ImPaCtiOn!?

Hey Everyone!!

Our Dragons are now 5 months old and over 14 inches long. Since we aquired them, we have been feeding them seperately and in a plastic bin so they will not become impacted with the sand. Now that they have reached this size, is it okay to let them feed them in their cages without worry of impaction? We have them on Reptilite currently.
Thanks!!

P.S. We are 1 day away from finishing building thier "condos" and are currently housed in seperate 29 gallon tanks.

In my opinion, I think it's pretty safe to start feeding them in the enclosure. The risk of impaction is very low in a 12"-14" dragon.

Although I would be interested to hear other opinions on this matter. I'm thinking about switching substrates in the near future.

My opinion is that you should never use any particulate substrate. Not necessarily because of impaction risk either although it is a risk at any age and much higher in younger/smaller beardies. My main argument against particulate substrates is that people never get them clean. You can scoop out the solid fecal matter but the liquids and the solid matter that gets spread around stay in there until you completely change out the substrate, and how often do you actually do that? This effectively leave your beardie living in a cesspool of its own crap, bacteria, natural parasites, etc. A solid substrate on the other hand (shelfliner, newspaper, tile, etc.) can easily be spot cleaned and wiped down with a disinfectant (chlorine water, ammonia, novalsan, etc.) and you know it's clean. There is also no chance of impaction from the substrate.

I meant to post this part also but couldn't find the reference info at the time. For further info on particulate substrates refer to

REPTILE MEDICINE and SURGERY written by Douglas R. Mader, M.S., D.V.M. and the American Board of Veterinary Pracitioners (CA) (published on 11/28/2005)

We've been openly against particulate substrates for years, now the veterinary community is as well.

Originally Posted by heartmountain

I meant to post this part also but couldn't find the reference info at the time. For further info on particulate substrates refer to

REPTILE MEDICINE and SURGERY written by Douglas R. Mader, M.S., D.V.M. and the American Board of Veterinary Pracitioners (CA) (published on 11/28/2005)

We've been openly against particulate substrates for years, now the veterinary community is as well.

Thanks for the reference, Sean. I'll have to look more into it but I'm pretty sure my mind is made up. I'm leaning more and more torwards axing the sand and moving to using tile in my new enclosures.

If you are going to use tile, get one with a baked on glaze to seal it. It makes it easier to clean and a nonpourus substance is less likely to hold bacteria.

We have been using bare bottom vision cages for over a year now (ussed to use sand) and as long as you stay on top of it, it is easier to keep clean.

Originally Posted by beardiedragon

If you are going to use tile, get one with a baked on glaze to seal it. It makes it easier to clean and a nonpourus substance is less likely to hold bacteria.

We have been using bare bottom vision cages for over a year now (ussed to use sand) and as long as you stay on top of it, it is easier to keep clean.

Thanks for the tip, Bennett.