Wondering what the best substrate for your beloved Bearded Dragon is?
There has been an argument rumbling around the internet for years difference of opinions and conflicting evidence can be found on every corner of every reptile website out there. What is the Best Bearded Dragon substrate to use? Well in my personal opinion it's slate tiles and i will tell you why a little later on in this article but for now i wanted to highlight the reasons not to use more common substrates such as Sand or Wood chip.Lets start with Sand. It's what most good Pet Shops recommend and certainly seems the most natural of substrates as Bearded dragons natural habitat is found in the desert landscapes of Australia. I must admit that Sand is very tempting as it looks great on the floor of the vivarium but it has got it's problems. Lets start with the logistics. Sand is heavy and also expensive, replenishing Sand every month or so we soon add up. One thing that is often overlooked is how irritating Sand is in the home, it gets stuck to everything and most annoyingly gets stuck in the runners of the Glass doors making a horrible scraping sound when you open and close them.
Sand also brings it's own Health Complications, Bearded Dragons by nature are very messy eaters, They jump around burying their head in the Sand if needed to catch their food and this can lead to them digesting the Sand as well as the live food. Digesting the Sand can lead to impaction which means the Beardie gets clogged up inside and unable to poo, This is serious as it can cause death if left untreated. Some Companies who supply the Sand claim their sand is "safe to eat" and even enriched with Calcium to help keep your Beardie Healthy. This may well be true but i would rather not take the risk.
My other concern about Sand is the vast visual difference between a dragon that is kept on Sand and one that isn't. If you look at the difference on the belly and tails you will be amazed at how different they look, keeping a Beardie off the Sand certainly looks visually a healthier option. Now the general argument to that comes in the form of the Natural habitat, as i mentioned previously the Bearded Dragons natural surroundings consist of a Sandy floor, but why this is great for a wild Bearded dragon is may not be ideal for a captive bread one. We give our Bearded dragons everything they need Food, Water, Heat, Lighting, Hygiene, Excercise, Medicine you name it, Captive Bread Bearded Dragons get better care in our homes then they do in the wild and generally have a longer life expectation. My point being why put them in potential harm when you have choice?
Moving on to wood chip you find other concerns. Now i used wood chip for some time and the risk of impaction is far slimmer than using Sand due to the chips of wood being bigger than grains of sand. I saw my Bearded Dragon (mr Kipling) accidentally put a wood chip in his mouth on many occasions but luckily spat it straight out, he seemed to know not to swallow it. However if he did swallow the wood chips the pieces are so big that the impaction possibility will be much more probable.
Wood chips are also expensive and need to be stored somewhere. The downsides to both Sand and Wood chips is that they are also harder to clean and need cleaning regularly. Other solutions i have seen come in the form of Kitchen roll which will cost a fortune and Reptile Carpet which i personally have never tried so can't comment on it. In theory it could be good and a lot safer to use then Wood chips or Sand.
So let's take a look at Slate tiles my personal choice for my Beardie. Using slates tiles brings lots of benefits. Number one, you buy them once and never need to replenish them. The are super easy to clean, a quick wipe down with some Reptile safe disinfectant every couple of days is generally all you need. Number three is particularly good, because using Slate tiles in your Vivarium saves you money. How? Simply slate holds the heat more which is healthy for your Bearded Dragon and means the vivarium holds the heat for longer meaning your Heat Lamp spends less time on burning a whole on your wallet. Number 4 is the impaction risk is more or less non existent meaning you have one less thing to worry about when caring for your dragon.
In conclusion i'm sure not everyone will agree with my above views and the interesting thing about Bearded Dragons is they all behave differently. Go with your own experience but closely monitor your dragon when changing the substrate to make sure you keep them safe and healthy. If your looking for the perfect substrate then give up as it don't exist, but for me slate tiles is as close as your going to get.
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| Mr Kipling helped write this Article! |
