Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have calci-sand and have always used it but i hear that it is bad for them. But ive never had a problem with it before. so is it bad or does it depend on who your talking to.

it's generally not recommended since there are risks of impaction when you use it. Though alot of people claim to have never had a problem with it, and most people feed their animals out of the enclosure to reduce the risks. The simple question you need to ask yourself is...are you willing to take the risk at all.

Calci-sand is extremely dangerous, whether or not the person you are talking to has lost a dragon due to it. It claims to be digestible, but is not, and actually clumps into jagged balls in the intestines of your animal, which can cause impaction and damage the intestines. Beardies are tongue tasters, so even feeding in a separate container does not eliminate the risk.

Here is a link to a study documenting the fact that calci-sand is not digestible: http://coloherp.org/cb-news/archive/vet-med/CalciSand.php
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0.1 Bearded dragon (Hannabil)
0.1 mexican Black kingsnake (Morticia)
2.1 Leopard Gecko's (Pogo,Jeffrey Nothing, Louise)
0.0.1 Tokay Gecko
0.0.1 Reverse Okeetee Corn (Autumn)
1.0 Blood Red Corn (Virus)
0.0.1 Mali Uromastyx (Scuttle)
0.1 Bullmastiff (Asha)
4.1 Cats (Poe, Tucker, Abhid, Felicity, Emmy)

Properly hydrated and healthy bearded dragons can pass almost anything, including Calci-Sand. Hydration and overall-health is the key.

Though I prefer to use Bran as a subsrate. Smeels nice, looks nice, and has substantially less dust. Not to mention it costs only pennies.
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1.1 Bearded Dragons
1.2 Maroantsetra Panther Chameleons
2.0 Long Tailed Grass Lizards
0.0.1 Giant Mellers Chameleon
0.0.2 Kenyan Pigmy Chameleons
500 Escaped Crickets