About this deal
The issue is that it only takes having one problem to regret a poor substrate choice. It’s like people who don’t use their seat belts because they’ve never been in an accident. It’s silly logic. Don’t wait until after you have a crash! Wait, don’t bearded dragons live on sand in the wild? Didn’t we just say to look to Mother Nature for recommendations? Yes, they do, and we did. This is where we decided to take the opinions of our experts over what we see in the wild. Keep in mind that healthy reptiles do not get completely impacted due to accidental ingestion of substrate. As we stated in the beginning, substrate is probably the most hotly contested subject when it comes to raising bearded dragons. Everyone has something to say on the subject. Also, there have been case reports of leos accidentally swallowing pieces of paper while shedding their skin – which could be even more dangerous than a bit of coconut fiber or sphagnum moss.
On the other hand, paper towels look completely unnatural; they will prevent leos from expressing their natural digging behavior, and they do not provide a good grip for adult individuals.What you will read below is based on their years of success in raising happy, healthy, impaction-free bearded dragons. What is substrate? Reptile carpet is a very popular option. It’s inexpensive, attractive, easy to clean, and readily available at most pet stores.
The problem with these is that they are near impossible to clean. A substrate that can’t be cleaned needs to be changed instead. This would be cost-prohibitive as these mats would have to be changed every time your beardie poops. Sure, they can get impacted if they have been ingesting cups of substrate every feeding which is very unlikely. You simply take up the sheet and either clean or replace it with a fresh one , it’s as simple as that. It comes in a roll that you can then cut to the exact size of your terrarium. In this article “ Reasons To Buy Zoo Med Excavator Clay,” you’re going to learn the reasons why you should consider it.
Reason #3 You Can Create Burrows And Terraces For Your Reptile’s Paludarium
Throughout the months, I have written a series of paludarium and reptile-related articles that you might be highly interested in: Eco earth is made from coconut husks. It’s inexpensive, retains heat, and is easily digestible. Eco Earth also has the added benefit of absorbing unpleasant odors and being easy to clean. Ceramic tiles have many pros and cons and it’s going to be up to you as an owner to decide if the pros outweigh the cons. Alfalfa pellets are also dusty. As previously touched upon, dust is not something you want to have flying around in your beardie’s enclosure. It’s a surefire way to cause a respiratory problem. There’s nothing inherently “wrong” with newspaper, but we think of it as the lazy bearded dragon owner’s first choice.
Our vision is to have a varied landscape that provides our bearded dragon with harder clay to scratch around and build in and softer Repti Chips to dig and burrow in. Our enclosure will have several levels and plenty of places for Bacardi to move around, climb and explore. And speaking of unrelenting and fixed, these aren’t the safest or most comfortable surface for your beardie to be walking over, as they are pretty rough and sharp in some spots. Seriously, don’t Since leos are burrowing lizards, they will enjoy the seemingly-natural burrows. Last but not least, the clay-type substrate is something much more similar to their natural habitat than the pure desert sand. Another big plus of excavation clay is that looks and feels like a Bearded Dragons natural habitat and that’s something you should always look for. Using newspaper or similar just isn’t helping your Dragon to feel at home.As a note, you may also find a substrate made from a shredded newspaper. We aren’t a fan of this option as it can retain moisture as well as harbor bacteria and feeder insects. It’s okay for a temporary solution but probably shouldn’t be used as a permanent substrate choice. Terrarium liner Besides, allowing it to dry kind of defeats the entire purpose of having an excavator clay substrate, to begin with. The benefit of the terrarium liner over the reptile carpet is that it won’t snag your dragon’s nails. This makes it a better choice than the carpet, in our opinion. About five or six layers of newspaper will be about right to make this substrate sturdy and absorbent enough. 3. Reptile Carpet While using coconut fiber as a general substrate has its downsides, there is no issue when you use coco as a moist hide substrate. Coco holds moisture well and will not get moldy easily. Leos will gladly dig and even lay eggs in this substrate.
Repti Chips were highly recommended to us by the folks at Curious Creatures in Chicago. They suggested this as the only option they use and recommend. We were skeptical because we had read so many articles online advising against using a loose substrate like Repti Chips. Bearded dragons love to dig and burrow. The substrate you use will end up in their eyes, ears, and lungs on occasion. Ground walnut shells are a terrible choice for these reasons alone. Bark, mulch, and coconut fiber So routinely spraying the excavator clay down with a fine mist will provide it with the humidity it needs to shed. One nice feature of your beardie digging in this harder clay surface is that it will help to keep their nails dulled. This makes them easier to handle and also means you may not have to cut their nails ( see our full article on how to do this here)!
Conclusion
One of the main benefits of Sand Mat is that its coarse nature means it easily keeps your dragon’s nails nice and short as they naturally explore their habitat. It’s also very important when and if your dragon brumates (see our complete brumation guide here ). When they brumate, they do it for anywhere from several weeks to several months. If cut correctly, tile will not present any places for live feeder insects to hide. As discussed above, we don’t recommend feeding your beardie in its enclosure. You don’t want to risk feeders hiding out and later harming your dragon. But if you do, tile is your best choice. There are many things that you need to consider in a substrate such as the level of hygiene it provides, how easy it is to clean, the risk of impaction, does it look at feel like their natural habitat? and in certain circumstances, you also may it to allow your beardie and especially females to dig? While this might seem obvious, it’s important to touch on this question. It’s very clear to us by some people’s choice of a substrate that they really don’t fully understand what substrate is and what its purpose is.