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For those who use Play sand

B

Bacula

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I just got an adult beardie she is about 1 1/2 yrs she is 15" long and 410g. I had to get her she was in a cage with an aggressive cage mate Male. She is missing about im guessing about 3 to 4" of her tail missing 2 left toes and one right toe and she had some sort of blue paint on her. the blue popped out when i got her home and gave her a bath. I have her in a proper set up but i have paper towels for a temp substrate. I picked up some play sand and have read it should be rinsed out and big chuncks taken out. I was looking for some tips on how to accomplish this. I have 2 babies in their cages and will eventually be doing the same for them when they get a little bigger. My female is 10" and 51g not sure if she would be classified as a baby still or an juvenile. My male is in early shed he is 10 3/4" and 50g. Any tips will help thanks. They all have a UVB 10 tube light and a basking spot ranging between 100 and 105 range with on the cool side at about 75
 
I will check but im sure it is not washed. It does look like it is dusty and that is what im concerned about. I have read that the dust can cause them some problems.
 
GO TO HOME DEPOT ITS ONLY ABOUT $3 FOR 50LBS I USE IT ALL THE TIME ITS CALLED QUIKRETE PLAYSAND ITS VERY FINE AND NO CLUMPS AT ALL NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH IT EVEN WITH THE YOUNGER DRAGONS :thumbsup:
 
Cool thanks for the advise. what is the cost for reptisand if anyone know? Also how beep or how much coverage do you put down?
 
The sand at Home Depot is way cheaper then Reptisand. I'v used both before and the cost of reptisand is more then 3 times more expensive.

I'v also tried alfalfa pellets that didnt last long. Other have tried crushed walnuts aswell. I now have no substrate, I use newspaper and replace it everyday.
 
Alfalfa pellets and ESPECIALLY walnut shells are dangerous,both easily cause impaction.Newspaper is good,easily thrown out and replaced daily.
 
The pellets lasted maybe a week with me. I didn't like it for those same reasons, I saw several of my adults getting one or two in their mouth. I through it out that weekend, plus it smells terrible when wet.

The walnut shells I'v never personaly tried myself. If the alfalfa scared me, walnut shells wasn't going to make me feel any better.

The newspaper so far has been great, i just dont like when roaches go under it then i have to go after them.
 
Bacula said:
I will check but im sure it is not washed. It does look like it is dusty and that is what im concerned about. I have read that the dust can cause them some problems.
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Sand, dusty.? you dont say. Lol get rid of the substrate and go with paper. Its easier to clean, faster to clean, there is NO dust, Doesn't hold the bacteria like the substrates do. Doesnt get ingested like the substrate does.
I use to use substrate until i seen un-eaten super worms coming up from the bottom eating the fecal matter. Then what if the dragon ingest the worm that eats the poo? Its how you overload you dragon with coccidia.
With paper you pull it out wipe the cage surface were the dragon went to the bathroom and replace the paper. Fast clean and effective.
NOT all the mess gets cleaned up when you have substrate. Then the dragon has to live and breath the remains of what didnt get cleaned up properly. Can be un-healthy living conditions for your beardie.
 
dragonluver83 said:
Sand, dusty.? you dont say. Lol get rid of the substrate and go with paper. Its easier to clean, faster to clean, there is NO dust, Doesn't hold the bacteria like the substrates do. Doesnt get ingested like the substrate does.
I use to use substrate until i seen un-eaten super worms coming up from the bottom eating the fecal matter. Then what if the dragon ingest the worm that eats the poo? Its how you overload you dragon with coccidia.
With paper you pull it out wipe the cage surface were the dragon went to the bathroom and replace the paper. Fast clean and effective.
NOT all the mess gets cleaned up when you have substrate. Then the dragon has to live and breath the remains of what didnt get cleaned up properly. Can be un-healthy living conditions for your beardie.
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I totally agree good advice Thomas...:iagree:
 
I agree from the 4 different ways iv attempted to keep my dragons I feel that newspaper has been the best. It doesn't look so pretty but easier to clean.
 
ace9916 said:
I agree from the 4 different ways iv attempted to keep my dragons I feel that newspaper has been the best. It doesn't look so pretty but easier to clean.
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DOESNT look pretty, you got that right brother. BUT its free! if you want something that looks good. You can order pre cut sheets of brown paper that fit to your cage. I know someone that get there paper cut down so two sheets cover most of the cage. and if the dragon goes poo on one paper you can take that out leave the other in and just replace the one smaller sheet instead of having one big sheet of paper!!

I think the place is called "U-line". its on the web. google it or try uline.com
 
The way my cages are made two sheets of newspaper fit perfect side by side with a small over lay.
 
The indented kraft paper from uline is the best. I opted more recently to try the non printed newspaper roll and also a lighter weight non indented brown kraft paper. The newspaper was not as heavy, but you get much more on a roll. The non indented brown is a happy medium.

Most cages are around 2ft in width. They sell a dispenser for the paper that you tear it off of. Like Tom said, just tear in slightly bigger pieces than half the cage to overlap in the middle. You can then only change half if you have to, and the paper will not be too long on the ends cause its overlapped in the middle!

Uline has been great to order from. I started using this paper maybe 8 years ago or so I think.

Sand has its benefits, and is faster to spot clean. I was using it and with a dedicated shop vac, could suck up all my cages in a matter of minutes. But, no matter how much you spot clean you never get it really clean. The only other down side for paper really is that the dragons are more often dirty using paper, because their poop clumps in the sand....on paper it gets tracked all over sometimes. After going back and forth, the paper takes a little more time but is superior I feel.
 
Ok it has not quite been a month now and I can see sand being a problem for adult dragons. I am now going to switch back to using paper towels for my adult and may try the sand gig with my juveniles. My adult female has been digging a spot in the corner of her cage and gets the sand scattered every where and I know poo is getting tracked every where with her. I know she was matted when i got her out of the pet store and am not sure if she is gravid have been checking but not quite sure what I truly need to be checking for. Other than the feel of marbles in her belly. Thanks for the tips with the sand though.
 
Bacula said:
Ok it has not quite been a month now and I can see sand being a problem for adult dragons. I am now going to switch back to using paper towels for my adult and may try the sand gig with my juveniles. My adult female has been digging a spot in the corner of her cage and gets the sand scattered every where and I know poo is getting tracked every where with her. I know she was matted when i got her out of the pet store and am not sure if she is gravid have been checking but not quite sure what I truly need to be checking for. Other than the feel of marbles in her belly. Thanks for the tips with the sand though.
Click to expand...

Take it from me and whats gone on this year don't always rely on the feeling for marbles technic you can't always feel them. But that digging that she is doing is a good indication that she might be ready to lay if she is gravid. She is looking for the right spot to lay them at. You might want to give her a lay bin just to test her.


About using sand for the juvies i wouldn't either. I was just looking at some necropsies done to some juvies who had eaten sand and got impacted from it. you can see the clumps of it. It doesn't always happen might its a possibility. We use paper for all our dragons any age.
 
ace9916 said:
Take it from me and whats gone on this year don't always rely on the feeling for marbles technic you can't always feel them. But that digging that she is doing is a good indication that she might be ready to lay if she is gravid. She is looking for the right spot to lay them at. You might want to give her a lay bin just to test her.


About using sand for the juvies i wouldn't either. I was just looking at some necropsies done to some juvies who had eaten sand and got impacted from it. you can see the clumps of it. It doesn't always happen might its a possibility. We use paper for all our dragons any age.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the heads up i have been looking into types of lay bin material and I'm not sure what to use.
 
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