Calcium sand?!

[atticusandmae]

I've had beardies on calcium sand (vita-sand) before and they were absolutely fine. I was told by someone the calcium dissovles if it's ingested so impaction risk is low.

HOWEVER, lots of people on here say this isn't true.

What's up with the sand?

 

[Canicke]

welcome. many beardies do ok on any sand. lots dont. i generally recommend not using sand or wood chips. newspaper (although the ink may get your beardies black) paper towels, tile, repti carpet are all better choices.

 

[Hdrydr31]

I know that if they ingest enough of it over time they can have health issues from over dosing of calcium

 

[PatsyB]

Yes, the calcium sand is bad it's like laying on ground up TUMS. Over time ingesting it is going to neutralize the stomach acids and cause all sorts of problems. Not to mention sand of any time is unsanitary. No matter how fast you clean up poop, the liquid will still seep into the sand and can cause bacterial skin infections.

 

[ashb41685]

My local pet store suggested sand and that's what my baby is used too....I've had no issues.

 

[CiriTheBeardie]

Some people will say sand and other loose substrates are okay, and in reality, you might be okay. BUT there is a chance that your beardie will be one of those who do not do well on it! So it is generally advised to not use sand or loose substrate at all. Sand and other loose substrates can be easily eaten by bearded dragons, especially since they lick to explore. Depending on their food dish or how they are fed, they may accidentally ingest some sand while trying to eat their food. This will eventually lead to impaction, which may need surgery to fix if caught in time, or may lead to death if not caught. Calcium sand is arguably even worse than regular sand because reptiles will WANT to eat it due to the calcium mixed in. If they have a calcium deficiency, they’ll want to eat the sand since it has a source of calcium. Not only will this again cause impaction, but too much calcium can cause the stomach acids to become neutralized, making it harder for them to digest food... which can again lead to impaction. There’s a ton of other much better substrates out there that are safer, cleaner, and cheaper. Tile, self-adhesive shelf liner, or even paper towels/newspaper would be better options. I personally use shelf line, but would soon like to do half tile half liner for a variety of textures and surfaces. Here’s a great video by a reptile owner on YouTube that always give great info. She talks about calcium sand in the first couple minutes: