Re: My girlfriend's. Beardie
Re: My girlfriend's. Beardie
[QUOTE=Aerries;2722762]This is Cleo https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...8a2e673456.jpg
Sand (including calcium sand) or loose substrate of any kind is no good for lizards that 'taste' their surroundings, like leopard geckos and bearded dragons. Their tongues are sticky, licks the sand and swallows them. If it is hunting loose crickets in the enclosure, it will inevitable swallow sand along with the insect, risking impaction in its gut. Impaction is fatal if a vet does not intervene asap. Wild bearded dragons do not live in sandy environments as previously believed. They actually spend a lot of time on trees and branches and lives in terrain that has a lot of rock and pact dirt, not soft loose sand.
The better substrate alternative if you want to keep the natural look is to use tile, rocks, and large pebbles (Bigger than its head).
Re: My girlfriend's. Beardie
[QUOTE=Cheesenugget;2722787]
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Aerries
This is Cleo
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...8a2e673456.jpg
Sand (including calcium sand) or loose substrate of any kind is no good for lizards that 'taste' their surroundings, like leopard geckos and bearded dragons. Their tongues are sticky, licks the sand and swallows them. If it is hunting loose crickets in the enclosure, it will inevitable swallow sand along with the insect, risking impaction in its gut. Impaction is fatal if a vet does not intervene asap. Wild bearded dragons do not live in sandy environments as previously believed. They actually spend a lot of time on trees and branches and lives in terrain that has a lot of rock and pact dirt, not soft loose sand.
The better substrate alternative if you want to keep the natural look is to use tile, rocks, and large pebbles (Bigger than its head).
Cheesenugget,
Thank you for the advise, alas, impaction is typically found in dragons that yes use the incorrect loose substrate ie: wood chips, calcium sand, crushed walnut. Children’s play sand is different from that, when it gets wet it will not harden up and become solid, it breaks down. Also most health problems are rooted from incorrect husbandry, this includes impaction. If they do not have the proper basking temps, then they cannot digest correctly and along with the type of sub. Yes tile, slate, and paper towels are the alts for sub, and easier to sanitize but I just don’t like it. I have Cleo and Neffy, both turning 5 this new year and I’ve had them both since they were less then 6 inches and both are now pushing two feet and have a perfect bill of health (well minus Cleo with his gimp front leg due to bad genetics) but alas it’s like with any animal tbh, if you have the proper setup and husbandry then there won’t be any problems. BUT I will say that having loose substrate is typically used for keepers that have a deeper understanding/knowledge of the species. It is NOT recommended for beginners.
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