Which substrate for Bearded Dragons?

[Jordycakes]

Hi guys, were currently using play sand as the substrate at the moment. We do have a food bowl in his cage but he tends to drop his food outside the bowl and take in sand. Also, when he tastes around the cage, he takes in sand there, too. I was wondering whether tiles would be a better option, as we have 2 leopard geckos on tiles and they seem to be great for them. (I heard tiles were bad for bearded dragons because of their claws, just wondering if that is true).
Thank you.

 

[RyuuKirin]

Tile is awesome for beardies b/c it helps file down the claws. Ryuu is on slate tiles and she seems to love it... actually so is my leopard gecko. It's easy to clean up, retains heat well, and looks really nice.

 

[acpart]

I also prefer ceramic tiles. Then I have things for Gilgamesh to climb on so he has different textures for his claws,

Aliza

 

[Yamori]

The best an most natural substrates for bearded dragons are sand ie. beach sand, play sand and dessert sand, not colored or calci sand. Or, a mix of sand and coco fiber. It is what they live on in the wild, its safe ,easy to clean, dose not smell and any stains are only temporary. Just make sure to wash sand thoroughly before use to remove dust.

Sand alone dose not cause impaction, bad husbandry and sand causes impaction. Tile and other hard surfaces will lead to foot and nail deformities. I have been keeping reptiles on sand for many years without any issues, a good friend of mine who is a vet as well as a breeder keeps all his many hundreds of reptiles on sand too and hes been breeding reptiles, birds and fish for over 15 years.

Cheers-

Yamori

 

[GeckoCrossing]

The best an most natural substrates for bearded dragons are sand ie. beach sand, play sand and dessert sand, not colored or calci sand. Or, a mix of sand and coco fiber. It is what they live on in the wild, its safe ,easy to clean, dose not smell and any stains are only temporary. Just make sure to wash sand thoroughly before use to remove dust.

That's not true. The most accurate and natural for pogona vitticeps is hard packed dry clay with a thin dusting of sand or dirt, depending on where you look. You can just look at a bearded dragon's feet and see that they haven't evolved to live on just sand. :main_rolleyes:

 

[Yamori]

That's not true. The most accurate and natural for pogona vitticeps is hard packed dry clay with a thin dusting of sand or dirt, depending on where you look. You can just look at a bearded dragon's feet and see that they haven't evolved to live on just sand. :main_rolleyes:

Have you been to Australia? seen the habitat of this species with your own eyes? well i have lived here all my life and have seen the entire range of their distribution. They do not live on clay at all but in their arid habitat its either vast open plains covered in red dirt or desserts covered in sand, for their semi arid habitat which is dry bushland the substrate is usually sand/dirt, mulch and leaf litter which is why in captivity the best choices are either sand or sand and coco fiber mix.