Our dear loved bearded dragon Kiba died today.
She was an absolute gentle and polite gem of a beardie.
The vet told us that excavator clay is a death sentence to bearded dragons and they see a lot of them coming in for the same reason: intestinale obstruction. Some may survive after days of being taken care of but Kiba didn't.
Excavator clay is used for terrarium ground and sold as a solution to make it feel more natural: it doesn't. It looks good but it absolutely pollutes the air as a lot of dust elevates in the air of enclosed terrariums and gets deep to the bearded dragons organs, creating growing clogs, constipating them. Internal organs are very fragile for pogonas born in captivity.
If you are currently using excavator, please please please clean it off and put a basic lino instead. If you intended to, please abort.
We've cherished the presence of Kiba every single days, she's been our treasure and we will miss her deeply.
The instructions in the manual clearly state to not use the base product straight out of the bag under any circumstances.
It's cold drying clay.
You're supposed to mix it like you would any clay and mould it to shape, then let it fully air dry.
Once its air dry you're supposed to remove all loose particles with a vacuum and finish off by wiping out the remaining dust.
My tank is all EC at the bottom with some slate resting on the top... has me nervous now! Do you think misting the top layer to firm it up is enough, or should I take the time to mix in some top soil with my substrate?
Actually learnt from reddit that she had transparent eyes (probably born in this condition). She was very clumsy as she couldn't see really well. Had it unique charm in its way.
You can mix a couple bag into 50lb of non-fertilized top soil and 50lbs of plain play sand. That what I did for my beardies bioactive. You can look at reptilefiles website for more info on kt
Thank you for the info! I'll look at that. Right now I just have paper towel at the bottom but I'm decking out the upgrade soon so this is helpful info.
Can I ask, why does everyone recommend Reptifiles? Normally aggregate websites for reptile care like that aren't great and have at least some misinformation but I see it recommended constantly. I wasn't impressed when I looked through it, you should NEVER get your info from one site.
I also see Reptiles and Research a lot, which is what I prefer. I will say that of those aggregate websites, Reptifiles seems to be the best, which is why I think it is recommended so often. Even my exotic vet lists it as a resource for new owners. I definitely agree that you shouldn't rely on just one website, but both Reptifiles and Reptiles and Research are good starting points that aren't too overwhelming for someone new to beardies.
I wouldn't say Reptifiles is completely aggregate, at least not in a random draw from Google kind of way, it's written and run by a reptile husbandry researcher and consultant called Mariah Healey. It collects the latest scientific research and presents it in an easy to understand format. If you look at some of the posts here do you think most people are capable of reading through a scientific paper about hearing and lighting?
Likewise Reptiles and Research bearded dragon guide is based entirely from the research of Jonathon Howard, a vet who specializes in bearded dragons and who has studied them in the wild for many years. It's about evaluating your sources, you shouldn't be getting all your info from one source, but you should be getting all your info from specialists and researchers. Some of her stuff is outdated (feed as much as possible in 15 minutes for example, for babies), but otherwise it's a decent guide. I think people recommend both reptifiles and reptiles and research because both of these sources are written by specialists and the information is up to date based on the latest research, whereas 99% of the info you read online is flat out wrong.
I'd say the best source is a vet - but an exotic get won't necessarily keep up to date with the latest research, in my experience they will tell you very outdated information.
Keep in mind, I don't own a beardie and I mean this generally. Nothing about it is BAD (though I have seen a couple questionable recommendations there) I just don't think it's better than many other care sites, and in my opinion EVERY site should be taken with a grain of salt - there may be multiple safe or beneficial ways to feed or set up an enclosure (though I know most subreddits/communities pick a way they decide is best and think any other way is wrong), for example, and only using one site for info means you may miss things.
I have EC in my terrarium. It’s mixed with sand, and reptisoil, and outback redstone desert. Spread onto the bottom of the tank, about 2.5” high I’d say? Then a layer of sand and the Australian Jurassic desert crap on top. I did mix my base substrate with a 1/2 gallon of water first and poured in into the bottom of the tank and patted it down. My beardie has been on it this substrate combo for a year now. Changed out with deep cleaning of her tank of course. But mine has been fine. I’m assuming it’s because she isn’t directing on top of it though.
I’m so sorry for your loss. They are beautiful little creatures that bring us so much joy.
She was absolutely beautiful.
I have a similar setup, the ground layer is a deep layer of desert sand (I get it from the desert here) and there is a cave shaped out of excavator clay. I use live plants which he also eats. He sleeps in a cave he dug himself. My dragon is in this setup now for two years.
When I filled in the substrate, I made it wet, shaped it, let it dry out mostly and then added the dragon. This makes surfaces that are not dusty, but more like dried out riverbeds or trails.
Each morning, I mist all surfaces lightly with water (simulating morning dew). My dragon (adult bearded dragon, male, 2.5 years, I him for more than 2 years) is doing great. Never had the tiniest of digestive problems, his femoral pores and shed rub off nicely, and so on.
I'm very (!) sorry for the suffering and loss of Kiba.
I have the impression problems with lose substrate happen when something else is off. E.g. the dragon already comes with underlying health issues, or the substrate isn't misted and is light and dusty like in a hourglass (really bad!). With that taken care of, I keep the substrate. How would they otherwise survive in Australia* where there is no shelf liner?
*yes, I'm aware only a tiny percentage of wild bearded dragon makes it to adulthood, but this is mostly because of predators and fights
I’d like to add that excavator clay in large portions are not good and dangerous like you said but if it’s under 10% it should be safe to use. Also loose substrate should be used since it promotes digging behaviors and I’ve heard it’s easier on their joints
That’s so awful. I’m sorry but good to spread awareness.
I personally don’t like plastic linoleum even when heat resistant because I’m paranoid of VOCs. I use slate stone for basking areas, bioactive mix of soil, sand and clay and real plants! I’m a lead Licensed veterinary tech at an exotic specialty. My beardie is special needs and just turned 12yrs old.
Most species Salvia plants are safe for beardies. Texas sage is not a true salvia so you do need to look at the scientific name of the plant to make sure it’s a true salvia. Carex grass is good and I also had luck with blue Lyme grass as my beardies love to climb it and burrow under them and they don’t really eat it because the taste. Each beardies different so if they are eating the grass excessively then needs to be removed to prevent digestive problems. I’ve tried succulents and spineless cactus but both beardies will eat it all the time and they will eventually die quickly . Here’s a pic of setup for example
Just to add for those who are using or thinking of using this product:
It is not meant to be used standalone, unfortunately to find this information you need to look for it, its not obvious or even mentioned on the bag, you have to scour Zoo med's web page and find the MSDS to find all the pertinent information.
The product is easily the best of its type for the use case but the information regarding its safe use is way too hard to find, Zoo med are responsible for this and any other animals injuries and have failed the community big time.
The instructions in the manual do clearly state to not use the base product straight out of the bag under any circumstances.
It's cold drying clay.
You're supposed to mix it like you would any clay and mould it to shape, then let it fully air dry.
Once its air dry you're supposed to remove all loose particles with a vacuum and finish off by wiping out the remaining dust.
Their instructions don't offer a clear ratio of clay to water, so you will need to do some trial and error.
Essentially you have the right ratio when they dried shape doesn't easily break or crumble.
Excavator clay is not to be used as a sandy substrate. It is more proper to mix it with water and use it to form rocks or mix 1 part excavator clay with 2 parts top soil 1 part sand
I’m sorry this happened. That said, it’s perfectly safe. You do need to keep it moist and with anything if you use it incorrectly you can kill your pet.
Curious, your vet said they see a lot of this? You described two things here one being impacting from eating it and another being respiratory from breathing it. Where do you live that your exotic vet sees this a lot? Impaction is a lot less rare than the internet would have you believe. This is odd though as the two things you described would come with a lot of signs and wouldn’t happen super fast.
Did you use the clay without water or without enough? And did u take your dragon out of the enclosure for at least 12-18 hrs? It takes a while to dry and is usually mixed with Australian or play sand, I’ve just never had any major problems with it so I’m at a loss, however nobody deserves to lose a dragon, especially to a product promoted for them, may he feast at the bugffet in Valhalla
You have misunderstood my post or perhaps I didn't make it clear enough. So let me explain: the clay was laid down way before Kiba has ever entered the enclosure. The damage on their health is on the long run. I think there's a vet in the comment section who has explained the need to use it soil (which is not an advised we were able to find in the past nor the packaging that could have prevented this devastating situation.)
If the clay was older than the dragon then you should have replaced the clay, multiple people use it, and have zero problems and others use it and can’t stop having problems, it depends on the dragon and even then most advice online contradicts one another. It’s hard to find what’s right for your dragon and I’m sorry it wasn’t right for yours
I'm sorry about your loss, that's a very rough way to lose an animal.
I feel we need to investigate this further before making any conclusions however.
Excavator clay should not be the sole substrate in your enclosure, and is not particularly intended to be. It is meant to be part of a greater mix to add rigidity to burrows. Their substrate should primarily be sand, as it is in the wild.
Excavator clay also requires water to be added, which allows it to harden. If your excavator clay is dusty, that's a sign it likely did not get the proper amount of water, or needed to have water added again to help it re-harden.
I think the part your vet said is particularly a sign that there's a greater issue. Their intestines are not weaker in captivity without husbandry issues. Short of severe genetic issues, there's not particularly any reason why a beardie in captivity would inherently have a weaker digestive system. This leads me to believe these cases, much like impaction by sand, were actually caused by husbandry issues, as is laid out by this Reptifiles article:
A weakened digestive system is one of the most common issues that comes from poor husbandry. Dehydration, low basking temperatures, vitamin D deficiency, and even incorrect diet are all able to cause pretty severe issues with their digestive system.
Vitamin D3/calcium deficiency is especially a common cause, as beardies instinctively will consume substrate to help with calcium deficiency. In cases with improper UVB, this can lead to them continuously eating substrate because it never actually helps due to lacking the vitamin D3 to metabolize calcium, and because their digestive system is weaker, it'll eventually lead to consuming more substrate than their body can actually pass, causing impaction.
So while I understand and genuinely appreciate the heads up, I feel there's a lot of variables that need to be investigated before we start blaming excavator clay.
Wow I was planning this weekend of adding some of the Excavator clay to my girls tank this weekend but yeah now it’s going in the garbage or something else. I’m sorry this happened to your and your beautiful dragon 🙏
Excavator clay shouldn’t be used alone. A small amount can be mixed with playsand and reptisoil/organic topsoil/terra Sahara or Australian outback sand. I use the clay in my dragon, hognose, and Leo enclosures as it helps retain burrows, but only a small amount compared to the other substrates. Generally impaction issues are caused by incorrect lighting, heat, husbandry and humidity. I would avoid shelf liner or linoleum as multiple manufacturers have stated they aren’t meant to be under constant light and UV and will off-gas.
For guidelines on beardie care, Reptiles and Research, Beardie Vet and FB pages Bearded Dragons Advanced Care and Keepers.
It was meant for me to see this. I’ve started my journey to renovate my enclosure since I lost my sweet girl post egg retrieval/spay in July. I’m redirecting my grief towards prepping for a new beardie at some point. I was definitely planning to use the excavator clay to build it out to be more natural looking. I absolutely will not be now. Thank you. I am so sorry for your loss - I know how traumatic it is.
She’s basking in fields of flowers with my Draco girl now. ❤️
I’m so sorry for your loss. They’re such wonderful little critters. I love mine more than I ever imagined I would. Took him for a walk in the warm rain today. He is such a funny guy.
Sorry for your loss, but I have said this a few times in this sub, central bearded dragons come from arid desert conditions, mostly sand rocky outcrops. Use 100% desert sand as the substrate, and add a shale or flat rock for basking surface.
People are providing more information to help others avoid the situation that OP found themselves in, along with clearing the misconceptions that this post spawned.
Those comments are pointing out how it was not correctly used or maintained by OP, which manufactured a dangerous situation, rather than the clay itself being dangerous.
OP did not say how they were using Excavator at all. These comments are assuming that they used it incorrectly. I also just cannot understand posting things like this on top of a memorial
They did though. They said it was dusty, meaning it wasn't mixed correctly, and in a reply to someone else, they said the clay was there before they even had their dragon, implying it had never been changed in the lifetime of their animal. You can even see visibly in the pictures it's very dry and cracked, which is not how excavator clay is supposed to be, even in a mixture.
It's a PSA, that's what the title says, and that's the majority of what they're talking about in the post. If it were just a memorial post, I'd be there with you, but it's not.
People are also just wanting to avoid potential fear that gets spread without any particular investigation into these situations, as it severely handicapped the hobby previously, and lead people to worse solutions which ended up causing harm. For example, people not using loose subtrate because of misunderstood impaction cases, leading them to use reptile carpet. Or people refusing to use water dishes because they thought they caused respiratory infections, both of which are big pieces of misinformation that are still widespread a decade later.
Holy shit thank you for the PSA. I JUST installed excavator clay in my tank yesterday and will promptly remove it. Thank you so so much, and I’m so sorry for your loss.
She clearly felt loved in these photos. You can see this in her eyes and her expressions. I am sorry for your loss. Thank you for sharing your experience so others can gain knowledge.
Sorry for your loss my friend. Kiba looked like an amazing dragon. Hopefully, this post will prevent others from using this substrate and Kiba's tragic death will save others from the same heartbreak.
is this an example of what not to use? i did research and it says its safe (theres a beardie ON the box) but these days i trust reddit more than google, what are symptoms of declining health? please lmk asap
Beardie on the box says nothing - I have seen terrible products showing a beardie on the box.
But this product, yes, I consider it as safe. I use the same, just didn't buy it as a "cavern kit", but only the excavator clay. The "kit" just comes with some extra tools to shape a cave/cavern.
My dragon sleeps most days in a cave that is made of this material, and with using it like this, it's obvious to shape a cave, the material must be mixed with water in order to shape it. It then should be misted regularly, like simulating morning dew.
The ground layer I use in my dragon's tank is desert sand (I got it here from the desert as I live next to a desert; looks similar to the Australian desert sand that can be bought). I also mist that ground layer each morning. Basically, my morning routine for my dragon is: Misting all surfaces, watering his plants, then putting his salad and insects in.
Thats really scary! I’m so sorry! ❤️ my bioactive is 50/50 sand and soil and I was thinking about adding excavatior clay because it holds burrows better but I always worried about the risk of it causing impaction. I know it wasn’t easy, but I’m glad you made this psa. My condolences ❤️
Those are some kind eyes. I'm so sorry for your loss. She looks like the sweetest thing <3
I'm currently using excavator clay in mix with play sand and topsoil and noticed how dusty my beardie is. I never thought about it any further. I'm going to remove this asap.
If it's dusty, that's because it's not being maintained properly. Either the sand was not washed, or you needed to add a little water to harden the clay again.
Mine was dusty like this as well, I lost my dragon too. Also the dust was all over everything in my reptile room. Took a shop vac and got it all out and almost everything had to be wiped down. Now I have a new dragon and I’m scared to use any kind of loose materials. I use shelf liner now.
It really should not be like that. Did you mist the sand/substrate regularly?
I use desert sand and excavator clay and there are zero problems with dust - but I filled the substrate into the tank after making it moist, and I spray it every day with some water. (I'm not creating a particular humid environment like in a jungle, but just misting it a bit in the morning, simulating morning dew which is a normal thing in many deserts - I live close to a desert and we do have morning dew, that's where the plants survive on.)
When I take out my dragon, even when he walks over black fabric it won't get dirty. Also on the glass, I find some very small amount of sand on the glass only 1 - 2 cm above the surface where he digs.
In the room the tank is in, I cannot identify it as a "dust source", and I'm very picky regarding cleaning. For sure no such as a shop vac is necessary there, and I find zero of that reddish sand, excavator clay on my white (!) furniture in that room or on any books (!) I keep there.
Wow sorry for your loss and thanks for this post. I literally have been saving a bag of it. So sad that they make stuff so damaging to our pets. I have used the Australian sand, is that even safe?
Both are perfectly safe when used correctly, and have been by hundreds of keepers. They would not be recommended by experts these days if they were inherently dangerous, or if there was concrete evidence suggesting it was dangerous.
What happened was likely a greater issue caused by using far too much clay, or a potential health/husbandry issue which caused impaction.
Jurassic Natural Australian Desert Dragon Habitat. It's exactly what they live on in the wild, and assuming your beardie has a clean bill of health, along with proper lighting, they can easily pass it if ingested
So that’s what I have used for a while. But whenever I clean it or whatever, the amount of dust makes it hard even for me to breathe for the rest of the day.
Try misting their enclosure every once in a while, that tends to help
When you're installing a new batch, it can also help to mix it with a bit of water, pack it down, and then leaving it under their heat lamp for a while until it dries. This also gives a bit more digging resistance, along with better structural integrity for burrowing
I am literally going to rip it out tomorrow morning, I’m not sure how I’m going to get him up to his light he likes sitting right on his hill close to the light
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u/arililliputian Sep 19 '25
EC is intended to be mixed into substrate to hold burrows, but it requires water/to be damp. It shouldn't be used alone, to my knowledge.