cage

u have like nothing in ur tank

Can I make a suggestion? Sand as a substrate is really bad for bearded dragons. It causes impaction because they can not digest it and it has killed many baby beardies. I'd suggest switching to something else. right now I'm just using paper towels, but you can also use outdoor carpeting, or indoor carpeting (singe the egdes so they can't bite material off). You could also use alphalpha pellets or crushed walnut. =)

i agree

Crushed walnut is even worse.... Sand is fine for adult beardies

You wouldn't believe how much sand you will see get pumped out of beardies stomachs--even adults. I wouldn't say crushed walnut is worse. And I would suggest not using sand for even the adult beardies. It still causes impaction.

Yeah, you definately need more and a bigger tank. Walnut shells could be alright, but, have also been known to cause problems with impaction. The best way to go and safest is like bone aid sand or calci-sand(same thing). Its completely digestable and quite healthy considering the calcium levels it gives. The stuff looks and feels just like regular sand and you can get the stuff in many different colors. I use black, its great for absorbing the heat from your bulbs and looks extremely cool.

Actually, on a scale from one to ten (ten being the best), I'd rate sand between a 3 and 9 depending on the dragon (some will ingest it some won't). calci sand and anything made from walnut shells land somewhere between 1 and 2. It has been proven that both are much worse for a dragon than sand. Sand, while not digestable, can be passed, where as if the dragon passes the walnut shell stuff, it will cut up it's delicate insides. in theory, calci sand is good, but if it ingests it, it actually forms together into a hardened blockage, not to mention it is very easy for the dragon to OD on calcium when it's literally sitting on it.

oops, I got crushed walnut comfused with wheat bran somehow. Wheat bran is good to use. I would never use crushed walnut OR calci sand (or any other type of sand) with my beardie. Just my personal opinion. I'm not taking chances.

The safest substrate for baby dragons is definately paper towel or newspaper. As ryan said the calci sand and boneaid substrats tend to clump more. These options are also a much heavier grain with sharper edges making impaction more likely. However dragons cannot OD on calcium,Thier bodies absorb what they need and expell the rest.Adults can be kept on a really fine grain sand or aspen bedding. On indoor setups I prefer the aspen because it absorbes mosture better its light in color and is very easy to keep clean. Usually if an animal gets it in its mouth the pieces are large enough for them to spit out. Unless they eat a mouthfull it should pass with no problem.Do not use walnut,alfafa pellets or carpet. None of these are very sanitary and add to the overall humidity, not to mention they are dark in color,dark colors in the encolsure absorb light. Less light for the animal means less color on the animal. Bottom line there is no PERFECT substrate, anything can be ingested and cause problems, The best way to prevent is to offer food in a dish that will not allow them to miss the prey and get substrate.

regular sand is not a good thing however if you use any brand of calci-sand in is acually good for them

Calci sand is always bad. Studies have shown that it is actually much easier for them to get impacted on it, and the fact that they like to eat it adds to it. I'm still unsure about whether or not they can overdose on the calcium. I've heard that they can, but I've never heard of it actually happening. But the bottom line is, if they get tiny bits of sand, they can pass it relatively easily (over a week I think it's all out of their system). If they get calcium sand in them, it forms into a block that can cause impaction right away. Add this to the fact that they like the taste and there's a pretty big problem. If you're going to use any type of calcium substrate (which I highly suggest you don't) get zoo med's vita sand. It's got much smaller grains, the colors won't turn your reptiles colors, and zoo med actually recognizes on the packaging that the reptile can still become impacted from it. I don't really care what the sand's made out of is long as it has those properties I just listed, and as long as I don't feed my beardie on it or see him licking it or eating it regularly. So basically I just found it easier to buy a 50 pound bag of sterilized playsand for $5, as upposed to a 5 pound bag of sand that is more dangerous for $5. It's basically all your choice, but you can't just listen to the hype made by the company, you have to do a little research on the substrate.