying those with her.

i have been using paper towels and newspapers for years now but it doesnt work out too well. she keeps ripping off sections of the paper towel and eating it when im not around. i keep finding huge poops of just wadded paper towel. she is fed every day, veggies, greens, fruit here and there, assorted bugs so she isnt hungry... i have no idea why she does that.

also with the newspaper she goes into these frantic fits sometimes and rips up all the newspaper leaving the tank bottom bare. im tired of scraping poopies off the glass!! pluss the rocks i have in there shouldnt be scraping up on the glass anyway.

anyone have any ideas? the paper towels seem the most sterile but i dont want her eating it, im afraid she will get impacted ,im suprised it didnt happen already.

she doesnt eat the newspaper or the sand or cocofiber when that was in there, so im wondering if she wouldnt eat any type of bark or chips.

anyone ever use bark or cocochips for their beardies? doesnt seem very natural to their environment so i dunno.

i went searching for other options and so far i found these,anyone ever use any of these:::

i hate the old carpets but i dont know what this material is like i never saw it in person. if anyone tried it, did it snag their claws? http://www.bigappleherp.com/Zoo-Med-Eco-Carpets

i cant find larger pictures of these product' textures so i dont know what their texture is like.

http://www.t-rexproducts.com/products/substrate/sani-chips/

http://www.t-rexproducts.com/products/substrate/desert-snow/

anyone ave any ideas or suggestions? i dont know if she will randomly try to eat a different type of bedding or if its just paper towels. either way id like something that isnt high on the impation causing list.

and before anyone asks:
i feed her with tongs, not on the cage floor or in a bowl she cant find it. so food on the paper towels is definatly not why she eats it, it doesnt touch the ground. and yes i use suppliments.

when she gets live crickets she is put into a seperate small tuppaware so she can try to catch them without them escaping. i dont feed most of my pets inside their own cage.

Walmart sells Duck brand non stick shelf liner. It is like a thin piece of foam and is smooth and easy to clean. I use it and highly recommend it for dragons with issues.

oooo ive never heard of that kind, i will go look for it tomorrow. thats a great idea thank you!
gotta love walmart.

im still open to more ideas if anyone else cares to share

Definitely would never have recommended coconut fibre as a substrate, so glad you stopped using that.

non stick shelf liner is a great option, also linoleum could be cut to fit the cage, or ceramic tile (with a rough finish but still with a glaze, a non glazed ceramic tile is porous and can harbor bacteria absorbed from feces.)

I have a question though, when you used paper towel, was it a plain unprinted white? or did you have one with a floral print or other inked pattern?

I have never heard of a dragon ripping up paper or paper towel substrates, unless it was trying to dig or just get underneath it to get out of the heat. Digging in females could indicate they are gravid, or they are just looking for something to do.
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PHLdyPayne

I use kiln-dried compressed pine pellets for all 30 of my adult dragons. This can be found at farm and ranch supply stores. The pellets are made from extremely finely ground pine. They are highly absorbent and control smell. None of my dragons attempt to eat them, but even if they did, the pellets break down when exposed to moisture and would pass through.

Jamie