As cool as excavator clay is, we chose not to use it at this time (although we may give it a go down the road). There are a couple of reasons for this. We feel that this will give our bearded dragon the best possible substrate to live on. We realize that this isn’t what most will be able to do, but we are going to have fun with it! Conclusion

You can also create hollow points along the flat surface that are fairly large and fit your hand-molded clay designs into them, making both your design and the substrate look more natural as if it were pulled straight from the desert. If reptile carpet is something that you like the look for for a substrate then I would recommend you choose Zilla Terrarium Bedding as it’s high quality and treated with a chemical so it reduces odours while not effecting your Bearded Dragon. You will see beardies at your local big-box pet store living on sand. You will see some exotic morphs (bred variants with striking visual characteristics) displayed on colored sand that accentuates the morph’s coloring. You will see some people online insist that sand is the best option because that’s what they live on in the wild. When selecting a substrate for your bearded dragon’s tank, you should choose one of three options: Tile, excavator clay, or ReptiChips. We prefer ReptiChips as they are easier to keep clean and provide a substrate for your bearded dragon to dig in. Using a mix of one or more of these is ideal. Being a more solid substrate, it is safer to offer live feeder insects on as it gives them fewer places to hide. It’s also very easy to clean when your beardie poops said insects out!There are about 12 types of blue tongue skinks and each type requires a different humidity level. This is important to know as the substrate that you will use helps in maintaining humidity or even raising the humidity. Some owners add a bit of substrate on a part of the enclosure covered with reptile carpet (for digging purposes), but blue tongue skinks can easily drag the substrate and make a mess.

There are two huge issues here. The first is that bearded dragons cannot digest this stuff! Second is that bearded dragons may feel compelled to eat it because of the calcium. The first purpose of the substrate is to give your bearded dragon an environment to live in that somewhat closely simulates their home in the wild. As mentioned above, beardies like to bask, climb, dig, burrow, and sometimes lay eggs. The carpet-slate combo sounds like a fine solution to me. Just make sure you wash the carpet regularly – ideally weekly – to avoid bacterial build-up. You can get two carpets and simply swap them because they need some time to dry. Hopefully, this article gives you an idea if you’re contemplating on purchasing the product. If you have anything that you’d like to add about this product, don’t hesitate to let me know. Line the bottom of the enclosure with a layer of paper towels, ensuring they cover the entire surface.We also like that Repti Chips are affordable, have little to no dust (making them unique among other loose substrate options), are easy to change out (a shop vac makes short work of them), and don’t otherwise make a mess. We are happy with our choice of substrate for sure! You can actually buy bags of “red Australian sand” that say “Made in China” in small print on the bottom of the bag! Call me crazy, but I’m guessing that it’s probably not authentic red Australian sand. As we stated in the beginning, substrate is probably the most hotly contested subject when it comes to raising bearded dragons. Everyone has something to say on the subject. Many leo owners go for just one layer of paper towel. Personally, I would settle for two. Do not put too much because too many layers will turn into a paper pulp mush if it gets substantially wet. 2. Newspapers It sounds like it makes sense. That’s probably why so many people still think this is an ideal substrate to use. It’s not!