Reptile & Amphibian Forums

What is the best type of bedding for a beardie? I have had my male for about 5 years and use a paper based bedding product, but I don't know what it is anymore. It is like large pellets, and he does well with it. Can anyone help me identify this?

I recently got a baby female and want to know what other use. Sand is not good if ingested, so what do you use? If it different for a male and female? Eventaully she would need a sand area or breeding box. At what age could she start laying eggs?

I don't know the bedding you're describing. One of my vets uses Carefresh for her Beardies. It's a paper product but loose like cotton.

I use childrens play sand for adults and non-stick shelf liner for babies, juvs., and injured or sick animals. "best" is a matter of opinion and I would use other things if I thought they were better.

I had one lay eggs (infertile, unmated)this year at 11 months and only about 250 grams. It's happened to me before and is not ideal but worked out OK. They shouldn't be mated until they are older (18 mo.) and larger. (350 gr.)

The bedding you are describing sounds like 'Yesterday's News' which typically is sold as kitty litter or small mammal bedding.

I personally don't recommend it as a good substrate for bearded dragons. Though the pellets are large, they do break into smaller pieces and could be injested. Also, being very absorbent, it is easy to miss collecting every single piece that came in contact with dragon poo and the fluids excreted along with it, so bacteria etc. can continually be in contact with your dragon. Unless you change it out every time your dragon has a bowel movement.

Good and safe substrates to use can be any of the following: paper towel, unprinted newsprint, non stick shelf liner, plastic table cloth, linoleum (cut to fit the bottom of the cage), slate tiles or glazed ceramic tile (make sure it has a texture, smooth and high gloss ceramic tile won't provide any traction). Clean washed sifted Children's playsand can also be used, or packed dirt/soil (though the dirt/soil or even a sand mix with either does require extra work and often leaves a dirty dragon).

Typically bearded dragons won't lay eggs in their first year...but rarely some will lay eggs before they reach their first year. An egg laying bin can be made from any large enough plastic tub with about 6"-12" of damp sand, soil or a mix of the two. It should be damp enough to hold its shape when squeezed, but no water should leak out.

Consistent scratching around the cage is a good indicating your dragon is looking for a suitable spot to lay her eggs. However some dragons just love trying to dig even if they are no gravid. But it certainly is far better to put them into an egg laying container just to make sure, as the digging itself won't hurt them but not being able to lay their eggs can lead to egg binding which is a serious condition.
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PHLdyPayne

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