substrate
There is alot of controversy around the subject of the right substrate to use for your bearded dragon. There is no loose substrate that is 100% safe.
Alot of it boils down to common sense, if your dragon casually walks around eating or licking the substrate then its always safer to take it out and use lino or kitchen towel.
Alot of people think that dragons live on sand in the wild, they in fact live on a hard compacted clay in dried out forest areas on the outskirts of the desert.
There are risks of impaction with most loose substrates, so to minimize these risks we always recommend having part of your vivarium floor lino, or tiled to keep food dishes on.
This way if any food falls from the bowl, your dragon wont get any substrate in his mouth whilst picking up food off the floor.A couple of the most common substrates you will come across in pet shops are:
CALCI SAND: This is possibly the worst substrate you could use for your bearded dragon.
calci sand when wet, turns to a cement like substance so it only takes a
small build up inside your dragon to cause a severe impaction.
calci sand has caused a high percentage of fatalities through impaction.
REPTILE SANDS: A more common one in pet shops is EXO TERRA DESERT SAND.
Again this turns into a cement like substance when wet.
Comes in different colours as does calci sand, but will stain your dragons
skin. These sands are bought in bulk very cheap by pet shops and sold for
ridiculous prices. For this reason its unlikely they will ever be taken off the
shelves. Its up to us to stop buying them.
WOOD CHIPS: Woodchips are not a great substrate as the small pieces can very easily be
picked up and swallowed whilst your dragon is eating.
This can cause tearing of your dragons insides or again impaction.
We use lino flooring in all our vivariums as we feel its easier to keep clean, holds the heat well, and can look just as nice as loose substrate without any risks.
Our adult females do have a 3rd of there viv sectioned off as a digging pit. This consists of a mixture 1/2 playsand & 1/2 top soil or eco earth.
It is your own personal choice which substrate you choose for your bearded dragon, however we feel its extremely important that people are aware of the risks.
A safer option of loose substrate is wheat bran which is in fact horse feed.
Can be purchased from any horse feed supplier and used widely by many bearded dragon owners.
Again this is not 100% risk free but is by far the best choice in our opinion if you were to choose a loose substrate.
As previously stated, please remove any substrate if your dragon takes to licking/eating it.
IF IN DOUBT,,, GO WITHOUT ;)
THIS DOC WAS CREATED BY VICTORIA LABYRINTH OF LABYRINTH DRAGONS
There is alot of controversy around the subject of the right substrate to use for your bearded dragon. There is no loose substrate that is 100% safe.
Alot of it boils down to common sense, if your dragon casually walks around eating or licking the substrate then its always safer to take it out and use lino or kitchen towel.
Alot of people think that dragons live on sand in the wild, they in fact live on a hard compacted clay in dried out forest areas on the outskirts of the desert.
There are risks of impaction with most loose substrates, so to minimize these risks we always recommend having part of your vivarium floor lino, or tiled to keep food dishes on.
This way if any food falls from the bowl, your dragon wont get any substrate in his mouth whilst picking up food off the floor.A couple of the most common substrates you will come across in pet shops are:
CALCI SAND: This is possibly the worst substrate you could use for your bearded dragon.
calci sand when wet, turns to a cement like substance so it only takes a
small build up inside your dragon to cause a severe impaction.
calci sand has caused a high percentage of fatalities through impaction.
REPTILE SANDS: A more common one in pet shops is EXO TERRA DESERT SAND.
Again this turns into a cement like substance when wet.
Comes in different colours as does calci sand, but will stain your dragons
skin. These sands are bought in bulk very cheap by pet shops and sold for
ridiculous prices. For this reason its unlikely they will ever be taken off the
shelves. Its up to us to stop buying them.
WOOD CHIPS: Woodchips are not a great substrate as the small pieces can very easily be
picked up and swallowed whilst your dragon is eating.
This can cause tearing of your dragons insides or again impaction.
We use lino flooring in all our vivariums as we feel its easier to keep clean, holds the heat well, and can look just as nice as loose substrate without any risks.
Our adult females do have a 3rd of there viv sectioned off as a digging pit. This consists of a mixture 1/2 playsand & 1/2 top soil or eco earth.
It is your own personal choice which substrate you choose for your bearded dragon, however we feel its extremely important that people are aware of the risks.
A safer option of loose substrate is wheat bran which is in fact horse feed.
Can be purchased from any horse feed supplier and used widely by many bearded dragon owners.
Again this is not 100% risk free but is by far the best choice in our opinion if you were to choose a loose substrate.
As previously stated, please remove any substrate if your dragon takes to licking/eating it.
IF IN DOUBT,,, GO WITHOUT ;)
THIS DOC WAS CREATED BY VICTORIA LABYRINTH OF LABYRINTH DRAGONS