Is all natural Reptilite calcium substrate good or OK for my baby bearded dragon?

Question

i bought it from a reptile anphibian and small animals breeder and i think he reffered to this product as vitmain D dust, but i keep reading sand is terrible for them but i dont think its sand, if anyone has the product also let me know. also i feed him in another container that doesn't have the stuff.

Answer 1

This is a site I visit regularly it is a great forum and has a lot of good information. Beware if you become a member that some of the people in the bearded dragon forum can get a little rude. You can ask questions in the Water Dragon forum on the same site and most people there also know a lot aboue Beardies. So the site is http://www.repticzone.com and here is the link for a discussion and sand for beardies http://www.repticzone.com/forums/BeardedDragons-General/messages/1313399.html

Answer 2

NO. Do not use calci sand or play sand with bearded dragons. They will eat some of it when they pick up their food and it can cause impactions. Some people go years without problems, but most will have an impaction. It is one of the most common things we see in reptiles at the vets where I'm a CVT. Use reptile carpet, paper towels, Non adhesive (no glue on the back) shelf liner, newspapers. It's not worth the risk. Check out www.reptilerooms.com and click on the reptile forums link on the left. Go to Bearded Dragons and read the care sheets at the top. Good luck!

Answer 3

Calcium sand substrates are alright just as long as the lizard that is on the substrate is healthy, large and has a good diet. I've known people for years who have kept their pets on this substrate without any problems. However...
Sickly and stressed animals will have a problem in properly digesting it. It will often clog up their intestines and impact. This is why I prefer not to use it and I'll list some reasons why not to use calcium sand.

I. It is expensive. Not sure where you buy your sand from but most pet stores will charge you between $10-20 for a 5lb bag of it. This isn't a good price and you may have to spend $40-50 to fill a 55 gallon tank.

II. Not a good source for calcium. A reptile should be getting it's calcium from it's diet; not it's substrate. Not only did nature not intend this but too much calcium can be hazardous to your animal's health. With the food you offer your pet you can at least moniter and control how much it is receiving.

III. Discourages cleaning. Since it is often so expensive people are more likely to not clean it out in order to save money.

Pool filter sand works much better. Unlike calcium sand a reptile's body has no problem passing out pool filter sand because each grain is round, smooth and not rough. And unlike calcium sand it is even cheaper; you can find a 25lb bag of pool filter sand at your local hardware store for about $5-7 US dollars.

Answer 4

Its one of those personal choice things, I've had it recommended by several shops, but from personal experience found it caused impaction as the others say, its general worth as a calcium provider is also subject to criticism as absorption of the stuff isn't as simple as the shops will say, of course it looks pretty don't it which is why i think they try to foist it onto us. I've managed to find some very fine gravel which is a little to big to be picked up by accident and doesn't clump when wet but is fine enough not to cause any problems for the BD's when walking.

Answer 5

My brother just gets it right off the shelf and has been doing so for his bearded dragon for about 4 years and it has NEVER gotten sick. Soo i would say Yes

I hope this helped
-Eric

Answer 6

it is easy to accidentally ingest and can cause impaction. if you feed your dragon outside of its cage (not likely) then probably not.

Answer 7

nomatter what, if you dont know if its sand dont use it, it may cause impaction, use paper towel it is safer for your beardie