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whats a good substrate
a good substrate for a bearded dragon
- Thread starter tortoiseman333
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- May 31, 2008
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gravel
S
stells
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For a young Bearded dragon, kitchen towel or slate 
never use gravel or any other particle substrate for Beardies, and that includes sand!!! the worst is Calci-sand!!! I have seen dragons housed on calci-sand have SUCH stunted growth, and particle substrates can cause severe impaction and death in dragons. Some of my adoptions needed x-rays and you could see the sand build up in their stomachs!!! we all know that petstores sell you the wrong information when it comes to tortoises, and they do just as badly if not worse with dragons!!!
beardies in their native habitat live on hard packed clay in the australian desert, NOT on sand! the closest thing we can provide to this is textured ceramic tiles!
you can also use non-adhesive shelving paper, paper towels or newspaper! I use tiles for my older dragons and paper towel/newspaper for my younger ones.
beardies in their native habitat live on hard packed clay in the australian desert, NOT on sand! the closest thing we can provide to this is textured ceramic tiles!
you can also use non-adhesive shelving paper, paper towels or newspaper! I use tiles for my older dragons and paper towel/newspaper for my younger ones.
cvalda said:
i second this. ceramic tiles or shelf liner is the best option. for a baby, you can also use papertowels, or even unprinted newspaper. i use a combination of shelf liner and ceramic tiles for my beardie.
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james said:
Despite what most people say about particle substrates I say choose whatever you feel comfortable using and is compatible with ur beardie. I use zilla's english ground walnut shells, or desert blend, for my beardies. And I have been for quite some time. My eldest uncle had em so I tried them too. And honestly I don't know why people knock it. Sure some beardies might not do well with it for a number of reasons, but thats not the vast majority. I don't recommend it for babies of any kind, thats for sure. They are too darn delicate for almost any substrate. I, for one, dont like sands. I have heard bad things about it, but I have had no personal experience so I won't put it down. Like I said I think it all depends.
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It is best to error on the cautious side and just don't use particle substrate. The top "do not use" items are usually: ground walnut shells of any sort, sand of any sort, gravel or rocks of any sort smaller than a beardies head, bark and shavings of any kind, paper substrate or similar bedding matierial that is in peices, pellets of any kind including alphapha and hay pellets, 'reptile' sand of any kind.
Sure, there are many who have never had an issue with these. But it only takes one time for your beardie to get impacted or other complication related to the subrstrate and you could lose your pet and\or have a big vet bill...
Sure, there are many who have never had an issue with these. But it only takes one time for your beardie to get impacted or other complication related to the subrstrate and you could lose your pet and\or have a big vet bill...
I use textured stone tile myself. It's easy to clean, keeps my guys nails filed down, and doesn't cause any problems with my dragons! I give a few coats of spray on polyurethane to seal them, and make them easier to clean and viola! Some prefer to grout theirs in to prevent their dinner from getting underneath the tiles...I haven't done that yet cause it's easier to just take them out and wash them weekly, rather than having to use a steam cleaner. Feeding them in a separate bin takes care of the dinner issues.
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