Reptile & Amphibian Forums

What is the actual risk of impaction for babies on sand? I know that it is greater than 0%, but is the actual risk significant (say, 1% or greater)? I have seen any recommendations against using it, but I have also seen breeders say that they have never had any problems or knew of anyone personally who has. Do any of you personally know someone who lost a baby due to impaction?

While many care sheets authoritatively recommend against sand, I wonder if the risk of an errant cricket chewing on the dragon at night could far exceed impaction risks. I'm curious if anyone has any indication if the impaction risk is 1 in 100 or 1 in 1,000,000.

Do any of you guys have anecdotal evidence?

I keep my baby dragon on shelf liner. My point is to question whether people are just passing along info that may have originated from a single source or if the risk is real and well documented.

I havn't seen it. But Ive only raised about 10,000

I don't use it for my babies,but do have some of my adults on sand. Never a problem in 16 years[I've owned beardies for 16,bred for about 15] Crickets chewing on an animal is semi-rare...but it does happen. I have seen both problems in pet stores,one where I observed the cricket on a small lizards head and a small sore at the site where it was chewing. The impaction that I saw first hand was horrible...but it was a few leopard geckos on a blue " calcium type" sand. The person in the reptile dept. asked if I knew why the leopard geckos were getting so skinny and near death. I picked it up turned it over and you could see the entire digestive system through the skin...loaded with blue"sand". So I NEVER would use any of that product no matter what brand it is.

I keep all of my healthy normal adults on sand and have never had a problem. I keep babies, handicapped, and sick dragons on shelf liner. Even if the risk to a healthy baby kept on sand is only .0000001% why risk it when the risk on shelf liner is 0%?

Personally I think animals only eat substrate because keepers are not meeting their needs correctly.

It is hard to find sand that isnt really dusty. You can rinse out the "washed" play sand but thats a pain. Can anyone point me in a direction to find some good sand that isnt too dusty.

Thanks
Luke

I use Lighthouse brand sand from Toys R Us. The only downside is I have to stock it because they only sell it in the summer. It is fine, not dusty, and has no foreign material or pebbles in it.

ive always used normal playsand without much of a problem. I do sift it 2x through a screen and it seems to remove a lot of the dust during the process.

I can't give actual percentages on how risky sand is to babies (not sure if there are even any such stats available). But I have talked with reptile vets (including Dr. Mader who was a guest speaker who was one of last year's February guest speakers) about how often he sees impactions in the reptiles he treats. He indicated he has seen quite a few impactions, either sand or crushed walnut shells. Other reptile vets I have talked to also have seen a fair number of cases of substrate impactions.

There are also other factors involved which can greatly increase risk of impactions, such as insufficiently high basking temperatures, dehydration, nutritional deficiencies and other causes. If a reptile isn't digesting properly, has poor muscle development or inability to have regular muscle contractions, this can make it far more likely sand and other particulate substrates to have difficulty passing through the digestive tract.

The habits of each particular dragon can play a part as well. Some are not the best at aiming, and repeatedly miss insect prey, ended up with a tongue covered in sand. Others tend to 'lick' their environment more often than others. These all increase risk factors for impaction.

Babies, being smaller and thus have smaller and narrower 'guts' are more prone to impactions, especially if not well hydrated etc. Calcium sands have the added effect of neutralizing stomach acid, especially if large amounts are ingested. Calcium sands also tend to clump up, making it harder to pass naturally. So with lower acidity in the stomach, lots of calcium based sands, babies can get impacted easily, not just with sand by partially digested food.

A well hydrated and heated dragon with all the appropriate UVB exposure and diet, is far less likely to have any impactions from sand or even calcium based sand...but if something in its husbandry isn't adequate to that lizard's needs, it is at a higher risk of impaction. The more risk factors in effect, the higher the chance of impaction.

There are alot of bearded deaths that never have the cause determined, so its very hard to say in reality, what percentage of all deaths in bearded dragons was due to impaction. It wouldn't surprise me if only 40% of all bearded dragon sales, go to owners who know the best care to give dragons, most probably rely on whatever information they get from the Pet Store Employee who sold them the dragon.
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PHLdyPayne

... especially the ones about general husbandry contributing to overall risks. So while oregonsnakes can raise 10k babies(!!) without an issue, his experience in providing optimal conditions and diet have obviously minimized his risks.

Thanks for the thoughtful response!

Your welcome

The risks may be minimal with sand and other loose substrates..but as I explained above, certainly other issues can increase the risk. Avoiding the use of loose substrates certainly eliminates the risk of impaction, but definitely not the need for good husbandry. It also eliminates one area the dragon would utilize in the wild, such as burrowing to find a cooler place or a more humid place when it needs exposure to humidity (ie during shed, very dry times etc.)

But for the most part these can be substituted for by having hides and making sure dragons get access to fresh greens (misted with a bit of water or as BDLvr does it, adding a bit of water to salad dish) and adding a mix of soft bodied worms into the insect diet portion (ie silkworms and horn worms). Misting the dragon or using an eye dropper to add additional water intake by your dragon is great too.
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PHLdyPayne

I don't think there is any anecdotal percentage recorded of "Impaction in Babies" due to the situation being tragic to the breeder, and such a mishap doesnt care to be discussed. Most Business conventions discuss that "1% of your customers/clients will die" in a client retention report.... Thus not being something proven due to the uncomfortable subject and situation. I havent seen any more than the 1% of a report due to impaction but I would do as best as I can to reduce that to 0%. We always use Paper Towels until they are at least 3-4 Months of age, allowing them to have a large enough vent to pass sand. Adults are always housed on KIDS PLAY SAND from LOWE's. NEVER EVER from Home Depot due to the thick consistancy and chunky granuals. If you do not have access to a Lowe's Home Improvment Store, then I suggest in purchasing Calcium Sand or Repti-Sand from your local Pet Store.
I hope this Helped some!
www.AtlantaBeardedDragons.com

I use sand for any dragon over 6 inches myself. I agree that husbandry is the real qualifier in using sand successfully.

Much of the worry is overblown, but you need to assess your own risk when using it.

Jeff Crider
California Citrus Dragons

i have had a total of 5 bearded dragons over the past 5 years or so. (amongst many other reptiles) and the third dragon i had i put on sand and within about 2 months he stopped growing and proceeded to slowly dying and the only thing i could figure was the sand because everything else was by the book..so now i have two dragons and i waited until they were 12" before i put them on sand and everything is fine and they are doing great with no issues..hope this helps...
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0.1 hypo het trans Bearded Dragon (tuesday)
0.0.1 citrus/yellow bearded dragon
0.1 Wife (Eryn) WC
0.1 Daughter (Lily) CBB
0.1 Brindle Boxer (Marley)
0.1 Mut (Bailey)