SnowflakeE
Bearded Dragon Egg
- Messages
- 8
Hello all, I am very interested in studying the behavior of Pogona vitticeps (beardie) so I did a fair amount of research and the substrate that seemed that would encourage the most natural behavior was a bioactive substrate. So I followed many instructions putting in layer of stones, then screen then sand, topsoil, coconut coir then planted a soft cactus and a warm weather fern. I also found a nice tall and flat stone that fits perfectly as a basking rock. I still need to place leaf litter in but am concerned about impaction. Especially because I was hoping to purchase a very young lizard. I hear some people say if the lizard is healthy impaction almost never happens, some actually say that ingestion of sand and other things people blame impaction on are good for the lizards digestive health and that ingestion of said items only causes problems when the lizard doesn't get enough moisture, uvb, and a number of other causes. On the other hand many say that especially for babies impaction is very common and that paper towel or reptile-carpet are the only safe substrates for babies because of their tendency to "swallow the environment" which makes me nervous when I look at my set-up, as rocky and sandy as it is. But don't these animals deal with this environment in nature, doesn't living in sandy dirt among insects most closely reflect the true nature of this creature? I am new to herp care and have never kept any of these cold blooded animals before and information and tips are greatly appreciated, sorry for length. Thanks.
