IMPORTANT BEARDED DRAGON CAGE SUBSTRATE ISSUES

I have had many phone calls and email inquires regarding substrate issues, some involving families in a serious state of "crisis" when they discover their dragon suffering and struggling to either breathe or regurgitate after ingesting their substrate. Many of these "crisis calls" end up with broken hearts, both mine and the family involved.

I decided to dedicate a seperate webpage for SUBSTRATE issues.

We raise all our hatchlings and juveniles on paper towels.

We recommend that once your dragon is over 12" in length from nose to tail tip then it is at a much safer size to move to another item to live on. The reason we say to wait until they are larger is because then their intestinal tract has also grown and developed into a larger organ. This makes it less likely for a substrate impaction to occur. Of course, there are always risks of impaction with anything ingested by a bearded dragon especially improper sized feeders or a large piece of substrate.

The best perfectly safe, although seemingly boring, way to house your dragon would be on newspaper. This is very messy and the ink gets all over your dragon. You can also purchase the "end rolls" of unprinted newspaper from a newpaper printer very very cheap and they last a long time. Another paper alternative is butcher paper or just stay with the paper towels.

Sand substrate is used by many bearded dragon owners or breeders. We just recommend that you be selective with the type of sand you choose, make sure it does not have any added dyes that will come off on your dragon ( we have seen many pink dragons LOL). Particle size is important depending on the age of your dragon or size of your dragon. Non-silica based playsand (the cheap way to go) re-screened is fine for adult dragons but the particles in this sand are larger and may not be passed as easily through the digestive system of a younger dragon. That is why we recommend the finer grain sands made by the reptile manufacturers. We have recommended the Zoo Med Repti-Sand for years for our customers and we have heard good things from them. Yes, these are more expensive because they are "designer sand" but for the safety of your dragon it is worth the expense. Although the finer sand is a bit dustier, it is safer. You just have to dust the room more often.

As professional breeders we house our adult dragons on several different substrates depending on the individual dragon's behavior and eating styles. We use paper towels, unprinted newspaper, and re-screened non-silca based playsand. Make sure your playsand is NON SILICA BASED. Some play sands are silica based which is finely ground up particles that glass is made from. It should say on the label whether it is Silica Based or Non-Silica Based.

For years we have recommended (it is posted in our Care Sheet information) that if you are going to use a sand substrate the best one to use is the ZooMed Repti-Sand because it is one of the finest grain sands we have seen on the market and therefore less likely to cause an impaction, and if ingested more likely to pass through your dragon's intestinal track because of the smaller particle size. I believe that ExoTerra also makes the same very fine grain sand in an all natural no dyes and no additives that would be a safe sand.

We previously used the ZooMed Repti-Sand on our adult dragons without any problems. We like this product because it is all natural, no dyes, no additives and is very very fine. We liked to mix the red with the white to make a nice terra cotta color which contrasts well with your calcium dusted crickets. That way your dragon is not hunting white crickets on white sand.

We do not believe in using any sands marketed by anyone as a "calci-sand" that has calcium added to it. Your dragon should only be getting it's calcium from its food sources via calcium rich greens and the calcium supplement dust on the crickets. A dragon should not eat its substrate so therefore there is no need to have any calcium added to it.

We do not recommend using rabbit pellets as a substrate as these can harbor mold and bacteria.

We do not recommend using any of the "newest' substrate on the market now that is clay based. These clay based products are marketed as being designed to be molded and sculpted into caves and cliffs. The pictures on the packaging make it look very appealing, but unless you are an artist it is difficult to re-create the same scene and from other bearded dragon owners comments not an easy product to work with. It is also more likely to cause an impaction. If you need a hide or cliffs in your setup stick with resin based hides that are easy to clean and slabs of slate that are easy to clean.

We do not recommend using ground walnut shells or lizard litters for two reasons. They are not digestable even if the package says so, can you imagine eating a ground up walnut shell, it would surely choke you. The second reason is that we have seen an adult dragon that was raised on the lizard litter ( the same problem this dragon had can also be caused by the ground walnut shells). This dragon did not know how to walk. Because he had been raised on the lizard litter when he would try to walk his feet would slide out from under him because the particles would slide on the glass bottom of the cage. He lost all motor function in his legs and wiggled around on his belly to get around. When we saw him as a full grown adult and was placed on a firm surface he was never able to walk again. He was only able to slither around on his belly. Both ground up walnut shells and lizard litters can cause an impaction.

We do know a breeder that uses wheat bran very successfully. This must be kept clean and or replaced as needed just like any other substrate. If your dragon was to ingest the wheat bran it would be perfectly harmless and digestable.

Some bearded dragon owners have successfully used tile, plastic shelf liner, slate or the peel and stick tiles. These would be safe ways to avoid impaction but also must be cleaned very frequently when you notice your dragon has had a bowel movement because there is nothing to aborb the fecal material. Good hygeine is highly needed if using one of these methods to avoid having your dragon slipping and sliding around in excrement. These methods are easy to clean and disinfect so it is a safe way to house your dragon to prevent impaction but you must be diligent about cleanliness.

For those that wish to build there own enclosure out of wood just know that the flooring and walls of your enclosure can not be just plain wood. This will absorb the fecal material and harbor bacteria and parasites. You must put a solid non-poreous surface on the floor and walls of your enclosure.

You can order many of your reptile supplies through an on-line reptile supplier such as Big Apple Herpetological aka Big Apple Pet Supply at www.bigappleherp.com . Ordering your supplies on line is much cheaper than going to a local retail pet store. We have an arrangement with Big Apply Pet Supply where you can get a 10% discount on your FIRST TIME ORDER. When placing your order and filling out the order form at the end just before you confirm your order there is a field to put in the discount code. Just type in GEORIGADRAGONS (all one word run together) to get your 10% off your first time purchase with Big Apple.

Again, we have an arrangement set up with Big Apple Herpetological aka Big Apple Pet Supply for our customers. For all time "first time purchases" you will receive a 10% discount coupon on the total of your purchase. You just have to use the code "GeorgiaDragons" in the coupon code box when placing your order. PLEASE take advantage of this discount.it will help you off- set your shipping costs.

Sincerely,

Georgia Bearded Dragons