beardie substrate suggestions??

[Stacey5089]

So I have 3 bearded dragons 2 are kept in sand and it works fine my first beardie has had sand for years but she is a clean lizard so its no problem but the one that is not in sand has a new enclosure and I realy dont know what substrate to use I dont want sand because she is realy messy ive tried her with woodchip and I dont like that I have also tried bark that was actually worse than the sand any suggestions people??

 

[fluxlizard]

I've used sand, newspaper, wheat bran, rolled oats, bird seed (small seeds like for uromastyx), yard dirt (in-ground caging outdoors in the summer), alfalfa pellets. Mostly I use orchard grass hay for many years for my beardies. My kids use newspaper in the house. Not sure if I'd like the house smelling like hay. I like hay because they can dig into it, eat it and it has a nice smell (in my lizard building- maybe not my living room). But if it gets wet, it has to dry quickly or be replaced or will mold. I put newspaper under a few inches of hay. It is very cheap too- huge bale for $3-$10 depending on when and where I buy it. Wheat and oats had similar problems, but look more sandy naturalish and insulated against heat- so beneath the surface it is much cooler.

Many online like to use hard flooring tiles.

 

[Stacey5089]

Well I need it to look as natural as possible so I wouldn't use the newspaper or tiles I know its much cleaner with tiles but it looks so unnatural and I have my chameleons above in a rainforest setup so I want it to blend in with that ill show you a picture of the ones above it so you can see what I mean I cant do it on my phone 2 minutes

 

[misshissingroaches]

I find that the best working and most natural looking substrate is coconut substrate. My beardie Gypsy loves it!!!!!

 

[fluxlizard]

For natural- I forgot there is one other thing I tried that worked pretty well- hard packed dried peat moss. Probably coco fiber can work the same way. Soak the moss or fiber thoroughly, then pack it densly into the bottom of the terrarium, when it dries it dries in a hard mat. Worked OK.

Come to think of it- I may try this again and mix some really clay soil from my yard into it for some of my smaller desert lizards and see how it turns out when it dries...

 

[streetmike84]

I've used sand, newspaper, wheat bran, rolled oats, bird seed (small seeds like for uromastyx), yard dirt (in-ground caging outdoors in the summer), alfalfa pellets. Mostly I use orchard grass hay for many years for my beardies. My kids use newspaper in the house. Not sure if I'd like the house smelling like hay. I like hay because they can dig into it, eat it and it has a nice smell (in my lizard building- maybe not my living room). But if it gets wet, it has to dry quickly or be replaced or will mold. I put newspaper under a few inches of hay. It is very cheap too- huge bale for $3-$10 depending on when and where I buy it. Wheat and oats had similar problems, but look more sandy naturalish and insulated against heat- so beneath the surface it is much cooler.

Many online like to use hard flooring tiles.

fluxlizard i love the way you said lizard building i need one of them in my life unfortunately i live in a 2 bed flat

 

[pigglett79]

The bearded dragon forums I visit all say to use no substrate. Most of them use carpet or tiles. For mine I used stone tiles. It was also very easy to clean.

 

[xraygirl]

The bearded dragon forums I visit all say to use no substrate. Most of them use carpet or tiles. For mine I used stone tiles. It was also very easy to clean.

I agree with pigglett. Everyone I know who has a beardie frowns on loose substrate. I've read lots of horror stories of impacted beardies from sand, coco husk, walnut, etc. To me, (slate) tile has shown to be an excellent choice since it keeps their nails filed down. I've also seen the excavator sand used, where you wet it and shape it and it dries hard... Much like their natural environment since they don't live on a desert sand.

 

[Stacey5089]

Went with orchid bark in the end it looked most natural ill post a pic on enclosures

 

[fluxlizard]

orchid bark is really one of the worst choices for a bearded dragon.

It may look nice, but it consists of large pieces of completely indigestible matter. They are too large to pass through the digestive system. They are easy for a bearded dragon to accidentally pick up and swallow when feeding, and can easily clog the lizard up and kill it.

Also if you are going for natural- take a look online at photos of them in their natural terrain. Most of it looks very similar to southern utah or nevada. Not a forest type environment (orchid bark).

 

[Stacey5089]

orchid bark is really one of the worst choices for a bearded dragon.

It may look nice, but it consists of large pieces of completely indigestible matter. They are too large to pass through the digestive system. They are easy for a bearded dragon to accidentally pick up and swallow when feeding, and can easily clog the lizard up and kill it.

Also if you are going for natural- take a look online at photos of them in their natural terrain. Most of it looks very similar to southern utah or nevada. Not a forest type environment (orchid bark).

I know I didnt want to use bark but if you seen the rest of my setup you would know what I mean I have chameleons on top so I wanted this to blend in with that not a desert setup ill upload the pics now on enclosures check it out and I wouldn't have any problems with her swallowing it she dosent eat in her viv I take her out for feeding everyday