I work at a vet clinic that sees lots of exotics, and in the year I've been there, I've seen about 15 beardies come in for "not pooping". Every single one of them was on sand, age ranging from juvies to adults. I think all of them were new pets; maybe one had it a year already at most? And these are just the ones that I saw, so who knows about the days I didn't work.
We did enemas on most of them, and every one had a very hard gritty poo that was blocking them up. The ones that we didn't do enemas on was because the Dr. didn't feel a blockage, so we sent them home on meds to help move things along, and I know several of the them passed a similar stool later on when we followed up with the owner. I think 2 of them eventually died because the owners had waited too long to get them seen.
While tile is probably the best option, if you don't want to do that, we recommend using the reptile carpet, having at least two pieces cut to fit so you have a clean one ready to go in. Every time they poo, take it out, wash it in disinfectant, and hang it to dry so that it's ready to go for the next switch out.
The difference between wild BDs and caged ones is that wild ones are not living in pure sand like people put in their enclosures. They're on dirt and clay, with some sand mixed in. Wild BDs are also WAY more active than pet ones, and the extra movement helps things move along.
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