# SUBSTRATES that can and have caused impaction in Beardies



## mummybear (Nov 5, 2007)

I have decided to make this post due to the amount of posts about the highly volatile subject of substrates that beardies can be kept on as I feel people should be aware of all the facts so they can make a proper informed decision.

*Please note:*
Some of the facts have been found from internet searches and advice from more experienced keepers than myself.

Babies should be kept on kitchen towel or similar as they are messy eaters anyway.

An xray pic of a beardie who died from sand impaction - kept on play sand covered by a light layer of calci-sand:










*Safer Substrates *

*Playsand*
*This is only classed as safe for an older beardie at least a year old by which time they are very good at catching their prey. It produces no dust is easy to keep clean so long as feaces is removed completely asap.*

*Tiles *
*Either slate - which is also good for keeping claws in order, other rough ceramic tiles to prevent slipping*
*or even linoleum tiles, they are also easy maintenance as they just wipe clean and easily disinfected.*

*Reptile Carpet *
*This works well and looks nice. Its fairly easy to clean also - even easier if you have more than 1 piece cut to fit in the cage. The only downfall is that dragons normally pass a bowel movement every day - requiring the cleaning and replacement of the carpet and decorations on a daily basis.*
*Newspaper/Paper *
*This is a good idea if you're concerned about ease of cleaning and cost. Its not the 'prettiest' set-up for your tank, but it works well. *The ink in the newspaper will NOT harm your dragon - its non-toxic. It may give them dirty-looking feet, but thats about all. Be aware that crickets will hide under the newspaper. *
*Paper Towels*
*This is a good idea for very young or just arrived in your home dragons. It allows you to change out as soon as they go and see that they are going normally.*



*BAD Substrates*

*The following are bad for one main reason - impaction. A lot of stores may try and tell you that they are suitable, they may even be using them themselves, but they are wrong. Each of the following has proven to cause impaction and death to Bearded Dragons (as well as other reptiles) and should be avoided like the plague.*

*Corn Cob*
*It's hard to pick which of the following is worst but I think this one is it! Not only an impaction substrate, but one that harbors fungus and bacteria*
*Walnut Shell*
*It looks harmless enough, but the edges are very sharp and it could kill your dragon very easily. If it does pass through when ingested, it is often trapped in the vent area*
*CalciSand *
*The problem with this product is twofold. First, they like the flavour of it and may eat it if they are lacking adequate calcium in their diet. That would be fine, except all test show that it is not digestible, no matter what the product states and second, it can clump and form an indigestible bolus in their digestive tract. This often leads to a paralysis and can cause death*
*Vita-Sand *
*Even though this is made by ZooMed (for whom I have a high regard) it's totally inappropriate for beardies for the same reason as CalciSand. It's a shame they advertize these for reptiles and so many people have lost their pets to its use.*
*Repti Bark*
*Is also a no no - it is very fibrous and could easily end up causing impaction and has been known to end up lodged in the vent*
*Any of the wood shavings*
*Like cedar or pine should also be avoided - cedar had dangerous aromatic oils and pine can get impacted if ingested*
*Original Lizard Litter*
*Made from the kenfa tree and Jungle Blend or something like that. It's real fibrous and also can cause impactions. It may be the same thing that claims to be made of 100% renewable resource coconut fibers (pulverized), and "exists as an alternative and digestive material to peat moss, vermiculite, sand and soil". Frankly I doubt the digestibility claim- especially for Bearded Dragons, which have short digestive tracts.*

Link to a website showing lots of pictures taken throughout an autopsy on a bearded dragon which died due to walnut substrate impaction: *WARNING:* *not for people with a faint constitution, horrifying pics:*
http://mrskingsbioweb.com/beardeddragngrossanatomy.htm


Other people may disagree and say they have used .....xxxxx..........type of substrate without problems. I am not trying to disagree with them just trying to state the facts as a lot of time and research have shown.
Maybe the moderators could consider making this a sticky????????????


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## Doodles (Aug 4, 2007)

Just out of interest what substrate do you use?

I use lino for little ones but my bigger are on sand


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## HadesDragons (Jun 30, 2007)

Nice idea for a thread!!























I feel that those are the two images from the link you posted that show the dangers of woodchips etc most clearly - all of the roughly 
cube-shaped objects are woodchips. The angular lumps in the gut wall in the second photo are caused by a walnut-shell buildup. The chips 
are small enough to be swallowed, but not large enough to pass out to the cloaca is more than a couple are swallowed; exactly the wrong 
size for a beardie...

Apologies to anyone of a sensitive disposition for not putting a warning up first; I prefer not to - if it makes you sick to see it, hopefully 
it will help you to remember to avoid wood chip and other similar substrates in the future. 

Remember, that beardie on the autopsy table was someone's pet - don't let yours end up like it unfortunately did.


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## mummybear (Nov 5, 2007)

I personally have all my 3 on tile : victory:

Thanks Andy, I just get fed up of all the arguments going on here about what shouldn't be used but have never seen a thread giving all the details for people to make a more informed decision and seeing what the risks are.
I feel that responsible reptile keepers (in this case especially beardie keepers) should be aware of the risks they could be taking with their pets


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## fantapants (Jan 4, 2008)

mine are all on tile or paper. not worth the risk, the only rep i now use anything with os the leo tortoises, they have a hay based 100% digestible ( even benneficial) substrate.


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## Rach L (Mar 18, 2008)

Great idea for a sticky mummybear!! Hopefully the mods will put it up as one as there as to many people coming on here asking about it, and at least this way they can actually *see* what any loose substrates will do to a beardie and any other lizard in that matter.

I personally have all mine on reptile carpet, and would never want to risk loose substrate.

Great job!!: victory:


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## mummybear (Nov 5, 2007)

Rach L said:


> Great idea for a sticky mummybear!! Hopefully the mods will put it up as one as there as to many people coming on here asking about it, and at least this way they can actually *see* what any loose substrates will do to a beardie and any other lizard in that matter.
> 
> I personally have all mine on reptile carpet, and would never want to risk loose substrate.
> 
> Great job!!: victory:


Thanks : victory:


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## HadesDragons (Jun 30, 2007)

It's also worth adding to the thread at this point that beardies don't really live on sand in the wild - most of their range is covered by solid sun-baked ground, with a dust layer over it. There is almost no open sand in sight, so providing them with 1" of soft sand that they can accidentally swallow when eating insects isn't very natural to them... 

Hopefully that's pre-empted the "but they live on sand in the wild lol" type responses that threads such as this usually generate...


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## Doodles (Aug 4, 2007)

I use clay sand that sets hard but has a loose bit on the surface. They get hand fed locusts and eat veg from bowl so I have no worries about mine.


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## HadesDragons (Jun 30, 2007)

Doodles said:


> I use clay sand that sets hard but has a loose bit on the surface. They get hand fed locusts and eat veg from bowl so I have no worries about mine.


Sounds good - have you got any photos?


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## Doodles (Aug 4, 2007)

Will try and take some pics in the morning for you.


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## Rei (Jun 20, 2008)

Great thread, good idea as lots of people ask (including myself )

Can we add a warning about those picture though? I was scrolling down and to be honest, I'm quite squeamish and was horrified to see those pics. Just to stop other members seeing something they would rather not.


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## HadesDragons (Jun 30, 2007)

Rei said:


> Can we add a warning about those picture though? I was scrolling down and to be honest, *I'm quite squeamish and was horrified to see those pics*. Just to stop other members seeing something they would rather not.


To be honest, that was (and always has been my intention). Had there been a warning there, you probably wouldn't have looked at the pictures, and it wouldn't have stuck in your mind just how bad impactions from chipped substrates can be. I know from experience that a lot of people won't read through all of the text - they'll think "I've read this before but don't agree with it", then will skim through the rest of the thread etc. If the pictures are there to grab attention the message is more likely to sink in and may end up saving their beardie from a very unpleasant death...


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## Rei (Jun 20, 2008)

I see the point you are making, but I still think it should be up to the user if he or she wants to see the pics. I chose to view pics before in another thread and they were even worse than the ones you posted, which ultimately did make me feel quite sick. I see that you are just trying to get everyone to understand what it will do, but a few revolting images are more likely to effect the caring more than the people who would do the damage in the first place, and I believe the same for tv adverts that seem to try and guilt you into things. In this case, I see why you should think the end does justify the need to show the pictures, and perhaps it does. But if you care about your beardie enough, you shouldn't need a picture to guilt you into changing your substrate, and so I still believe the pictures should come with some sort of warning.


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## Gavincol78 (Sep 19, 2007)

I think I will be changing my BD's sub this weekend to lino tiles as he is 4 1/2months old and currently on bark chips. Those pictures were a bit shocking as I wasn't expecting them but I think they were a very good warning for people to not to use sand or chipped sub's


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## alnessman (Mar 8, 2008)

*SUBSTRATES that can and have caused impaction in Beardies* 

very informative well done, mine are kept on slate tiles, you have my vote for it being made a sticky


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## Cricketdragon (Jun 29, 2008)

Brilliant thread, I have my adult on playsand at the moment, but reading this I might just change it to tiles or something as it does seem to be safer although I havent had any problems, I'd hate for anything to happen to him. This may sound bizzare but I have an image of the beardie sliding around on the tiles because of his claws :S And could I use upturned carpet tiles? The rubber is non toxic on them and we have a pile of them in the shed, I can imagine the claws would be stuck on the actual carpet.


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## mummybear (Nov 5, 2007)

*Something you could do to help an impacted beardie:*

If your beardie is in early stages of impaction you could offer your bearded dragon some relief by giving him a warm bath and gently massaging his abdomen. Massaging gently down towards the vent may assist your bearded dragon in moving an impaction down through his digestive tract, so that he can pass it. Another thing that may help is to dose your bearded dragon with a few drops of vegetable oil, prior to bathing him, to help move things along more easily.


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## luke123 (Apr 13, 2008)

good thread maybe sticky-worthy? lol. i keep mine on play sand


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## MoK3t (Aug 22, 2007)

gets my vote for sticky,. The amount of times i personally have answered the substrate question escapes me.


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## mummybear (Nov 5, 2007)

Well I don't know how it works to make this a sticky maybe you kind folks have to report it to a moderator if you think it ought to be : victory:


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## Kami22 (Apr 21, 2008)

those pics are enough to put you off sand for life...


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## B&WTegu&Beardies (Mar 28, 2008)

Kami22 said:


> those pics are enough to put you off sand for life...


And that is what makes it effective.

Brilliant thread!


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## Kami22 (Apr 21, 2008)

B&WTegu&Beardies said:


> And that is what makes it effective.
> 
> Brilliant thread!


yeah it should be a sticky...


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## evilchild (Jul 3, 2008)

i keep mine on natrual tiles, well half the viv due to the fact i can't count and didn't buy enough tiles.:bash::crazy:


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## jennibob (Jan 5, 2008)

Brilliant thread, should be made a sticky,

I had to learn the hard way,

Well done mummybear :2thumb:


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## evoluanx (May 7, 2008)

Great post, very informative both visual and in print. Just goes to show the real term effects of these subs on BD's.


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## cooljules (May 20, 2008)

Cricketdragon said:


> Brilliant thread, I have my adult on playsand at the moment, but reading this I might just change it to tiles or something as it does seem to be safer although I havent had any problems, I'd hate for anything to happen to him. This may sound bizzare but I have an image of the beardie sliding around on the tiles because of his claws :S And could I use upturned carpet tiles? The rubber is non toxic on them and we have a pile of them in the shed, I can imagine the claws would be stuck on the actual carpet.


playsand is fine


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## Puff the magic Dragon :) (Oct 15, 2008)

This may sound a bit 'dumb' to some of you but is impaction a result of a build up over time, like e few grains of sand swallowed here and a few swallowed there?

Or is it a case of ''he ate aload of sand''

Because my beardies about 13 mnths old and has always been kept on sand,
never had a problem so far as hes a really fussy eater and analyses everythng thats about to go into hes mouth.

But on the other hand i love him to peices and am now thinking its better to be safe than sorry?


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## B&WTegu&Beardies (Mar 28, 2008)

Puff the magic Dragon :) said:


> This may sound a bit 'dumb' to some of you but is impaction a result of a build up over time, like e few grains of sand swallowed here and a few swallowed there?
> 
> Or is it a case of ''he ate aload of sand''
> 
> ...


Both really, he could eat loads at once and get impacted immediately but most of the time it builds up, if it is small grains they may pass it.


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## SleepyD (Feb 13, 2008)

B&WTegu&Beardies said:


> Both really, he could eat loads at once and get impacted immediately but most of the time it builds up, if it is small grains they may pass it.


*nods* from what I read there seems to be two types of impaction ~ Acute and Chronic; Acute is when they ingest a lot of substrate quickly and it blocks the vital organs used to process food ie stomach, intestinal tract, etc; Chronic is the gradual buildup of sand/loose substrate in the digestive system over years which binds to the lining of the intestinal tract and eventually wears down the digestive tract.


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## Puff the magic Dragon :) (Oct 15, 2008)

Im definatly gona loo into replacing the sand then, i mean even if its a few grains over the space of years its still sand inside him that shudnt be there.

I read stuff about impaction before and was like yeah yeah whatver. but that picture is horrible.defo gona consider moving my beardie onto somehting else x


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## cooljules (May 20, 2008)

Puff the magic Dragon :) said:


> Im definatly gona loo into replacing the sand then, i mean even if its a few grains over the space of years its still sand inside him that shudnt be there.
> 
> I read stuff about impaction before and was like yeah yeah whatver. but that picture is horrible.defo gona consider moving my beardie onto somehting else x


but it wasnt caused by sand! caused by woodchips which is a well known killer for them, yeah the odd one passes through but so easily causes a blockage..


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## B&WTegu&Beardies (Mar 28, 2008)

Bark is the worst substrate in my opinion, there is really no way of passing it, it's a quick killer.


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## HadesDragons (Jun 30, 2007)

Generally speaking, playsand will be fine for large beardies who can hunt accurately and who have good living conditions.


Most beardies who become impacted from playsand are either young, ill, or kept sub-optimally. Young / juvenile beardies have smaller digestive tracts, so it takes less sand to block them. They also tend to be very food-focussed, and will dive at their food. This can lead to them ingesting a mouthful of sand along with their meal.

Beardies that are kept too cold (along with other reptiles) have reduced metabolic rates. This means that food moves more slowly through their guts, as does any sand that they have swallowed. In a healthy beardie kept at the correct temperatures, swallowing a little bit of sand isn't that dangerous - it will usually pass in a couple of days. In an ill beardie that's not going to the toilet or one that is being kept too cold, the sand doesn't flow through their guts so fast. This gives it more time to build up, and increases the chance of blockages happening.


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## wacky69 (Apr 8, 2008)

i vote for this to be made a sticky. then ppl will have somewhere to actually see what impaction looks like


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## Bailey_Dragon (Apr 6, 2008)

Brilliant thread, well done : victory:


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## Kami22 (Apr 21, 2008)

B&WTegu&Beardies said:


> Bark is the worst substrate in my opinion, there is really no way of passing it, it's a quick killer.


when i got my female we were given bark with the starter kit and got her off them as soon as i found her chewing them... i wouldnt have known any different if i hadnt come on here...


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## poizon (Jan 7, 2007)

what doesnt help is some pets shops, i just brought a new baby from a shop, and with the set up i was given choice, calci sand or woodchips. or corse i know better and am keeping him on kitchen roll, but just think, if i didnt know about all this i would of corse think that its ok to keep on one of them, spesh as all pet shops keep them on sand or chips.


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## Sambee (Jul 4, 2008)

poizon said:


> what doesnt help is some pets shops, i just brought a new baby from a shop, and with the set up i was given choice, calci sand or woodchips. or corse i know better and am keeping him on kitchen roll, but just think, if i didnt know about all this i would of corse think that its ok to keep on one of them, spesh as all pet shops keep them on sand or chips.


That's what happened when I got my leo, I didn't have a clue...I asked them what the best "floor" for the leo was and they said "calcium sand is 100% digestible, we use it for all our reptiles so yours will be fine with it!"

Clueless..:bash:


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## poizon (Jan 7, 2007)

thats the thing, shops are terrible, and its one thing for someone who is experienced and knows what they are doing, but think of the newbies, they gonna take the shops advice arnt they? after all, they shops are supposed to know what they are doing


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## RyKate (Jul 6, 2008)

Thanks Mummybear!! I think the sticky idea is good; some of us newer beardy keepers read these heated debates, and would like to know more from the more experienced keepers and their experiences, but find the 'arguments' too intimidating to join in or ask questions. Not that I'm afraid of criticism, but when you read the obviously very passionate threads on this topic, I'm sure I'm not alone in keeping well out!!!!!


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