Is my Beardie big enough for sand in his tank yet?

[ProphesizeWithYourPen]

I've been using carpet, but I was wondering if my Beardie is big enough for using sand yet? He's a 6 month old Beardie, but he's a runt so he's probably around the size of a 4-month-old.

 

[Dragoneyed]

Hello,

I have seen here in the pictures much tanks without substrate and have wondered. I am from Germany and here already very young bearded dragons have sand in their tanks.
The risk that bearded dragons eat bigger amounts from the substrate and get obstipated (I can only imagine that this is the reason?) can be avoided if pieces of cuttlefish bone or alternatively crushed eggshell (from cooked eggs) are provided in a dish in the tank (always). If there is a lack of mineral they normally eat this instead of substrate.
The risk then is very very low that something happens (in fact I have never heard this if calcium was provided as described).
I got my first bearded dragons as they were 2-3 months old and they had sand in there tank from the beginning. Later I began to use a mixture of sand and loam powder so that they can dig and don't sink in the sand (not good for their joints on the long term).

 

[PatsyB]

The typical rule of thumb that people follow is the dragon should be 15 inches from nose to tail tip before you put them on sand. Children's washed play sand is the cheapest and best option you can pick it up at a hardware store for like $6 for 50 pounds. The biggest thing to worry about with sand is impaction. Even if you don't feed live food on the sand, you will still be putting a salad in there and sand will get on the salad. If your dragon is well hydrated it should be too much of an issue. The other thing about sand is there is risk of corneal abrasions from sand getting stuck in one of the eyelids and there is also risk of them inhaling the sand.

 

[huntreefs]

I personally don't like the sand with worries of impacting. But as pasty stated children washed and sifted sand is the best option. But there is so many other options that are better healthy choices for your dragon. Sand can be a nightmare to clean if your dragon likes to get in the water watch out for the clumpy mess that will become a sanitary issue if not dealt with.