Sand

[Beardies]

Hi everyone,

We have two beardies, and we are wondering when is a good time to start using sand in the enclosure and if there is a better type? Also we think we have a male and a female, when should they be separated?

 

[Josh]

You should probably separate them now. The sooner the better. It's bad news when they start to pick on each other.
As for sand, I would not use it personally. I would go with something easier to clean and something that they can't ingest. Linoleum or slate or tiles work well.

 

[Germ]

As far as separation goes, ASAP. Strained Children's Washed Play Sand is safe to use for BDs greater than 10" in length from nose to tip of tail.

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!!

 

[PatsyB]

I started using washed/sifted/baked children's play sand when my girl was 16".

 

[atochats]

That's one thing that had gone through my mind when I started tong/cup feeding Saffron. I thought when she's (much) older I may want to switch her to appropriate sand substrate because she's a female she may want/need to dig more? I dont want roaches burrowing in before she has a chance to get them.

 

[PatsyB]

That's one thing that had gone through my mind when I started tong/cup feeding Saffron. I thought when she's (much) older I may want to switch her to appropriate sand substrate because she's a female she may want/need to dig more? I dont want roaches burrowing in before she has a chance to get them.

I had a hard time with the decision too but Dexter is lazy and likes to be hand fed so she doesn't eat her crickets off the sand. I've been putting her salad on a paper plate or on the log she likes to sit on and so far haven't had any problems with that.

 

[atochats]

a "cup feed"lol

 

[PatsyB]

LMAO! I love it, this is very similar to what I do with Dexter. I put her crickets in a glass bowl and hold it up for her and she sticks her head in!

 

[atochats]

She recognizes the sound of me shaking them up with the calcium powder in the cup...she'll rush inside and when they're all gone she backs out and just looks at me like..."more please" haha