This also performs the very important task of odor control. Poop on tile (another of our preferred substrate options) fills the entire enclosure with odor for a long period of time. Not so with Repti Chips. First, we didn’t want to have to pull out and wash the carpet when it was soiled. Our beardie can poop a couple of times a week, and we didn’t want to have to mess with changing out the carpet that often. You’re probably curious about the ingredients put together to create the clay. Well – the product is natural with no added colors, chemicals, or any dye.

If you are worried about deforestation and habitat destruction, there are quite options to get “tree-less” paper towels, like Caboo Tree Free Bamboo Paper Towels ». 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. And if you prefer natural materials, an interesting alternative to plastics to consider are reptile carpets/terrarium liner made out of natural coconut fiber, like this Hamiledyi Reptile Carpet ». Beardies are pretty low maintenance as it is. We don’t mind adding just a touch of work to our day to make sure we have a substrate our dragon can thrive on. There’s just no thriving on newspaper.We can think of no more hotly debated topic in the world of bearded dragons than finding the best substrate. Everyone has a firmly held opinion. The problem is that, on the whole, those views are based solely on one person’s experience. Also, you can use towels made out of recycled paper, like the Seventh Generation Unbleached Paper Towels ». 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. We know that some of the above options may have been recommended to you. We can easily Google our way to multiple people who strongly recommend one or more of the above options. Those people will tell you how they’ve never had a problem with them, and they work great. They also won’t allow your Dragon to dig and as this is a natural behaviour it’s always recommended whenever possible especially in gravid females.

If reptile carpet is something that you like the look for for a substrate then I would recommend you choose Zilla Terrarium Bedding as it’s high quality and treated with a chemical so it reduces odours while not effecting your Bearded Dragon. We also like that Repti Chips are affordable, have little to no dust (making them unique among other loose substrate options), are easy to change out (a shop vac makes short work of them), and don’t otherwise make a mess. We are happy with our choice of substrate for sure! Still, my experience is just one out of many, and the potential hazards of coconut coir must be recognized. Second, while bearded dragons can dig in clay, it’s not the same thing as burrowing in a looser substrate like Repti Chips. We wanted Bacardi to be able to easily dig and bury herself (which she does quite often!), and clay didn’t provide that opportunity. Although different in texture, sphagnum moss has similar properties like coconut coir. It is a bit more coarse and stringy than coconut fiber. Perhaps that is the reason that moss has a slightly higher impaction potential than coco. In the leo community, there have been occasional reports of sphagnum moss ingestion by the lizards – some of them leading to impaction. Still, sphagnum moss is generally considered a safe moist hide substrate.Similar to reptile carpet but a bit softer with more give, this type of liner is a very nice choice in most respects. Some lizards are able to dig helical burrows pretty deep. They can dig as low as 3.6 meters below their environment’s level.

It’s also highly unlikely that your dragon will eat the newspaper. This makes it a very low risk of impaction.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. 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. The clay can be formed into hills, mounds, flat areas, tunnels, or any other terrain you can think of. It holds its shape extremely well. Once it’s in place, it will dry to a hard, clay surface.

On the other hand , impaction is easily prevented with the right substrate and food choices. There is no need for any leo to suffer or die of this terrible health issue just because of the wrong substrate.Sand mat is essentially a thin mat or sheet that has both small and large sand particles fixed to it. Now we come to the options that we, as beardie owners, would and do actually use. After considering all the options available, which comes out on top for us? No. Blue tongue skinks do not need sand. If there is one substrate you should absolutely avoid using for your blue tongue skink, it is definitely sand. Your beardie evolved over thousands of years to live on a very particular type of sand. The red sand of Australia is very fine, has no sharp edges, and presents a moldable material that’s conducive to burrowing, digging, and laying eggs. Are you worry about your excavator clay collapsing after finishing the build? There’s no need to worry!