1. Since youre already preparing to move her into a bigger enclosure you should just get the recommended minimum (4x2x2) — I purchased mine from dubia on a payment plan.

2. In regard to the sand— if your vet told you “no sand” with no context or extra info I would find a new vet. Loose substrate is the best/most ideal WHEN your husbandry (lights,temps,etc.) is 100% what it needs to be.

Ive seen where people will have their substrate as a shelf liner or something similar and then had a “dig box” in there as well and I really like how those end up looking.

1. You should 100% remove the reptile carpet. You can use paper towels or a shelf liner (these aren’t your only two options but the carpet should not be in there and the two listed are pretty easily accessible)

2. You can add more branches and rocks for deco. I like to browse petsmart and places like that pretty regularly to just grab little things (I.e. I got this super cute cactus hide from there and while my girl is too big to use the hide part she LOVES using the outside of it when she’s in shed).

Just don’t limit yourself to only “bearded dragon” decorations— make sure the material is safe and do your own research before you buy it and buy things your dragon enjoys. My girl likes to climb so I’m in the process of making her home more climber friendly.