Second Guessing the "Carpet"

I'm finding myself wondering if I should actually have sand in Darwin's tank.  I know that Cameron, our lizard guy, said that sand was appropriate, but I wonder if he wasn't just trying to make the sale knowing that I didn't have the budget to go crazy on substrate.  Don't get me wrong, I don't think Cameron would do or suggest anything that he felt was dangerous for a lizard, as he loves the little buggers way too much.  It's just that all over the internet all the other people I see with beardies have them in much larger tanks, with virtually no sand.  They've got astro-turf, lizard carpet, flat rocks, logs and plants... but no sand.

I worry because when Darwin drags his salad around the tank, the moist leaves pick up clumps of sand, and then he eats them.  Sand can cause impaction and it's really not a good idea to let your dragon eat it.

The white powder on his salad is calcium.  My crickets all died in an unfortunate cricket-incident, so I fed him some of John's crickets this morning.  John's crickets aren't dusted, so I dusted Darwin's salad instead.

I would like to, one day, get Darwin a bigger tank.  Before then, however, I do think I need to change his carpet from sand to something a little more beardie-appropriate.  I'd also like to put some plant life in is tank, as I see a lot of that in other people's beardie tanks and their beardies are all big and healthy looking with big fat tails.  I don't think I quite need to get the bigger tank yet, which is good cuz I can't afford one right now, but when he gets closer to full-grown I definately think my 40 gal wont be suitable...  Which is really making me doubt Cameron's credibility.  He said that a 40 gal is more than appropriate for one or even two dragons.  He said sand was fine.  He told me that Darwin's a boy, but the longer I have him and witness his body language, the more I suspect he's actually a she.  Now I wonder if the age Cameron gave me is correct, and question everything else he's told me about proper dragon husbandry.  Oh yeah, he also told me that Darwin only needs about 6 crickets a day, when everywhere else I've looked has said more like 20-30 for a dragon his age.  I'm so confused.

Anyway, he's steadily growing and seems healthy, happy and active.  I guess I'm doing it right so far... Fingers crossed.

~J