substrate

Ok, so i have been using crushed walnut shell on my subadult bearded dragons. I have heard it is not good and am using the last of what i had.
Is play sand alright for bearded dragons? I have two disabled dragons who lost their back legs (i adopted them afterwards). They have no back feet or leg from the knee down. I'm afraid the walnut will be a little harsh on their nubs anyway, so is playsand a good possibility?
The only reason i used walnut shell before was for its absorbancy and easy cleanup of feces. Anyone had issues with play sand?

Not sure if this is relevant, but I keep my uromastyx on white millet. It's cheap, easy to clean, and provides nutrients when ingested.

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Originally Posted by TooManyToys

Not sure if this is relevant, but I keep my uromastyx on white millet. It's cheap, easy to clean, and provides nutrients when ingested.

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Ok, sound like another viable option. where do you get that? I'm movin to the boonies (thanks to the military) where the only thing around is home depot and a mechanics shop.

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Originally Posted by whytepizza

Ok, sound like another viable option. where do you get that? I'm movin to the boonies (thanks to the military) where the only thing around is home depot and a mechanics shop.

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Any good feed store will have it, I get it in large 50lb bags. There must be some out in the boonies :D

And personally, I would not use playsand. Too much risk of impaction if ingested.

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Originally Posted by TooManyToys

And personally, I would not use playsand. Too much risk of impaction if ingested.

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Yeah, that's why i'm switching from walnut shell. I figured play sand was small and smooth enough to go through the system of a sub-abult. I'll def look for some feed stores in the boonies! Worse comes to worse i was gonna use ground corn husks.

Your look at alot of problems in beardies if you use any particle substrate. Crushed walnut shells are the WORST things to put them on along with Calci sand and other similar products. Your beardies have been through alot I can tell seeing how they have no back legs, either put them on paper towels, or if you want nicer get ceramic tiles cut. And please tell me that they are not housed together:please:

Do not put them on white millet either

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Originally Posted by Beardedragon

Your look at alot of problems in beardies if you use any particle substrate. Crushed walnut shells are the WORST things to put them on along with Calci sand and other similar products. Your beardies have been through alot I can tell seeing how they have no back legs, either put them on paper towels, or if you want nicer get ceramic tiles cut. And please tell me that they are not housed together:please:

Do not put them on white millet either

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They have been through alot, and yes they are together. I kept them apart for a while and all they would do is bang on the glass over and over. I put them together and they were content. They are two females so dominance issues should not be a problem, but i have another tanks set up in case. (55g)
I rescued them from Petco, they has that disease which didn't allow them to shed properly, one lost its back legs the other lost a few toes.
They were kept on crushed walnut shell there, and i didn't want to change much on the transition into a new home. Now that it has been a little while and they are used to their surroundings changing their substrate should not be a problem. I don't want to stress any animal out too much at first. They are in a 29g currently, and doing great. No problems with eating, no issues with limbs (i check the stubs every day), and they act normally looking at veggies like, "What do you want me to do with that? Gimmy crickets!"
Anyway, i APPEMPTED paper towels. They kept bitting on it and ripping it when i fed them. Tiles are a no-go. There is no grip and the one dragon will just slide around (found that out when i put them in the larger tank with cabinet paper on the bottom.)
I refuse to try any reptisand. I figured play sand would be okay concidering where their species has lived for past few million years, but i figured i would check first.
I was thinking of making a custom floor and back wall with some foam, grout, sand, and moss and putting it all together in a DIY kind of way. That takes money and until i have the money i wanted a sollution.
Honestly, people seem to disagree on this issue alot.
Although, thinking about it now, they do make a rough surface tile, don't they?

Playsand sifted through a standard kitchen sifter.

They live on sand in the wild, they do not get impacted from just sand. They can however get impacted from Calcisand. I kept all mine on playsand, and so do the big breeders.

Caresheet found here if any are interested : http://www.lynnsbeardeddragons.com/caresheet.html

I know her personally and followed her setups completely for my dragons over the years. Works great!

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Originally Posted by whytepizza

They have been through alot, and yes they are together. I kept them apart for a while and all they would do is bang on the glass over and over. I put them together and they were content. They are two females so dominance issues should not be a problem, but i have another tanks set up in case. (55g)
I rescued them from Petco, they has that disease which didn't allow them to shed properly, one lost its back legs the other lost a few toes.
They were kept on crushed walnut shell there, and i didn't want to change much on the transition into a new home. Now that it has been a little while and they are used to their surroundings changing their substrate should not be a problem. I don't want to stress any animal out too much at first. They are in a 29g currently, and doing great. No problems with eating, no issues with limbs (i check the stubs every day), and they act normally looking at veggies like, "What do you want me to do with that? Gimmy crickets!"
Anyway, i APPEMPTED paper towels. They kept bitting on it and ripping it when i fed them. Tiles are a no-go. There is no grip and the one dragon will just slide around (found that out when i put them in the larger tank with cabinet paper on the bottom.)
I refuse to try any reptisand. I figured play sand would be okay concidering where their species has lived for past few million years, but i figured i would check first.
I was thinking of making a custom floor and back wall with some foam, grout, sand, and moss and putting it all together in a DIY kind of way. That takes money and until i have the money i wanted a sollution.
Honestly, people seem to disagree on this issue alot.
Although, thinking about it now, they do make a rough surface tile, don't they?

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Alright, I see where you are coming from. Just get them off of the crushed walnut shells asap. And yes, they do make tile with more texture to it. Also, id put them in a 50 gallon. Two beardies housed together should have a much larger tank but without back legs that could become challenging.

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Originally Posted by Nightmare Creatures

Playsand sifted through a standard kitchen sifter.

They live on sand in the wild, they do not get impacted from just sand. They can however get impacted from Calcisand. I kept all mine on playsand, and so do the big breeders.

Caresheet found here if any are interested : http://www.lynnsbeardeddragons.com/caresheet.html

I know her personally and followed her setups completely for my dragons over the years. Works great!

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Beardies DO NOT live on sand in the wild, they live on compacted clay. There have been very few occasions where they have been found on sand. Another thing, these are not wild animals unless you get them w/c, but seeing how that is impossible with Bearded dragons you more than likely have domesticated beardies. Far to many times have I seen beardies get impacted on normal sand, all it takes is a few licks a day or a missed cricket jump and you are half way there. I highly recommend that you do not tell anyone that they live on sand in the wild, because it is untrue. I disagree with a few parts in her caresheet but most of it looks good. A beardie can live in a 40 gallon tank its whole life but it will not be a happy camper. Just like humans they like unnecessary room:)

Well, i think I left out a few points but im sure i'll anwser them when NC reads my above post.