Substrate debate

[-torch-]

ive read up on it alot. and its always confuzed me about whats the best substrate for bearded dragons. right now i have papertowels in my beardies tank since its like a 20gallon n hes only 2months old n about 5inches long.

So far i know of :
- washed play sand
- calci-sand
- tiles
- reptile carpet

just curiouse whats everbodys veiw on each substrate is. i wanna do the sand since it looks nice but im wantin peoples opinions who have more experience. thanks

[peterm15]

well i used to use a false rock floor but it was hard to clean.. tiles can be slipery and beardies like to dig a little..

the best 2 ive been able to find is washed playsand and bran from a bulk store... i have mine on the sand right now as kind of a trial.. just gotta watch him and be careful...

but DO NOT USE CALCI SAND..

beardies like the taste and will not hesitate to eat it.. and its only like 10% digestable... or something like that

[-torch-]

what about the other types or reptile sand they have in like petsmart and stuff?

[peterm15]

crap. plain and simple... plus its cheaper to use washed play sand.. and most likely safer.. you can pick it up at like home depo for like 5 bucks for like 25 or 50 pounds.. and you can get different colours when its the season for sand boxes

[ffollett]

When we use to keep a bearded it was on washed play sand. It seemed to work the best and it wasn't hard to clean.

[spidergecko]

crap. plain and simple...

Why are they crap

[The Dragon Lady]

I use Oat Bran, from the Bulk Barn. It costs $7.00 to cover a 150 gallon tank. There is no odor and it is easy to maintain.

[Ranman]

I have custom enclosures with a tile bottom - for easy cleaning and it is layered with washed play sand from the home depot

[drewlowe]

I've used several substrates from papertowels, sand, bed a beast and wheat bran. For my animals and myself i believe wheat bran to be the best substrate choice.

Wheat bran does have 3 downsides to using it. It gets a little dusty, and if it gets wet and doesn't have a chance to fully dry out it will go moldy. If you know about the moldy thing then it's pretty easy to prevent it. The last thing is just a preventive measure. Since it is bran you have a chance to have "stow aways" in it. I will bake mine at 300-325F for about 15 mins prior to using it.

The good sides... I don't worry about impactations, great fiber. LOL The bran covers up the slight odor from thier poo, and it clumps up very nicely. They can dig and play in the stuff.

You can buy a bag at a local feed store for around 10 bucks. For 2-75 gallon cages a bag of wheat bran will do 2 complete cage cleaning and spot cleanings through out a year. ( i do complete cage cleanings every 6 months.)

Jamie

[ord]

The cheapest stuff to use is sterilized playground sand. Its cheap and looks good. When your dragon is still young(small) you only should use news paper or paper towels. This way you know you wont have a problem with impaction. As your beardy grows, you can step it up to the sand. If you pay attention to your dragon, you should never have to worry about having a problem with impaction if you watch its stools. If it doesnt seem to be doing its thing regularily, put it in luke warm water for a few minutes and youll have a complete system flush. Impaction is almost an old wives tale. It is very, very rare that a dragon will get impacted unless it is put in with sand to early on and if its not going to the bathroom properly. Which in turn is caused by other things, not what kind of substrate its on.

[Knowzilla]

I agree with Ord, I have used play sand for over 2 years with my dragons with no problems. I just don't use it till a dragon is at least 6-10 months old as by then they should be big enough to pass and grains of sand they might ingest. From hatchling to 6 months I use newspaper, as it is easy to change and you are able to easyily see that your animal is deficating normaly.

[drewlowe]

In my eyes sand isn't the cheapest. Yeah per pag it is but in the long run i think the wheat bran i use is much cheaper. This is how i have my setups it works for me but others may have different ways of seting up thier tanks.

I just went and pulled my last reciept from purchasing wheat bran and it was 7.99 for 50 lbs.

I use one bag of wheat bran for 2 75 gallon cages 2 full cage cleanings and spot fills for 1 full year. So that 7.99 for 1 year of substrate. My substrate is also 3-4 inches deep, my guys love to dig so i give them that chance.

When i did use sand, so prices may have changed a little bit it's been at least 3 years(i think). Washed playground sand cost me 2.99 for 50lbs. It takes 2 bags to fill 1 75 gal. cage. So that's 4 bags and i would buy 1 more for spot fills. In total 5 bags at 2.99 a piece that's 14.95 for 1 full cage switch and spot fillings for 2 cages that's not including the EXTRA cage change i get with wheat bran.

To break it down.

I have 2 75 gallons with 3-4 inches of substrate that i do spot fills and 2 full cage cleanings.

Wheat bran would cost me 7.99 plus tax.

Sand would cost around. 26.91 plus tax. 2.99 X 9 bags of sand 2 full cage cleanings and spot fill (that's a rough estimate i would need).

So if you don't believe the hype about impactation, here's a little cost analisis.

Oh i almost completely forgot i also use some of the wheat bran i get to go into my mealworm bins (3 bins in total). So not only for my beardies but it also goes to my mealies.

Jamie

[ord]

Jamie. You missunderstood what I meant by the spgs being the "cheapest". It is the cheapest of the "sand type" substrates. There is nothing wrong with using bran. It comes down to each their own. If it works for you and youre happy with it and is causing you no problems, like the old saying goes "If it aint broke, dont fix it!" Take care for now. Jim and Jodi. The Dragons Tale.
P.S. The new web page is almost done. We added some pics to the old one in the availables but hopefully the new one will be up and running in the next few days. Heres hoping!

[crankyboy]

Forget substrate, I use outdoor carpeting from home depot. It actually looks great, is easy to spot clean, and can be washed. I found that no matter what type of sand you use, they always kick it in their food and water dish and make a mess, specially a gravid female, as she digs to find a laying spot. Bearded Dragons do not live on sand in the wild, they live on hard packed dry dirt, so they tend to lick at their substrate looking for salty patches. After a trip to the vet for impaction, i gave up on sand altogether.....

[boywithscales]

I have found after the last 5 years of keeping a beardie that the best substrate is as follows....You buy a 50 pound bag of playsand, mix it with plain old dirt from outside, about a 50/50 mix. You dont have to mix it all at once just what you need, this way you have a nice sandy dirt like in australia, I can guarantee that beardies dont live on beach sand in the wild. The other major bright side to this is the active bacteria in the dirt will break down crap and pee so youll hardly ever have to clean it.

[peterm15]

Why are they crap

ok maybe bad wording.. lol.. there just sand but for half the price you can get a MUCH bigger bag of washed playsand..

they dont actually do anything for your herp

[SerpentLust]

I'm with the repti carpet/indoor-outdoor carpetting. I know there are alot of sand lovers. But I've heard enough controversial things in regard to impaction that I just steer clear all together. Even if it won't happen to MY beardies, I don't want to take that risk.

Jenn

[ord]

Boywithscales. Doing that would be a great breeding ground for paracites and pimworm. If your dragons poos, you should clean it up. Not let it get mixxed in with your substrate. That is nasty and cruel to your Dragon! We have over 100 dragons not including the 150-200 babies we may have at any given time. All of our tanks are cleaned daily of all waste. I know what it takes for us to clean our dragons so the 30 seconds that it would take for you to scoop should be a given. Any type of waste buildup is not good for the dragons health at all. Jim and Jodi. The Dragons Tale.
P.S. We also have about 30 Boas, A mix of Geckos(6), 5 basilisks, 1 Water Dragon, 2 Frilled Dragons, 3 American Staffordshire Terriers, And three children. All of them get fed and cleaned regularily so if we have time, Im sure others should have time also. Thats just my opinion, but hey, we care about our kids and animals.