Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I came across a calcium substrate sand that is supposedly safe for bearded dragons above 6 inches? Is this true?

Hi there,
I am going to tell you to err on the side of caution here, and not buy it or use it. All of the calcium sands people have tried have generally been unsatisfactory and unsafe....You are better off with just plain sand (as it doesnt clump) or shelf liners/carpet.

Some people might not agree with me on this but i have all of my beardies using reptisand (which has calcium in it aswell) and when I breed my beardies the were using sand right out of the egg. But you do have to becareful to get the really thin sand so it doesn't get impacted. Some substrates have really big crystals as the sand. So I would recommend the really fine sand and you should have a problem.

Generally any substrate that claims to be "digestable" are generally bad news. The grains of sand can clump together in a solid jagged ball inside your beardie, and can do a lot of damage to their insides.

Overall fine particled regular play sand is a better choice because it passes easier (although it can still cause impaction) and is much cheaper. Of course no sand is good for beardies under 1 year old.

Hope this helps
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