wood chips arent good for beardies but im not sure about the nail cause mines only a baby

 

I was recommended the wood chippings by the pet shop because they said that they can tell the difference between the chippings and there food. But he said they cant with sand and may eat it.

I just followed what he said because I was new to the reptiles.

 

That nail looks fine, large basking rocks/slate can help to keep nails at appropriate lengths.

 

wood chips are a bad idea tbh, just incase your beardie does happen to swallow a piece. it may get lodged in the gut causing impaction. we keep ours on pelleted straw which is ideal for tortoises and larger lizards and its digestable if it is swallowed as its made from straw! other options are newspaper, kitchen towl, lino, tiles. or a fine grain sand ie play sand. also to help wear the nails down put some slate or rocks into the viv. they dont look to bad atm, dont forget they use there nails to help them climb. hope this helps.

 

Have a look at this

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/lizards/151974-substrates-have-caused-impaction-beardies.html

It will give you a better idea of the pros and cons of substrate choice

 

Just brought 20L of bark yesterday.
I'm going to ring the reptile shop now. I wasn't going to replace the bark until the new background was done but I may have to do it sooner now. I dont want my beardie to end up like those pictures.

 

Most pet shops know nada!!

There are some good ones out there...it's always better to do your own research than trust in what one shop/person says though!

 

You don't just have the option of woodchips or sand, you have Vinyl tiles, rough tiles, slate, newspaper etc. If you're think loose substrates are more natural, they aren't Beardies usually come from arid eroded areas and sometimes grass land.

 

Yep that's right..I use these tiles (I think this is the 100th time I've posted this link, haha!)

Modena White Wall Tile at Focus

 

Hi,
Was holding my dragon today and noticed that his nail was getting slightly curved. I've read before that its best to keep them on sand because it naturally wears the nail down. I havent been doing that, Ive been keeping mine on the wood chippings.
In the next few weeks I will have a home made background that will be covered in sand. I was wondering if I need to do anything about his nail now? I may be over reacting and that may be how the nails are meant to be but I thought I better ask just in case.

Any help would be greatful.

Picture below:

Adam

Hey i wouldnt worry about your beardie's claws, first thing id do is get that hand looked at! looks a bit red to me...:lol2:

 

There are 2 Southern Aquatics...1 in Cadnam, Hampshire and 1 in Poole, Dorset. I suspect you're on about the Cadnam branch, as i know that anyone working in the Poole branch would not of said what you were told. The reptile world is full of differing ideas though.

 

perhaps it would be a good idea to go through your complete set up - lighting, temperatures, heating, basking spot, feeding, supplements, etc.

It does sound like you have been given some poor advice and it might just be worth checking out everything else all at once - poor set ups can cause problems in the long term even if the beardie seems all right at first.

I use textured sandstone effect tiles, they look really good.

if he likes to dig you can give him a small sandpit area rather than having his whole viv covered and feed him on the hard surface:2thumb:

 

perhaps it would be a good idea to go through your complete set up - lighting, temperatures, heating, basking spot, feeding, supplements, etc.
:

Lighting - Uv on around 10-14 hours a day
Heating - About 28-30
Feeding - Veg every day and live food every other. Calcium powder added to every other meal.

Anything wrong with that.
I'm now looking into the tiles or reptile carpet.

 

hi just a quik reply lol,
our beardys claw was like that, he went vets n had right amount took off.
it dint bother him avin a pamperin session lol, it cost bout £8 i think, was just for peace of mind really, not to every1s choice

 

Decided i'm going to get rid of the wood chip.

Building his new cage at the moment, So will incorporate either one of the following into it;
-Tiles? Would you do it just like tileing a floor? Would special grout need to be used?
-Reptile Carpet? Easy to clean? Expensive?
-Sand? For the background im making I have to add sand and then PVA to it. Would it be possible for me to put a layer of sand on the floor then cover it in PVA? Would that work?

Thanks to all who have helped me. I wish you a merry christmas.

 

I have my Beardie on floor tiles which i borrowed from work.....there ideal easy to keep clean and mine are a stone colour so they look pretty good too...Vinyl or lino is fine and you can often find these on carboot sales are get a cheap pack from B&Q.......