zoomed Zoo Med XR-10 Excavator Clay Substrate, 4.5 Kg

Product Information

For lizards, including leos, slabs with rougher (but not sharp) texture are ideal because they will provide a stable walking surface. Ideally, the sand should be fine or at least a type of sand that does not contain calcium. Other types of sand can be too rough for your blue tongue skink. The ratio is 50:50. Pros Sand particles that are not mixed well may contribute to impaction (unlikely if your BTS isn’t suffering from calcium deficiency) Old newspapers are an even cheaper option than paper towels with many upsides. The paper is usually very absorbent. Also, you are recycling/repurposing, so if you are worried about your environmental impact, newspaper is better than paper towels.

Tile is a versatile option that can mimic the look of natural stone. It is easy to clean and retains heat well. The one thing I would not recommend in any case is using perfumed paper towels. Always go for the ones that are the lowest in chemicals. Naturally bleached (or unbleached) non-perfumed varieties are the best.Also known by several other brand names, calci-sand (short for calcium sand) is possibly the worst substrate option for your bearded dragon. Sand is not a good option in and of itself (see below), but calci-sand is the worst of them.

Please don’t confuse Repti Chips with Repti Bark. Repti Bark is a substrate designed to add humidity to the air of a reptile’s enclosure. A good idea for some reptiles but a terrible idea for bearded dragons! Excavator Clay There are two huge issues here. The first is that bearded dragons cannot digest this stuff! Second is that bearded dragons may feel compelled to eat it because of the calcium. Second, it has been reported that your beardie’s nails can get caught in the carpet itself. Once caught, your bearded dragon may panic and pull at their trapped nail. This, in turn, can cause the nail to be ripped off. Combine those two things together, and you have a recipe for impaction. You can see our full guide on impaction here, but the short version is that you want to avoid it. It can harm and even kill your bearded dragon. Sand of any typeReptile carpet is usually the choice if you want fast clean-ups and easy setups. For the most part, it is fine to use, except blue tongue skinks love to dig and burrow. Tile is also the easiest to clean of all of your substrate options. This is a big part of the reason it is such a popular choice for owners. Remember to disinfect, not just wipe, as eliminating bacteria is vital to the health of your bearded dragon. They can’t dig or burrow in newspaper. It’s slippery and hard for them to get traction on it too. It doesn’t provide a healthy or older bearded dragon any unique benefits. Since leos are burrowing lizards, they will enjoy the seemingly-natural burrows. Last but not least, the clay-type substrate is something much more similar to their natural habitat than the pure desert sand. However, we must recognize that there will always be leo owners who will use sand, for whatever reason. If you are really into keeping your leos on sand despite everything said about this substrate, at least you can get specialized reptile sand. It should be somewhat safer than using regular coarse playground/river sand, or aquarium sand. Other types of substrate to avoid