Substrate?

[Dylan820]

Hello everybody, this is my first post on this site. I have a 14 inch male (I think) bearded dragon who has been living in a 20 gallon tank with reptile carpet. I want to switch him to a different substrate because the reptile carpet isn’t working out and won’t fit in his new tank (~25 gallons). I am thinking about using either sand or tile. I got some quikrete playsand, sifted through it, and washed it, but I am still not sure if that is the best way to go. I am also considering tile and having a sandbox for about 1/3 of his tank for him to dig in. Advice? Any replies are helpful. Thanks!

 

[Hdrydr31]

Welcome to the forum.. I would strongly advise not to use any loose substrate because they will constantly lick their environment as that is how they learn where they are and while doing so over time they keep ingesting loose sand which will lead to impaction issues..
Highly urge ceramic tiles as a choice as it can also help with the nails...
Feel free to check out the links below several of our comments as we have put together lots of info for new comers.

 

[PatsyB]

Keep in mind that dragons need floor space. We are not filling in their tanks with water so gallon size is totally irrelevant with them. You want them to be in a tank that is at least as long as 2x their body length and as tall as their body length. An average adult is 18" so a 36x18x18 tank would be the bare minimum for an adult dragon.