Sand

[bouncer36]

Hi right now I have scarlett and jessie on tile thinking about child playsand lately. Thinking about changing them to that. What is the pros and cons. I feed them crickets and roaches which will bury themself into sand. Jessie is 17 inches long and scarlett is 12 1/2 inches long what do you think?

 

[river-7]

Hi: bouncer 36; I have read that they should be 9-1/2 inches for sand but there are some con's to it and maybe wait for more experienced members to come on lol-sorry could not be of any more help-but the older members will know-bella-aka-river

 

[joshjack90]

i keep my larger beardies on sand, over 15", and they seem t do fine on it and love that they can dig in it. There are so many things online about impaction and saying they will eat the sand and die... Mine have never eaten sand. I dont feed them on the sand. Take them out of their cage to feed them and they will do fine. Been on sand for years with no problem.

If you decide to go this rout then i reccomend changing all the sand out with new sand every few months to keep the smell down and to keep it clean.

 

[Aleena]

I tried sifted childrens play sand for a little while, problem is I couldn't quit sneezing! Darned allergies and dust... the dragons loved it and it's perfectly safe for adult dragons as long as they're well hydrated and husbandry is kept up to par.

 

[bouncer36]

Kinda wonder if it will brother my allergies am allergic to dustmites and dogs I have asthma my son has asthma too but cats is his trigger

 

[Lemonpie]

If you have them on tile why switch to something harder to clean? I use tile and love it! It retains some heat so my beardie can warm his belly in more places in his enclosure. Any particular reason why you want to change?

 

[Germ]

I love how people that have never used sand, keep saying that it is hard to clean. Sand is the easiest substrate to maintain in my opinion. If you are using children's washed play sand that has been strained, it is also perfectly safe to feed in the enclosure, providing your BD is 10+".

@Bouncer36 - Crickets won't burrow, but you are right about the roaches & will likely have to feed outside the enclosure if using sand & feeding roaches.

 

[bouncer36]

If you have them on tile why switch to something harder to clean? I use tile and love it! It retains some heat so my beardie can warm his belly in more places in his enclosure. Any particular reason why you want to change?

No just thought I might change it won't be anytime soon. I don't know if I'm going to change it or not

 

[Pat B]

I changed from tile to sand and my beardie loved it....but he is now brumating. It is very easy to clean and I don't think sand has a lot of dust as long as you don't play in it. I changed to sand because I felt it was more of a beardie natural habitat. However, if there are allergies and asthma....personally....I wouldn't change. Why make yourself miserable when your beardie is happy with the tile??

 

[bouncer36]

Ok I don't think I'm going to change to sand but going different tile size the one I have in jessie's tank doesn't fit correctly

 

[Mungi's Buddha]

We've kept Mungi on sand without issue for a very long time and I have to agree with Germ in that it is by far the easiest substrate to keep clean. I keep a small sifter hanging on the side of his light rack an do a quick sift in the mornings when I bring him his breakfast salad and later in the day again. Literally a couple of minutes a day and it's good to go and he does enjoy digging in greatly.

We have decided however that we are going back to slate tiles though since we have changed over to feeding the Dubia roaches because of the burrowing thing..I thought I had a good idea when I tried a large slick sided dish to feed them out of but that was bust because I hadn't figured on Mungi snatching the roaches in a frenzy and scattering them outside the dish like he did..LOL...SMH..I think it confused him too cause he look around like "Where did they go??"..Tiles are cut to size and the sand is going tomorrow at least for awhile.

BTW...found out tonight that LOWES at least for now will cut the tiles for you if needed and at no extra charge. All you have to do is pick your tile and give them the measurements..Home Depot will not.
ENJOY!!

 

[Chris Baez Jr.]

BTW...found out tonight that LOWES at least for now will cut the tiles for you if needed and at no extra charge. All you have to do is pick your tile and give them the measurements..Home Depot will not.
ENJOY!!

Great news. They used to charge, but it was a minimum charge, like a few cents a cut.

I agree that sand is the easiest substrate to clean. Thought I rather stick with tiles myself.

 

[LunaLupus]

Interesting with the Dubias. I feed both beardies Dubias, and I haven't had a burrower yet. Of course Rocky and Ang take about 2min to eat all their roaches so that could have something to do with it. lol