We have 2 juvenile bearded dragons(i already know will ave to sell one if end up 2 males).The problem is they came with childrens play sand and they try and eat it now and again so was wondering what to try.someone mentioned tiles and have seen washable reptile carpet on ebay.has anyone used this???I would appreciate some opinions on tried and tested substrate as we are newbie beardie owners.Thanks.

ou can buy sand that is quite safe for them to eat as its calcium, its good just bit pricey! childrens play sand however is not good and can do them some damage, i have a bearded dragon caresheet if you would like me to email it you?

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Thanks for your reply.I already have 2 beardie books so dont think care sheet will be needed.The problem is they dont say anything about repti carpet and i thought it would be good to get opinions from people that have used it etc.Thanks.

I would sugest lino, or tiles. I have a female beardie, shes a year old now and has half tiles and half childs play sand (as they say its safer then calci sand) i think its down to personal choice.

All sands clump too readily, be it play or calci sand, and you can imagine why that would be a bad thing if the reptile were to ingest it.

Calci sand encourages the animal to eat it which I wouldn't describe as being a good thing to be honest for the reason stated above. Personally I'd totally avoid any kind of sand.

I've heard of many beardie owners using newspaper, lino and tiles successfully, I've used reptile cage carpet with my leopard geckos with no issues so would imagine it would also be ok for beardies, but don't know of any beardie owners that use it so can't say for sure.

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I use tiles and I recommend them to every beardie owner.

They are regular floor tiles, which I adhered straight to the bottom of the viv and grouted inbetween.
Cleaning is quick a simple, poo is wiped up with toilet paper and flushed down the loo. I then spray with disinfectant and wipe.
They look good and last forever.

Sand is expensive, unhygenic and smelly. And have you heard the noise it males when it accumulates in the runners for the glass doors? Eeeek!

And above all, sand is dangerous. You probably know all about impaction by now. Oh and not to mention unnatural. Beardies originate from clay and stone areas.

I personally wouldn't use repti-carpet or the like, it's just to rough on feet and bellies.

My recommendations are tiles or lino.

Here is a pic of mine from a while back

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This is not safe for beardies, it can cause serious impaction and death.

Kitchen roll or newspaper are cheap and hygenic, but if you want something that looks nicer I hear tiles are great.

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i use paper towels, tho some beardies decide it looks (or tastes) like salad lol in which case you'd have to change it, but my rankins is doing well on it.

calci-sand is actually worse than play sand as it encourages the beardie to eat it!

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Hi,

I keep a lot of reptiles and spend most weekends at one of the best reptile shops in the UK. I would suggest beach chippings, avoid sand, it seems to cause a lot of problems.

NEVER, EVER use calci sand, they become obsessed, eat it all the time which causes impaction.

I always dust the bugs and a tiny sprinkle of calcium on the veggies.

Are you using neutrobal aswell as calcium?

Lottie

Thanks to all replies.this message is regards to Lotties message am i using neutrobal as well as calcium.well i'm not .just using neutrobal.should i be using them both as i dont know.ive just found out you can give reptiles cuttlefish which i already had from when i had giant african land snails.so the question is should i give them cuttlefish as well as neutrobal??Thanks