Is sand safe for bearded dragons? What's the best bedding for them?

This is an excellent question, unfortunately most places that are selling bearded dragon still recommend sand for bedding, which is in my opinion and experience a big misguidance. what you are describing is happening to many bearded dragons, they eat of the sand and after a few years they have a sand impaction in their intestines, in most cases it is very difficult to treat and ends up with them dying. I recommend switching the bedding to something else, there are many options and all of them are better than sand in my eyes.

Although some expert may disagree, as long as Ash isn't ingesting the calcium sand then you can continue to use it. Calcium sand is not the same as play sand which would not be recommended. If you don't want to use calcium sand, consider slate, reptile carpet or even paper towels for easy cleaning.

Bearded dragon owners can also add plants to the habitat, but take care when adding real plants. If a live plant is in the habitat, the bearded dragon might decide to use it as a snack. If the plant is toxic to bearded dragons, your pet could end up very sick, or dead. Artificial plants are the best option since they are easy to clean, never need water, and are very naturalistic. Most pet stores carry a wide variety of artificial plants to choose from. If you decide to use live plants, junipers are one of the most recommended plants to use. Junipers are slow-growing and do not require much water.

Hi Cameron and thank you for your question. I would recommend that you keep using the mat rather than sand exactly because of the concerns you have mentioned. You could get 2 mats and use one while the other is being cleaned. There is no real way of preventing them from swallowing sand.

Echevaria (hen and chicks), Dracaena, Marigold, Boston fern or Bird's Nest fern are safe. Be forewarned though, any plant you put in the viv will be eaten or trampled. You may also have difficulty maintaining proper humidity levels with live plants.

Choose the largest cage your space and budget will allow. At minimum, a 55 gallon enclosure should be considered. Acceptable substrates include slate, reptile carpet, decomposed granite or large gravel. Yes, setting up a bio-active environment for beardies is possible. It will take a bit of research and effort to get it right.

Reptile carpet, paper towels, butcher paper or even slate can be used as a substrate in iguana enclosures. If you choose reptile carpet/turf, be sure there are no strings or loose ends which could snag a toe or limb.