using sand as a flooring???

How long should I wait until I use sand in the bottom of my tank for my dragons???

I've been told by many Bearded Dragon keepers in the past that you shouldn't use sand for them, it's like making them live in a litter box. Even when you scoop out the poop, all that bacteria is still floating around in there.
I think most people either use newprint, paper towel, tiles, and linoleum, things like that that don't have a granular quality.

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Originally Posted by MisterKyte

I've been told by many Bearded Dragon keepers in the past that you shouldn't use sand for them, it's like making them live in a litter box. Even when you scoop out the poop, all that bacteria is still floating around in there.
I think most people either use newprint, paper towel, tiles, and linoleum, things like that that don't have a granular quality.

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Those are great points! Also consider that the beardies could ingest the sand when they eat and become impacted....which is a serious problem, often leading to death in very young beardies...:(

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Calcium sand is fine to use because it is almost completely digestible. There is little to no risk of impaction, and as long as you scoop/sift the dirty places down to the bottom of the cage there shouldn't be any remaining bacteria to cause a problem.

Calcium sand is the worst thing you can use.

To be honest, I'd play it safe and actually never use sand as a substrate - it just totally eliminates risk. Sand can be dangerous in a number of ways, anywhere from running impaction risks to causing bacterial issues with your dragon. I use reptile carpet, it's the easiest substrate to use and Leyla doesn't mind one bit. I vacuum it out every time she goes to the bathroom and wash it once in a while, piece of cake. No scooping, no changing sand. Plus, sand can actually 'stain' their feet and bellies, I'd personally rule against it. A lot of people who really get into the vivariums also use ceramic tile or linoleum, you could play around with those as well.

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Originally Posted by TJeno

To be honest, I'd play it safe and actually never use sand as a substrate - it just totally eliminates risk. Sand can be dangerous in a number of ways, anywhere from running impaction risks to causing bacterial issues with your dragon. I use reptile carpet, it's the easiest substrate to use and Leyla doesn't mind one bit. I vacuum it out every time she goes to the bathroom and wash it once in a while, piece of cake. No scooping, no changing sand. Plus, sand can actually 'stain' their feet and bellies, I'd personally rule against it. A lot of people who really get into the vivariums also use ceramic tile or linoleum, you could play around with those as well.

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Carpet is far worse than sand. It harbors far more bacteria. Vacuuming your carpet does not clean it.

Use sand if you like sand, don't use it if you don't. How many babies, and I'm looking for an actual count, does anyone know of, in person, that have died from impaction because of sand?

I house 2 beardies together. For the longest time, I used ground walnut shells. I do not recommend this, as it is extremely dusty. As juveniles, they survived any possible ingestion and are doing just fine.

So when I made the switch, I read up on the dangers of sand. The Pet store sands are all crap and calcium sand was said to be the worst.
If you go with sand, the consensus was to use Children's Play sand. (4$ at Walmart).

The new thing is to use ceramic tiles.

So I did mine 75% tiles, 25% children's play sand from Walmart.

I guess there is no sand or loose soils in Australia. Or all the bearded dragons must be dying from impaction.

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Originally Posted by eatgoodfood

I guess there is no sand or loose soils in Australia. Or all the bearded dragons must be dying from impaction.

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It happens, more often than you probably think. And of course they live on sand, but nobody ever notices if one dies out in Australia somewhere. But we're talking about pets here. It happens in the wild, and it's very possible for it to happen in captivity. Just head to BeardedDragon.org and check out stories, they're everywhere.