What substrate to use for my bearded dragons to dig with?

Question

i want my bearded dragons to dig because i would like to see the natural way they dig instinct and all that great stuff i have heard that sand works but it might fall on them when they dig some ideas please thanks

Answer 1

since you answered my question i will answer yours too. :)

since you have adults it is safe to use desert sand (you can pick it up at like any pet store) just put like 2-3 inches of sand in your tank and there you go. (since i'm going to have a baby i'm going to use paper towels until they are adults.

Answer 2

I use sand but give my beardies a box of peat moss to dig in or you could use a sand/soil mix. However, if you want something they can build tunnels with I suggest clay sand (I think it's sold in the pet store as excavator sand). I use this for my frog-eye gecko, a species that builds networks of tunnels. It works extremely well. I suggest you check any tunnels regularly for structural integrity. That being said I've seen beardies build tunnels and close them up so that they are essentially "buried" and go into aestivation.  I would not encourage this though. Another idea that I've used is to get large diameter PVC pipe and bury it at an angle, leaving one end sticking out. You could even fill it with dirt. This way, it can "dig a tunnel" without worrying about it collapsing.