If you must use non-loose/solid substrate, tile can be good. You just have to find a tile with a rough surface, not the smooth tile. Otherwise, the following solid substrates are appropriate:

• Paper towel
• Butchers paperNon-adhesive shelf liner
• ZenHabitats' Zen Mat

If your beardie is 12+ months of age, confirmed healthy with no mobility issues or history of digestive problems and you are confident with husbandry, I would strongly suggest a safe loose substrate (this page is very informative if you want to know why). The following non loose substrates are best:

• Jurassic Natural Australian Desert Dragon Habitat - A substrate sustainably harvested from the Central bearded dragon's natural habitat.
• The BioDude Terra Sahara substrate kit - A bioactive-ready, long-lasting substrate.
• A DIY substrate mix - For the sand part of the mix, use washed playsand, Jurassic Natural Desert Dragon Habitat, Jurassic Reptile Substrate, Zoo Med Repti Sand or Exo Terra Desert Sand/River Sand. For the soil part of the mix, use organic topsoil containing no fertiliser or Zoo Med ReptiSoil. If using clay in the mix, use Zoo Med Excavator Clay. The following ratios are ideal:
  • 50% sand, 50% soil
  • 50% sand, 30% soil, 20% clay

If you're using tile, use slate or ceramic tile with a rough surface so the beardie doesn't slip around (this can be very frustrating for the animal).

Honestly, as long as the beardie is over 8 months of age, healthy with no history of impaction and the setup is correct, I'd use a safe loose substrate. I recommend checking out this page for a more in-depth explanation as to why. To put it simply, beardies will not suffer problems as a result of loose substrate as a whole, but rather loose substrates can cause problems if the beardie is compromised (too cold, extremely small, suffering a medical problem, etc) or if the wrong loose substrate is chosen (just as there are some bad solid substrates, there are bad loose substrates). Many Central beardies in the wild also live on loose substrate, so will appreciate the opportunity to dig. If the beardie is healthy, an older juvenile or adult and well-cared-for, I'd use one of the following substrates:

• Jurassic Natural Australian Desert Dragon Habitat - A substrate sustainably harvested from the Central bearded dragon's natural habitat.
• The BioDude Terra Sahara substrate kit - A bioactive-ready, long-lasting substrate.
• A DIY substrate mix - For the sand part of the mix, use washed playsand, Jurassic Natural Desert Dragon Habitat, Jurassic Reptile Substrate, Zoo Med Repti Sand or Exo Terra Desert Sand/River Sand. For the soil part of the mix, use organic topsoil containing no fertiliser or Zoo Med ReptiSoil. If using clay in the mix, use Zoo Med Excavator Clay. The following ratios are ideal:
  • 50% sand, 50% soil
  • 50% sand, 30% soil, 20% clay

If the beardie has a medical condition, is a young hatchling, or you are not confident the beardie's enclosure setup is correct, tile will work.

If you are scared to house the beardie on loose substrate despite the beardie being 8+ months of age and healthy and well-cared for, provide a dig box. A cardboard box or small pet litter tray with a depth of 6+ inches will work. The dig box should be filled with one of the loose substrates mentioned above.

I would not recommend many enclosure mats for beardies. Reptile carpet harbours bacteria and can catch teeth and claws, potentially resulting in injury. Sand/rock mats can be difficult to clean, and the rocks can fall off the mat and potentially be swallowed, resulting in an intestinal blockage.

The following substrates are best for young beardies (under 8-12 months of age), beardies with a medical condition (or unknown health) or for keepers not confident with their beardie's husbandry:

• Paper towel
• Butchers paper
• Slate or ceramic tile (with a rough surface so the beardie doesn't slip around)
• ZenHabitats' Zen Mat

Once the beardie is definitely healthy, 8-12+ months of age and husbandry is definitely correct, I'd recommend one of the following substrates:

• Jurassic Natural Australian Desert Dragon Habitat - A substrate sustainably harvested from the Central bearded dragon's natural habitat.
• The BioDude Terra Sahara substrate kit - A bioactive-ready, long-lasting substrate.
• A DIY substrate mix - For the sand part of the mix, use washed playsand, Jurassic Natural Desert Dragon Habitat, Jurassic Reptile Substrate, Zoo Med Repti Sand or Exo Terra Desert Sand/River Sand. For the soil part of the mix, use organic topsoil containing no fertiliser or Zoo Med ReptiSoil. If using clay in the mix, use Zoo Med Excavator Clay. The following ratios are ideal:
  • 50% sand, 50% soil
  • 50% sand, 30% soil, 20% clay

Until you are confident with husbandry (lighting, heating, enclosure size, diet, etc) and the beardie is definitely healthy, I would use a safe solid/non-loose substrate. The following are examples of safe solid substrates:

• Paper towel - Probably the best temporary substrate in my opinion as it's easy to clean and most people will already have it somewhere around the house.
• Newspaper
• Butchers paper
• Slate or ceramic tile - Just make sure it has a rough surface. If you use tile with a smooth surface, the beardie will slip around, which can be very frustrating for the animal.
• ZenHabitats' Zen Mat

Once you are sure husbandry is correct and your beardie is healthy, the following loose substrates are great:

• Jurassic Natural Australian Desert Dragon Habitat - A substrate sustainably harvested from the Central bearded dragon's natural habitat.
• The BioDude Terra Sahara substrate kit - A bioactive-ready, long-lasting substrate.
• A DIY substrate mix - For the sand part of the mix, use washed playsand, Jurassic Natural Desert Dragon Habitat, Jurassic Reptile Substrate, Zoo Med Repti Sand or Exo Terra Desert Sand/River Sand. For the soil part of the mix, use organic topsoil containing no fertiliser or Zoo Med ReptiSoil. If using clay in the mix, use Zoo Med Excavator Clay. The following ratios are ideal:
  • 50% sand, 50% soil
  • 50% sand, 30% soil, 20% clay

AVOID the following:

• Reptile carpet - The fibres trap poop, even when cleaned. Reptile carpet harbours a lot of bacteria. Some brands of reptile carpet are also known to snag teeth and claws, potentially causing injury.
• Sand/rock mats - Rocks may fall off of the mat, and due to the size of the rocks, if swallowed by the beardie, may cause an intestinal blockage. Sand/rock mats are also a pain to clean properly.
• Calcium sand - The calcium content of this sand encourages excess consumption, which, paired with the fact that this sand clumps into a hard mass when wet, may result in an intestinal blockage.
• Crushed walnut substrate - The shards may be sharp. When the beardie swallows even a small amount of the substrate, these shards may result in intestinal lacerations/injuries.

I personally use a playsand/topsoil mix with tile under the water and food bowl to limit the amount of substrate she kicks into the bowls.

You can use a cardboard box or small pet litter pan with a depth of 6+ inches. It can be filled with one of the following substrates:

• Jurassic Natural Australian Desert Dragon Habitat - A substrate sustainably harvested from the Central bearded dragon's natural habitat.
• A DIY substrate mix - For the sand part of the mix, use washed playsand, Jurassic Natural Desert Dragon Habitat, Jurassic Reptile Substrate, Zoo Med Repti Sand or Exo Terra Desert Sand/River Sand. For the soil part of the mix, use organic topsoil containing no fertiliser or Zoo Med ReptiSoil. If using clay in the mix, use Zoo Med Excavator Clay. The following ratios are ideal:
  • 50% sand, 50% soil
  • 50% sand, 30% soil, 20% clay

I personally recommend loose substrate as long as the beardie is 6+ months, healthy and husbandry is otherwise correct.

The following loose substrates are safe:

• Jurassic Natural Australian Desert Dragon Habitat - A substrate sustainably harvested from the Central bearded dragon's natural habitat.
• The BioDude Terra Sahara substrate kit - A bioactive-ready, long-lasting substrate.
• A DIY substrate mix - For the sand part of the mix, use washed playsand, Jurassic Natural Desert Dragon Habitat, Jurassic Reptile Substrate, Zoo Med Repti Sand or Exo Terra Desert Sand/River Sand. For the soil part of the mix, use organic topsoil containing no fertiliser or Zoo Med ReptiSoil. If using clay in the mix, use Zoo Med Excavator Clay. The following ratios are ideal:
  • 50% sand, 50% soil
  • 50% sand, 30% soil, 20% clay

I personally use a soil/sand mix because it's cheapest.

If your beardie is young, has a diagnosed medical condition or you are not confident the setup is correct, the following can be used:

• Paper towel - My favourite temporary substrate as it is affordable, easy to clean and usually already laying around the house.
• Butchers paper
• Newspaper
• Slate or ceramic tile - Ensure it has a rough/textured surface, otherwise the beardie will slip around when they walk, which can be very frustrating for them.
• ZenHabitats' Zen Mat

Substrate is very controversial, so people are going to give you a lot of different answers. In my personal opinion, a safe loose substrate is the best for healthy, well-cared-for dragons. I'd recommend reading this page for more in-depth info as to why.

If you are confident with husbandry, the bearded dragon is healthy and has no history of digestive problems, and they aren't super tiny, I would recommend using one of the following:

• Jurassic Natural Australian Desert Dragon Habitat - A substrate sustainably harvested from the Central bearded dragon's natural habitat.
• The BioDude Terra Sahara substrate kit - A bioactive-ready, long-lasting substrate.
• A DIY substrate mix - For the sand part of the mix, use washed playsand, Jurassic Natural Desert Dragon Habitat, Jurassic Reptile Substrate, Zoo Med Repti Sand or Exo Terra Desert Sand/River Sand. For the soil part of the mix, use organic topsoil containing no fertiliser or Zoo Med ReptiSoil. If using clay in the mix, use Zoo Med Excavator Clay. The following ratios are ideal:
  • 50% sand, 50% soil
  • 50% sand, 30% soil, 20% clay

If the bearded dragon is very young, has a medical condition (or you are unsure of the dragon's health) or you are not confident with husbandry, use a non-loose substrate. The following are the best non-loose substrates:

• Paper towel
• Butchers paper
• Newspaper
• Non-adhesive VOC (chemical) free shelf liner
• ZenHabitat's Zen Mat
• Slate or ceramic tile - Make sure the tile has a rough surface. If the tile is smooth, the bearded dragon will slip around, which can be extremely frustrating for the animal.

If you are scared of using loose substrate and choose to use a solid substrate despite the beardie being well-cared for and completely healthy, provide a dig box. Beardies love to dig and often have a strong instinct to burrow, so unless the beardie has a diagnosed permanent medical problem, you will need to provide a space for them to dig. A small pet litter tray or cardboard box with a depth of at least 6 inches filled with one of the safe loose substrates mentioned above will work.

I personally use a mix of playsand and topsoil. I have tile under the water bowl and salad bowl to limit the amount of substrate she kicks into the bowls.

The following are great:

• Jurassic Natural Australian Desert Dragon Habitat - A substrate sustainably harvested from the Central bearded dragon's natural habitat.
• The BioDude Terra Sahara substrate kit - A bioactive-ready, long-lasting substrate.
• A DIY substrate mix - For the sand part of the mix, use washed playsand, Jurassic Natural Desert Dragon Habitat, Jurassic Reptile Substrate, Zoo Med Repti Sand or Exo Terra Desert Sand/River Sand. For the soil part of the mix, use organic topsoil containing no fertiliser or Zoo Med ReptiSoil. If using clay in the mix, use Zoo Med Excavator Clay. The following ratios are ideal:
  • 50% sand, 50% soil
  • 50% sand, 30% soil, 20% clay

I personally use a mix of soil and playsand because it's the cheapest. If you do get playsand, make sure it says 'washed playsand' on the bag, or wash it yourself. Unwashed playsand can be dusty.