Sand, dun dun dun..?

[James34780]

So i'm sure this question comes up alllllll the time, but i'll ask anyways! My beardie as about 10 inches long right now and i'm wondering if using sand is worth it. I always read about impaction and stuff, but I have never been worried about it. I'm still not worried about it, but I want to be sure. I thought it would be a good idea to ask people who have experience, rather than believing everything I see on the internet :3. Thank you.

 

[Germ]

It is basically personal preference. I have been using 'Strained' Children's Washed Play Sand for over 11 years for all of my BDs 10+" with absolutely no issues. That is 'MY' choice. In all the time that I have been in the hobby, I have yet to see or read one substantiated instance of issues with sand. Most issues have more to do with husbandry than with the sand itself as the substrate . There are also many other alternative non-particle choices out there for substrate that serve the purpose very well.

 

[ianedward1]

I currently have my beardie on a combination of sand and tile. I place all of his food over on a tile 12"x12" area so as to keep superworms from burrowing down into the sand or the greens becoming dusted in sand. I feel this helps reduce any risks that may be associated though as Germ said, as long as proper care is taken then sand is safe.

 

[James34780]

I think i'm going to put my beardie on sand. It would make it look really nice and i've always preferred it, just wanted to be safe

 

[Zeesdragonz02]

sand can cause impaction! you shouldn't use it. and if you plan to, try to get a large rock or tile to put your greens on and do your feeding on. you know how sand forms clumps and becomes solid when wet? think of that in your beardies stomach and mouth. I recommend slate tiles. They are textured, which keeps their nails short, they are cheap and a one time purchase. They are also easy to clean and helps build muscle definition in your dragons legs and body. It is actually the closest thing to their natural habitat . There are some nice ones at Lowes that I got for cheap. They also have some nice garden rocks for decor in the garden section!

 

[Pat B]

There are those of us that use play sand as a substrate for our dragons with no problems. Your beardie should be a minimum of 10" before using sand. Do not use calcium sand that petstores sell. That type of sand will cause impaction. I have used tiles but switched over to sand and my beardie loves it. You can buy sand at Lowes or Home Depot in a 50 pound bag. If you do use sand make sure you sift it and then bake it for about 30 min. Sand, tile, newspaper etc etc is all a matter of preference.

 

[Germ]

sand can cause impaction! you shouldn't use it. and if you plan to, try to get a large rock or tile to put your greens on and do your feeding on. you know how sand forms clumps and becomes solid when wet? think of that in your beardies stomach and mouth. I recommend slate tiles. They are textured, which keeps their nails short, they are cheap and a one time purchase. They are also easy to clean and helps build muscle definition in your dragons legs and body. It is actually the closest thing to their natural habitat . There are some nice ones at Lowes that I got for cheap. They also have some nice garden rocks for decor in the garden section!

Strained Children's Washed Play Sand falls apart when moistened, as it would be during the digestive process of a well hydrated BD, passing right through with no issues whatsoever. Washed sand has no binding agent, is just tiny pebbles, so will not clump.

Vincent,
As has been pointed out to you many times in the past you should do more thorough research before condemning something. In this case your info on the use of sand as a substrate in a bearded dragon's enclosure is neither complete nor is it accurate by any means and spreading mis-information based only on your personal preferences without any proof to back what you claim is of no help to anyone. Every few months you pop into these forums and try to spread your gospel on the dangers of using sand substrate and while I certainly appreciate your attempt to participate in the forum I do not appreciate when anyone repeatedly tries to spread wrong and or unfounded information in the forums as it is the purpose of these forums to make sure that folks get the accurate info that they need to properly care for their bearded dragon.

To begin with you have said that in their native habitat bearded dragons do not live in sand but instead hard packed clay substrates. Your answer is only partially correct as they live in hard clay and gravel/rock, scrub forest bed and indeed in sand areas. Those areas are called "traveling sands" by the way and are indeed sand dunes.

You have also claimed that sand substrate poses a high risk of impaction in bearded dragons. While there are some "sand substrates" like CalciSand that do pose impaction risks, this is simply not true for all natural sand substrates and in fact impaction is not as common an occurrence in captivity as most people would be led to believe in the first place. Thousand of bearded dragons do die each year from impaction in their native habitat but it is not caused by sand. The truth is that it is caused by the ingestion of the clay substrate in their environment. These deaths by impaction are not limited to bearded dragons either because many other species suffer the same fate there. By the way the "hard packed clay" that you refer to is actually cracked, flaky,dry and dusty and easily ingested. That is fact.

Sand such as Children's Play-sand does not clump if it is ingested but will in fact simply pass straight through the digestive tract. On the other hand clay clumps together and blocks the digestive tract which is a classic impaction scenario.

Children's Play-sand is and has been used safely and without incident by hundreds if not thousands of bearded dragon enthusiasts and breeders for decades and as long as the criteria for safely using it is met then it is an established, tested and proven safe alternative substrate to use.

The prerequisites to using Children's Play-sand are that your dragon be 10+ inches in length from snout tip to tail tip and that it be a healthy, well-hydrated dragon. The only accepted Play Sand to use would be Washed and Sifted Children's Play-sand. I personally recommend that before using it that it be baked in a 225 degree Fahrenheit oven for at least 30 minutes and allowed to cool to room temperature to ensure that any molds, fungi or bacteria that may be in it are killed off.

As far as it posing a greater risk of respiratory distress to your dragon I believe that to also be an unfounded claim as well. Bearded dragon's come from one of the harshest, most dusty and dry climates on the planet and their bodies are built to handle that climate. While Children's Play-sand may be a bit dusty at times the dust is minimal and I believe that the risk of them developing a respiratory infection because of that is no more than from the ordinary household dust in most homes.

As far as it being a harbinger or breeding ground for germs and bacteria the fact is that as long as proper husbandry practices are maintained then it poses no more risk than any other substrate choice. You mentioned in another thread that when using tiles for substrate that feces can just be wiped up and cleaned with paper towels and water. While it is true that it can be wiped up it can not be cleaned properly with just water and by simply wiping feces up with water you are in fact leaving a whole host of the germs and bacteria that you are so concerned with. Perhaps you should revisit and modify your own husbandry practice before suggesting to others how they should clean their dragon's house.

While I will agree with you on the other substrate choices you listed as good alternatives, I whole-heartedly disagree with your presumption that using Children's Play-sand is a bad choice for a dragon keeper to choose.

I hope that you will continue to participate in the forums but please refrain from posting absolutely wrong info and please do your research before hand. Bad info is bad info and of no viable use to anyone.

I will also remind you that you were challenged on this same issue a few months back and at that time asked to produce two legitimate articles which would fully back your claims and have yet to produce even one. The reason why is that you are wrong in your claims but the challenge is still open.

Enjoy!!

Strained, Children's Washed Play Sand is a very safe substrate, the only particle substrate that I would recommend, have been using it for over 11 years now, as many, many long time breeders & keepers have since the start of the hobby, for all my BDs over 10" in length, nose to tip of tail, with absolutely no issues whatsoever. In all my years in hobby, I have yet to see one proven\documented instance of impaction caused by strained Play Sand. Now if someone use Gravel or Play Sand that has not been strained, that contains larger pebbles in it, that is a different story, that is not the Sand's fault, that is pure & simple - Poor Husbandry.

Play Sand often erringly gets confused & balled into the same category as many of the unsafe commercial substrates available such as, but not limited to, Calci-Sand, Crushed\Ground Walnut shell, Dyed Sands, Cat Litter, Bark Chips, etc, etc, the list goes on.

Don't get me wrong, I am in no way saying that Play Sand must be used, all I am saying is that it is a perfectly safe alternative & that the Hype about it is nothing more than Myth & old wives tales.

 

[Ozzie&Dino]

The only down fall to sand is like when I got Dino I put him on sand and then he was diagnosed with 3 types of parasites and I had to dump the sand and start over just to keep his habitat sterilized properly. I recommend when you first bring home your BD watch him for a couple of weeks and then get a stool sample checked at the vets to make sure he/she has no signs of parasites before putting your BD on sand because you will have a hard time keeping the habitat sanitary with sand and the BD can get re-infected with the parasites so just use paper towels or in my case I use puppy pads When Dino gets a lean bill of health I am going to be using cut to fit Flannel and I will have enough double pieces to take one out and replace with a new piece and wash the other piece in the washer. I think if you get a clean bill of health on your BD then Strained play sand is fine to use. When BD chase their insects and eat off of sand if you watch them closely they never ingest hardly any sand at all and what little they do ingest it passes through in their stool without harm.

 

[Pat B]

@Yuki....Isn't your Dino a little boy? If you use sand your dragon should be at least 10" nose to tail. I used to have slate tile and changed to sand. Spike likes it....when he was awake....little booger is still sleeping....almost 4 months!!

 

[Ozzie&Dino]

Yes Dino is a male and he is 15 inches and weighs 320grms. You need to wake that boy up, Pat I know they like sand but Dino is going to be on Flannel because I got tired of dumping sand when the vet found parasites. They can always get pinworms from crickets and Dubia so I guess my boy is stiuck on flannel for his time being.

 

[Pat B]

Yes Yuki....I will start waking him up tomorrow. Germ sent me a note and said to turn on his lights and see if the the little booger will wake up on his own. This has been an interesting experience. I just hope he wakes up with an appetite so he can grow. He is a tiny dragon!!

 

[Ozzie&Dino]

I hope he does well for you, Pat. I will check in tomorrow to see if there is any news about him

PS: You can call me "Jennifer" Thats my real name

 

[Pat B]

Lol....ok Jennifer....he opened his eyes tonite when I was puting his liggts back up. Here he is sleeping.

 

[Ozzie&Dino]

He is going to need some yummy feeders . Welcome back to the world Spike

 

[Pat B]

He is AWAKE!! I turned on the lights this morning at 7 am....normal time. He hasn't moved but his eyes are open. I think he is trying to decide "Where am I?" lol....don't have any feeders but will be getting some after lunch. His legs are really skinny so hope he eats and has a new attitude!! Hope Dino is doing well!!

 

[Germ]

You may be very right

I think he is trying to decide "Where am I?" lol....

I swear that they sometimes forget that they are a caged animal after a long brumation.

Great to hear that he is showing signs of waking, he has made you wait long enough .

 

[Ozzie&Dino]

Hip Hip Hurrah!!! WTG Spike So glad he is awake for you Pat..

 

[Germ]

I know they like sand but Dino is going to be on Flannel because I got tired of dumping sand when the vet found parasites.

Unsure how well Flannel will work for you, although I have never tried it, I'm thinking about nails catching, making a real mess when it decides to dig around. Would be quite difficult to keep flat & would think that it would be a hassle keeping the feeders out from under it. Just some thoughts ...

 

[Ozzie&Dino]

He has been on it for about a week now and so far so good. His nails will not get hung up because I keep them drimmel down, I put just enough feeders in there for him to eat and then take the rest out if he shows no interest right then. The only thing is changing it out every day since he poops every day so I am trying to find a reptile carpet big enough so I can just rinse it off instead of throwing flannel in the washer every day. Who knows I may go back to puppy pads.

 

[Pat B]

I used paper towels....so easy. Then went to slate. I liked that but when he was big enough went to sand. I can see why you are shy of sand. Maybe wait for a while until you know for sure that he is well and maybe try it again....maybe.