INFORMATION CONCERNING SUBSTRATES
FOR BEARDED DRAGONS (Pogona vitticeps)
BY BILL MEARS

There are substrates that are good to use and some that should be avoided at all costs. I don't care what the pet store has told you is OK for your beardie - the bad ones I mention below are BAD and MUST be avoided. Even if you've been using one with no problems so far, that just means you've been lucky. I get letters all the time from people who have followed the wrong advice from a pet store and have a baby dying from impaction etc. Some can be saved, but most will not survive an impaction. The best article online for trying to help a baby pass an impaction is on here:
Impaction in Bearded Dragons

Good Substrates

• Newspaper. Double check what kind of ink your local newspaper uses- most use soy-based inks (good)
• Paper Towels. This is a good idea for very young or just arrived in your home dragons. It allows you to change out as soon as they go and see that they are going normally.
• Non Adhesive Shelf Liner. Can be used by itself or with Paper Towels, carpet or a combo of them. Wipes up easily and has become the most popular in use for young dragons. Many owners are using this then adding the carpet or paper towels as they grow older, including a sand box or pit for adults.
• Kitchen Towel. This is a great substrate for babies
• Washed Play Sand. Once your BD reaches 10" you can safely put it onto particulate substrate- just make sure the brand of play sand is not too dusty - that's why you should get washed
• Rabbit Pellets. Several reputable Breeders use this as a substrate. It's essential that you remove faeces as soon as possible if you are choosing this. Damp pellets can create alpha toxins and bacteria
• CareFresh. Some Breeders, including Ronnie Buck, AB Herps have experienced good results with this
• Sand/Peat or Sand/Soil mixture---more diggable and seemingly more like their native soil than pure sand is, although I personally keep the sand dry so diggability is not an issue. Make sure that the soil is clean- I recommend baking it first.

BAD Substrates

The following are bad for one main reason - impaction. A lot of stores may try and tell you that they are suitable, they may even be using them themselves, but they are wrong. Each of the following have proven to cause impaction and death to Bearded Dragons (as well as other reptiles) and should be avoided like the plague.

• Corn Cob. It's hard to pick which of the following is worst but I think this one is it! Not only an impaction substrate, but one that harbors fungus and bacteria
• Walnut Shell. It looks harmless enough, but the edges are very sharp and it could kill your dragon very easily. If it does pass through when ingested, it is often trapped in the vent area
• CalciSand. The problem with this product is twofold. First, they like the flavour of it and may eat it if they are lacking adequate calcium in their diet. That would be fine, except all test show that it is not digestible, no matter what the product states and Second, it can clump and form an indigestible bolus in their digestive tract. This often leads to a paralysis and can cause death
• Vita-Sand. even though this is made by ZooMed (for whom I have a high regard) it's totally inappropriate for beardies for the same reason as CalciSand. It's a shame they advertize these for reptiles and so many people have lost their pets to its use.
• Repti Bark is also a no no - it is very fibrous and could easily end up causing impaction and has been known to end up lodged in the vent
• Any of the wood shavings like cedar or pine should also be avoided - cedar had dangerous aromatic oils and pine can get impacted if ingested
• Original Lizard Litter made from the kenfa tree and Jungle Blend or something like that. It's real fibrous and also can cause impactions. It may be the same thing that claims to be made of 100% renewable resource coconut fibers (pulverized), and "exists as an alternative and digestive material to peat moss, vermiculite, sand and soil". Frankly I doubt the digestibility claim- especially for Bearded Dragons, which have short digestive tracts

Good luck! Bill Mears