Does Loose Substrate Cause Impaction In Bearded Dragons & Other Reptiles

Does loose substrate cause impaction in bearded dragons & other reptiles? Impaction! Otherwise known as a blockage of the Gastrointestinal tract. But should loose substrate be avoided at all costs? Or is it necessary in achieving even satisfactory welfare? That’s coming up! Lets put whether or not it causes impaction, aside for now. Don’t worry we will swing back and address that. For now, id like to concentrate on the behavioural need of loose substrate. If we look at the animal welfare act, we will find the 5 animal needs stated, one of which is the “need to be able to exhibit normal behaviour patterns”. And as we have covered in another video, this is considered as basic and only promotes up to satisfactory welfare. Now if we take two popular species, the bearded Dragon and the leopard gecko. Both of these are shrouded in folklore husbandry beliefs around impaction by ingesting loose substrate. Well, both of these have the evolutionary behavioural need to dig, allowing them to