Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I heard you could use wheat bran as a substrate, the problem is I don't know what wheat bran IS!

Doesit look nice? Is it digestible? and is it goof for baby (2-4 months) beardies? thanx

and can I use playground sand (sifted) when my beardie is full growm (11-13 months)?

has anyone had any problems here with it? a full explanation of what happened (if anything) would be nice

I don't know about the wheat bran thing, but i keep both my adult beardies on play sand without any problems and have read lots of articles by breeders who do the same thing

n/p

store and the only problems I see with it are (1) it can be dusty if they're digging, and (2) alledgedly (I've never experienced this) it can get beetles in it so you need to put it into a freezer for 24 hours or so to kill any eggs present.

I've also heard that some fungi will grow in it but if you keep your enclosure clean and dry (don't leave poop or spilled water in it) I don't know how that would happen.

It's not as natural looking as sand, but still looks nice and I've never heard of a beardie dieing from being impacted with bran.

Hi,

Have ya ever bought mealworms or superworms from a pet shop? Wheat bran is usually the stuff they are kept in in the little tubs. Its that dry, brownish stuff. you can get it at health food stores in bulk.

I have used it before, and yes while it looks nice, i didnt like it. and i dont think my beardie did either. its so lightweight that the cage decor wouldnt anchor very well in it, and also my dragon would slip and slide around on it a lot. But, it is digestable, just make sure it doesnt get wet. it gets real hard and clumps when wet and grows mold fairly quickly. at least in my experience it did

anyhoo, i would just stick to paper towels for the young one. I use sand in my adult beardie's tank and he is fine on it, i feed him his insects out of a bowl anyways, and i have never seen him lick the sand. of course, if you do decide to switch to sand as an adult, keep an eye and make sure to get him off the sand if he looks like he is licking and eating too much of it.

Hope this helps!
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~Melissa~
1.3.2 Leopard geckos
1.1 Bearded dragons
1.0 Hog Island Boa
0.1 Western hognose
0.1 Crested Gecko
1.0 Savannah Monitor
1.1 Ferrets
0.1 Chinchilla
1.0 dwarf hamster

1.0 Psycho cat

Melissas Menagerie