# Who has a Bearded dragon digging area?



## Wizard (Jun 27, 2007)

This is an enquiry about a digging area...my substrate is tiles.

Beardies have a love for digging, and to quote a person from an old thread on here..."not giving them that pleasure is like locking a human with a love for music in a room without a stereo"

So...who has a digging area for their BD? What do you use? How big is your dragon? I have a bag of sterilized peat that i'm contemplating...views on this?

Please please please, can i very politely ask, if you're only going to say "dont use anything loose with a Beardie" then save it for another time as i'm more than aware of that opinion. Lets keep it friendly in here K? THNX!:grouphug:


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## reptilelover96 (Feb 17, 2010)

well.. i used a box of sand.


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## G18241 (Feb 28, 2009)

My beardie is on extra large beech wood chippings, in his warm end behind his climbing log i have put extra chippings and he happily goes digging through it to go to bed at night...day after he will dig where he threw all the stuff from the night before


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## Wizard (Jun 27, 2007)

G18241 said:


> My beardie is on extra large beech wood chippings, in his warm end behind his climbing log i have put extra chippings and he happily goes digging through it to go to bed at night...day after he will dig where he threw all the stuff from the night before


See this is what i'm talking about. When i look at the viv i am about to put my Beardie in i think it looks a bit harsh. it seems that the common assumption is that beardies dont have a clue what comfort is becuase they will sleep in the most ridiculous places...but some of them clearly do take comfort in having somewhere to properly snuggle down for the night.


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## robbies-reptiles (Nov 8, 2009)

im just using woodchips about 2 inch deep and he digs himself a little hole a night really but other than that he never digs


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## Wizard (Jun 27, 2007)

Thanks for the replies guys...much appreciated. I've decided that my heart's trying to rule my head though, so I'll be putting this idea to bed until Ramsey is bigger.

eace:: victory:


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## Pendragon (Dec 8, 2008)

Hi mate,

Good to see there are people out there who look out for their animals mental well being as well as their physical well being : victory:

Here is my viv;










I keep messing around with different substrates, at the mo. There is clay soil (where he is laying now), sand, (middle back) sand mixed with hogging, (under the rocks) hogging on it's own (far right), and excavator clay (holding the pot in the middle).

I think that's about it!!

He spends alot of time where he is in this pic, somtimes he will hide under the wood;










And sometimes under the rock;










Good luck

Jay


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## MikeJ (Jul 30, 2009)

We have two beardies (about 14-15 months old now) and they have play sand in their viv. We also have some rocks in a cave like shape which we then fill with the sand. They love digging the sand out to make their "nest"


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## Wizard (Jun 27, 2007)

Jay (pendragon), your viv its awesome! Your beardie looks very happy. I've got some grasses like yours to go in mine to soften the edges as bit!


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## Pendragon (Dec 8, 2008)

Wizard said:


> Jay (pendragon), your viv its awesome! Your beardie looks very happy. I've got some grasses like yours to go in mine to soften the edges as bit!


Cheers mate,

the grasses look good, though if they are in a high traffic area you will have to replace them every 6 months or so : victory:

good luck

Jay


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## Ryan_S106 (Oct 29, 2010)

G18241 said:


> My beardie is on extra large beech wood chippings, in his warm end behind his climbing log i have put extra chippings and he happily goes digging through it to go to bed at night...day after he will dig where he threw all the stuff from the night before


 
I have the same 

Works Well

Ryan


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## Darryl Kensley (Oct 22, 2010)

What were those grasses that you had there buddy? Id like to get my hands on some of that!


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## Pendragon (Dec 8, 2008)

Darry Kensley said:


> What were those grasses that you had there buddy? Id like to get my hands on some of that!


Hi mate,

Carex ornimental grass, 'Buchananii' or 'Bronze sedge'.

Good luck

Jay


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## beardie hunter (Aug 23, 2009)

ive found my beardie likes 3 inches of sand in the cool end n makes a bed there

or sometimes he just sleeps with various limbs in his food n drink bowls lol 


that grass is cool, what do you do , buy it grown or grow it at home then put it in ?

do you need to treat it if grown at home ?

cheers


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## Pendragon (Dec 8, 2008)

beardie hunter said:


> ive found my beardie likes 3 inches of sand in the cool end n makes a bed there
> 
> or sometimes he just sleeps with various limbs in his food n drink bowls lol
> 
> ...


Get it from the local garden center, it normaly comes in quite big pots, (too big to fit in the viv and look good) so I take it out, brake it up into 3 clumps, then repot it in smaller pots. If you can find it in small pots then this would be better, you dont need to water it : victory:

Jay

P.S. to the o/p, sorry for turning your thread into a "what grass is that?" thread. :blush:


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## beardys (Sep 28, 2009)

thats why i wouldnt use tiles. its more natural to use sand


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## Chazaxl (Jun 28, 2009)

I recently tiled my vivs and while its much nicer in some respects, my one beardie now cant really dig. I was watching him last night trying to dig and there was nothing there for him.

Two things about the nice pics (Pendragon, very nice (natural) setup) posted earlier - if you have the sand / clay option, how do you keep it clean when they poo?

Also - I presumed that it was bad to have places for them to hide under as some then no longer get the amount of UV that they should have .... is this correct?

Thanks


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## Pendragon (Dec 8, 2008)

Chazaxl said:


> I recently tiled my vivs and while its much nicer in some respects, my one beardie now cant really dig. I was watching him last night trying to dig and there was nothing there for him.
> 
> Two things about the nice pics (Pendragon, very nice (natural) setup) posted earlier - if you have the sand / clay option, how do you keep it clean when they poo?
> 
> ...


Hi mate,

He only poos once every couple of weeks at the mo. And nine times out of ten he will go on the right of the viv, (on the gravel) so it's easy to pick up. I don't worry about any liquid soaking in, I think people can get too hung up on having a totally sterile viv.

I think the 'no hides for Beardies' theory that is touted about on here can be a little missleading, lets face it, in the wild these guys can brumate for months at a time, and obviously they would do it under cover. I read a document that Andy (glasgow geckos) on here sent me, it was a study on the amount of time/level of uvb Beardies need to produce the vitimin D3 they needed. The bottom line was that in the studies, so long as a Beardie could get to within about 8" (though I think 6" is better) of a good uvb tube, then the animal will produce all the D3 it needed within a couple of hours. Plus I am of the belief that these animals know what they want, how much they want, and when they want it, when it comes to heat/light/food/water/uv. So so long as it is there, I don't worry about what he does : victory:

Hope this helps

Jay


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## Chazaxl (Jun 28, 2009)

Pendragon said:


> Hi mate,
> 
> He only poos once every couple of weeks at the mo. And nine times out of ten he will go on the right of the viv, (on the gravel) so it's easy to pick up. I don't worry about any liquid soaking in, I think people can get too hung up on having a totally sterile viv.
> 
> ...


Only poos once every couple of weeks? How, brumating? Cork stuck up there ;p?

Wishful thinking - mine are each day or 2nd day .... each beardie.


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## Wizard (Jun 27, 2007)

Pendragon said:


> P.S. to the o/p, sorry for turning your thread into a "what grass is that?" thread. :blush:


Dont worry dude, i didnt realise this thread was still going!:whistling2:

I got my Ramsey one of those grasses...he leaps onto it from his basking rock...it's so funny to watch! And the first couple of nights he slept in it!:lol2:

It was 3 quid from the garden centre...i also saw some in morrisons.


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## mandi1234 (Mar 13, 2009)

my boy likes to sleep on a furry piece of material :lol2:


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## Pendragon (Dec 8, 2008)

Wizard said:


> Dont worry dude, i didnt realise this thread was still going!:whistling2:
> 
> I got my Ramsey one of those grasses...he leaps onto it from his basking rock...it's so funny to watch! And the first couple of nights he slept in it!:lol2:
> 
> It was 3 quid from the garden centre...i also saw some in morrisons.


Mine did the same when he was small enough;










Jay


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## Pendragon (Dec 8, 2008)

Chazaxl said:


> Only poos once every couple of weeks? How, brumating? Cork stuck up there ;p?
> 
> Wishful thinking - mine are each day or 2nd day .... each beardie.


:lol2:

He used to go every day, but from about 12 months old he started slowing down, even in the summer when he is running around like a loon he doesn't go that often.

Jay


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## Chazaxl (Jun 28, 2009)

Loon, lol.

Where do you get the clay from?


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## Pendragon (Dec 8, 2008)

Chazaxl said:


> Loon, lol.
> 
> Where do you get the clay from?


Find the nearest building site, and nick a bucket full :whistling2:

Jay


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