Reptile & Amphibian Forums

As Christyj always says, do loads of research and sort through it yourself is the best advice.

Many times people come on forums, make statements and others believe them since they have a business name or website attached to their names.... they MAY know less than those they are advising. I have seen breeders that are plagued with health problems come on here and advice others to follow their husbandry..... AUGH!!!!!!

The internet is a wonderful tool for our generation, but it is also a dangerous one in some hands and came be very damaging. People can and do present themselves to be more than what in fact they are.

A few times a year we always have others join that represent themselves to be great breeders with more knowledge than anyone they know, yet they ask some basic questions themselves and also give what many consider to be poor advise.

Its so easy to parrot and plagiarize and state "we are knowledgeable".... but hard to do accurate research, test and truly have that knowledge first hand.

Don't hesitate to ask others to site their sources, studies and findings and don't be afraid to speak out when your work shows differently..... we all learn by that and also learn who we can trust to listen too and who only parrots something they have read somewhere else (which may not be accurate)or only here to promote themselves..

Now, that said... IMO for whoever trust it

1. Sand is Sand, its heavy, it DOES NOT move through the digestive tract!!!! it impacts, there is not doubt about that, go to either Yahoo Pogona or Pogona_diseases and read all the owners problems with it, whether Calci-sand (great for making sand castles) or Repti-Sand(if it's so natural... how come its colored and dyes off on the dragons feet?) or play sand..... the risk is still there or dust inhalation, bacteria and impaction

2. Alpha pellets or rabbit pellets, smells good, looks cool, but harbors bacteria and is a known cause of mold!

MOLD= bad news for dragons... creates alpha toxins and harbors aspergillus B mold.. nothing more needs to be said.

3. Dragons do not live on sand in the wild, nor do they stay in one small area long. They live in a variety of areas including desert, grasslands, woodlands and rain corridors! And they move from them

Putting them in captivity we need to also do what they can no longer do for themselves, which is change their floor area. Otherwise you have bacteria build ups and the risk of molds/fungus

How you do that is your choice and what works best for you and them...... but don't be fooled or misled into thinking that a substrate that is there for more than a few days is anything but unhealthy.

What you choose is up to you and what your dragons seem happy in, but make it an educated choice, not because someone with a business name states it is so.
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www.reptilerooms.com

Very good points, CheriS!

Sand in bearded dragon natural habitats isn't 3 inches deep, alot of times it's hard as dried clay. Then there are rocks, grass etc., always changing as they move around. In captivity we have to find a balance between what is good for the dragon, easy for us to keep their environment clean and what looks good. personally, the latter is the least important than the first two points. If i wanted a nicely landscaped glass tank, I would use colorued glass and plastic or satin plants..and put in a toy lizard to complete the pretty display. Plastic reptile toys are looking more and more real, especially those that cost more than $20.

For my bearded dragon's adult home I had originally planned to use washed play sand. I even designed the cage to have a plexi-glass section along the front to help keep sand from being kicked out of the cage as could happen if the entire front was screen. I also had it designed so there wasn't a lip to make it more difficult to brush out the sand when it came time to change it. By the time the tank was finished built, I decided to go for plastic table cloth instead. The real reason I decided to not use sand, was the hassel of lifting a 50 lb from my car to my house, then lugging buckets of sand from the basement, to the tank..and the task of cleaning the cage.

I was especially glad when I noticed some baby bearded dragons at the local pet store on sand (not sure if it was calci sand or the repti-sand they were on, they look the same to me) who would do the taste lick..and there tougues get all covered with sand. Then it would spend a few seconds swollowing the sand, then did it again. The dragon I bought from a breeder often taste licks his enclosure, often enough that I notice it whenever he is moving around in the tank and I can just imagine how much sand a dragon can pick up just in a day from doing what it would normally due. Anybody want to get an ideal how much sand can be picked up on a tongue..dip the tip of yoru own tougue into some sand, I am sure you will find it's quite a bit.

Hi
i use now sand for 3 1/2 years.
its from a shop who have it in pignons enclosures,
its heated and cocodiose free and i have good results with it.
the grains r abit rounded so i think it pas trough the system .
in 3 1/2 years i never got a dragon who whas impacted by the sand.
so i think not every sand is the same.
i also dislike calsium sand and other sands.
i also saw mellow yellowm with red feets for 3 months it take 2 shedding and i stil saw red on his feets.
but this sand i have good results with.
byeeeeeeee