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Help With Setup

E

EarthUponWater

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First, I'm going to say this post is not about bearded dragons specifically. It's mostly about Common/Red Headed/Rainbow Agamas and I figured seeing as they are in the same family, it would be okay to post here. Their needs are very similar with the exception of diet (Agamas are strictly insectivores).

I'm in the process of building new cages for my four bearded dragons, three leopard geckos, and Agama. I recently received the agama and two of the BDs from a friend of my sister's and the agama was housed with the BDs. Agamas are from Africa and BDs from Australia. Obviously, I do not want to continue to house either the BDs together or the agama with the BDs. There's not much information on agamas, but the one thing I think is accurate is the fact that, like BDs, they are desert-dwelling critters.

That being said, I've read that gravel, orchid bark, and peat moss are okay as substrate. Play sand was also mentioned, but I don't wish to put any of my critters on sand. Currently the leos are on paper towels, and I'm happy to keep them on that, but right now the BDs and the agama are also on it and I do not wish for them to remain on paper towels.

If it were you, what would you put your BDs and agama on? They each require low humidity. The temperature requirements are a little different, with the agama needing a higher basking temperature (from what I understand). Suggestions please?
 
I had a bearded dragon in the past and had him on tiles. I used to work at a pet shop and tried every substrate under the sun. In the end I love tiles the best. They hold heat well. Easy to take out and clean. There is no loose substrate to get all over the place.
For a basking spot take two normal size bricks and a large piece of slate to place ontop. You can leave it like that or if you have a high cage stack two more bricks ontop to raise it up. One trip to lowes or home depot and your cage is all set.
 
I'm not sure how I feel about tiles just yet to be honest. I think that they don't offer all I want. I was thinking about wetting down play sand or some clay in a pan, cutting it into easy to manage bricks, baking them and then sealing them. That way it looks more natural and can give different heights like regular ground, but isn't loose so there isn't a risk of impaction. The only problem is the easy of cleaning, I'm not sure if it will be easy. Also, I'd have to make sure that I can get the slabs to fit well enough together that toes don't get stuck but easy enough for me to lift out of the cage.

Does that make sense?
 
I use tile for my dragons and leo's. It's a pretty tight fit in my tanks. I use a very small flat-head screw driver to "pop" the tiles up and take them out. I use ground up walnut shells to fill in the cracks and to protect the bottom of the tank.
 
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