# Bearded Dragon Substrate Help



## Dmolloy (Jun 23, 2010)

Ok so i have had my dragon for roughly 7 months coming on 8 and he is now 7 months old, when i first got him at about a couple of weeks old i was given wood bark chips as a substrate- i left him on this for roughly a week after getting him as didnt have the time to go out and buy "safer" substrate due to impaction risks etc.

So he has been now on this type of material that is a mix between cork and cardboard flooring as a substrate, and now he is starting to "mature" i was wondering on different substrate possiblities that would be better for him "enrichment" wise etc. as im getting pretty bored with the layout and im sure the dragon must be pretty board with such a flat surface to roam around. (he does have rocks to climb etc tho lol.)

So any suggestions on the type of substrate i can use for a 7 month old beardie? 

Also 3D backgrounds- are they a good idea and where can i get them (i live in Medway, UK and no pet shop near me does them)


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## MrKev83 (Dec 21, 2009)

Lino or slate seem to be popular


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## MagicSqueak (Apr 9, 2010)

Personally...i'd use sand. The only real reason you'd get impaction is if they are not getting enough calcium in their diet, they will eat the sand. That is a husbandry issue, not one that should be avoided by using lino or whatever....just ensure you are supplementing the diet correctly and you will have no issues. : victory:


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## SirSlithers (May 8, 2010)

MagicSqueak said:


> Personally...i'd use sand. The only real reason you'd get impaction is if they are not getting enough calcium in their diet, they will eat the sand. That is a husbandry issue, not one that should be avoided by using lino or whatever....just ensure you are supplementing the diet correctly and you will have no issues. : victory:


Common sense on beardie substrate at last :notworthy:


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## mooshu (Mar 24, 2010)

MagicSqueak said:


> Personally...i'd use sand. The only real reason you'd get impaction is if they are not getting enough calcium in their diet, they will eat the sand. That is a husbandry issue, not one that should be avoided by using lino or whatever....just ensure you are supplementing the diet correctly and you will have no issues. : victory:


That cant be true! I used to keep my beardie on sand and he used to lick the sand even though he never showed any signs of mbd or even just calcum deficiency, He has been supplemented every day with either calcium or nutrobal! He was eating the sand because of another reason i.e. exploration, hunting crickets and eating crickets.

I used to swear by sand but I changed to lino and it was the best thing I've even done for my beardie!

Just my 2p


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## dizzee (Nov 3, 2008)

excavator clay is an idea. looks like redis sand but hard a a rock. if he digges some just hoover the dust up. but you would have to put your beardie in a sperrate viv for a few days as it would be wet .


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## leecb0 (Apr 14, 2009)

mooshu said:


> That cant be true! I used to keep my beardie on sand and he used to lick the sand even though he never showed any signs of mbd or even just calcum deficiency, He has been supplemented every day with either calcium or nutrobal! He was eating the sand because of another reason i.e. exploration, hunting crickets and eating crickets.
> 
> I used to swear by sand but I changed to lino and it was the best thing I've even done for my beardie!
> 
> Just my 2p


Ok so he licked the sand did he get impacted?????
If so did you think why is it licking the sand am i using the right suppliments? personally i would only use calcium carbonate. if you are using the right suppliment then perhaps he wasnt producing enough or any vitamin D3 did you check that your uv bulb was working correctly? i have seen bearded dragons lick sand on occasions but has never harmed any of my animals that o kept in the past.
There are many reasons why its a case of thinking why then solving the problem. Its normally a husbandry problem if a bearded dragon gets impacted and its usually a dietry deficiancy that caused and just putting them on Lino or slate only takes the effect not the cause of the problem.
I used to keep BD many years ago and never ever had one thet got impacted and i always kept them on sand, i also ran a very large reptile rescue and we would take in many beardeds in and a fair few with MBD or even calcification, these animals were all kept on sand and even though some were sick they never got impaction, i also now of many people and breeders who also keep them on sand without any problems and if there are they look at the reasons why and rectify the cause of the actions.


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## MagicSqueak (Apr 9, 2010)

leecb0 said:


> Ok so he licked the sand did he get impacted?????
> If so did you think why is it licking the sand am i using the right suppliments? personally i would only use calcium carbonate. if you are using the right suppliment then perhaps he wasnt producing enough or any vitamin D3 did you check that your uv bulb was working correctly? i have seen bearded dragons lick sand on occasions but has never harmed any of my animals that o kept in the past.
> There are many reasons why its a case of thinking why then solving the problem. Its normally a husbandry problem if a bearded dragon gets impacted and its usually a dietry deficiancy that caused and just putting them on Lino or slate only takes the effect not the cause of the problem.
> I used to keep BD many years ago and never ever had one thet got impacted and i always kept them on sand, i also ran a very large reptile rescue and we would take in many beardeds in and a fair few with MBD or even calcification, these animals were all kept on sand and even though some were sick they never got impaction, i also now of many people and breeders who also keep them on sand without any problems and if there are they look at the reasons why and rectify the cause of the actions.


^^ this.

You can only talk from experience and in my experience every beardie i've ever seen or heard of that's licked the sand on a regular basis (with or without ill-effect) has stopped with the addition of more or better supplementation or a new UV bulb.

Many lizards lick their substrate occasionally yet it does them no harm. It's only if they're doing it all the time you should be worried. Remember if he was licking the sand all the time, I imagine your problem would have been alleviated with a few simple changes. 

And this is coming from a girl who keeps monitors and collared lizards.


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## Samanthaa (Sep 21, 2009)

I have 2/3 slate and 1/3 wheat bran as a sand substitute.
It looks good and there is no risk of impaction as the wheat is digestable


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## dickvansheepcake (Jul 8, 2009)

Samanthaa said:


> I have 2/3 slate and 1/3 wheat bran as a sand substitute.
> It looks good and there is no risk of impaction as the wheat is digestable


Wheat is no good for them at all if eaten though...thought I'd let you know!

Pretty sure it says about it here Nutrition Content


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## ex0tics (Jun 9, 2009)

MagicSqueak said:


> ^^ this.
> 
> You can only talk from experience and in my experience every beardie i've ever seen or heard of that's licked the sand on a regular basis (with or without ill-effect) has stopped with the addition of more or better supplementation or a new UV bulb.
> 
> ...


I've had little ones eating it just through being clumsy eaters, switched to tile just over 2 years back and would never bother with sand again. Just makes a mess, harder to keep clean (just imo) and looks no better than tile. I think tile is if anything more similar to aus outback than just a fine sand.


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## leecb0 (Apr 14, 2009)

Samanthaa said:


> I have 2/3 slate and 1/3 wheat bran as a sand substitute.
> It looks good and there is no risk of impaction as the wheat is digestable


Wheat is more dangerous than bloody sand if it eats it.
Weat is high in phosphorus and fibre and the phosphorus in high levels can block calcium conversion:bash:


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## ex0tics (Jun 9, 2009)

dickvansheepcake said:


> Wheat is no good for them at all if eaten though...thought I'd let you know!
> 
> Pretty sure it says about it here Nutrition Content


as a staple it wouldn't benefit them, but if ingested a couple times a month I wouldn't see it to cause much harm. Then again probably not even worth it ha.

I just wouldn't use bran anyway though as there are other alternatives


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## leecb0 (Apr 14, 2009)

ex0tics said:


> I've had little ones eating it just through being clumsy eaters, switched to tile just over 2 years back and would never bother with sand again. Just makes a mess, harder to keep clean (just imo) and looks no better than tile. I think tile is if anything more similar to aus outback than just a fine sand.


o well thats ok then as long as it looks good to YOU and YOU havent got to clean it up............i cant believe some people on here.....if you cant be botherd to clean after your animals dont have them..:bash:
I keep rattlesnakes on sand and they eat wet prey that has sand on it......Substrate is there for the ANIMALS benifit not yours........Bearded dragons in the wild live in sandy areas.....when they eat the ingest sand occasionally this will normally pass through them and as long as you look after the animal correctly and use correct husbandry practice there is no problems......how many feed veg like kale.....then how feed kale and other veg but just put it in a bowl and leave it all day till it dries out......it should be sprayed with water occasionally to keep it moist also this will help with removing possible sand digested in the gut.......


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