bearded dragon help

That looks like a nice tank Chris.

Well, it does have a basking light which is good. You will need a basking spot that gets at least 105-110 F. for a beardie. I would recommend picking up a digital heat probe/gun to get accurate temperature readings. How warm the basking spot gets will depend a lot on how close it is from the light. You could always make a fake rock background or use driftwood to accomplish this. You'll also need a fluorescent that puts out UVB rays. Have you thought about what type of substrate you want to use?

fishguychris said:

literally have no idea ive been told tiles

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Ceramic tiles work great. They hold and distribute heat very well and when they get dirty you can just remove and clean them. Sifted play sand is also another substrate you could use. Just stay away from crushed walnut shells and reptile carpet.

Nothing really. If you're using ceramic or slate (not linoleum) tiles they are already safe to use. But as a percausion you can wash them off first before adding them to the tank.

this thread is pretty old but i wanted to comment one the substrate. sand is a horrible choice due to injestion leading to impaction. the BEST substrate is either tile (which im using in my adult beardies tank), or repticarpet (what use for my baby bearded dragon.

allaboutfish said:

this thread is pretty old but i wanted to comment one the substrate. sand is a horrible choice due to injestion leading to impaction. the BEST substrate is either tile (which im using in my adult beardies tank), or repticarpet (what use for my baby bearded dragon.

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That's not entirely true. Yes, you run more risk of the POSSIBLE chance of impaction when you use the wrong sand and have your beardie on a poor diet. A healthy animal can pass sand with no problem. It's when your animal is eating sand to gain nutrients that YOU have not provided it. That's when you run into problems. There's nothing wrong with having an adult BD on play sand (not to be confused with calcium sand which is the bad sand I think you're thinking of). But if you want to play it safe then use ceramic tiles.



Better tell this wild beardie to get out of the sand before he dies!


And a note for you: reptile carpet is awful stuff. It's abrasive, and unnatural. It soaks up the urea from the BD waste and becomes a breeding ground for bacteria. You're better off with tile, newspaper or paper towels.

i wouldnt take the risk with my beardie though maybe if i used the natural sand that i use in my tank, but the man made stuff (Not playsand but calcium sand and alll tthat) has square particles instead of the circular ones that are easier to digest.. if you use sand you must feed in a seperate container so that it doesnt accidentally swallow some. oh and another reason not to use sand is that you must change it out each week bc of bacteria, and with reptile carpet you can wash in with the hose and then stick it in the dryer.

allaboutfish said:

if you use sand you must feed in a seperate container so that it doesnt accidentally swallow some. oh and another reason not to use sand is that you must change it out each week bc of bacteria, and with reptile carpet you can wash in with the hose and then stick it in the dryer.

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I know plenty of people who feed in the same tank and don't have any problems. That's because like I said a healthy animal will pass sand, dirt, organic/inorganic material, whatever it is as long as it is of safe size and nature to pass through the digestive system. Reptiles ingest non-food items all the time in the wild and it passes out just fine. I keep Spiny-tailed Monitors which have very similar care to beardies and they ingest substrate all the time when they are chasing down food and it always comes out safely from the other end.

If you're keeping beardies and you have to change the sand out all the time you're doing something wrong. It's called spot cleaning and it's not that hard. As soon as the dragon poops you clean it out and take a little of the sand around it out too. The tank should be hot with almost no humidity so there really shouldn't be bacteria growing in it. And of course the info on the back of the reptile sand at the pet store tells you to change it ever month......they want you to waste your money and buy more! Of course if you want no risk what so ever you should use ceramic tiles.

Your description is exactly the other reason why you don't want to use reptile carpet. You wash it and dry it and itbecomes more frayed each time. Those little carpet fibers can tear toenails off and cut the circulation off of toes if they get wrapped around. The fibers can also be ingested and cause internal complications.