Substrates

[Ixidor]

What is the best substrate to use and what looks the nicest, pics would be great :D
Ixidor :grab:

[drewlowe]

i can't vote cause i use 3 different methods. Bed a beast, slate, and paper towels. I have pics on other threads.

[Tim and Julie B]

I use paper towels in the rack system. I will switch to tile when I set up the 33 gallon breeder tanks next year:D

Julie

[Neo]

other meaning paper towel/newspaper for me

[TheRedDragon]

I would most likely use astro turf once I get leos.

[Slannesh]

Voted for other,

I keep one adult on sand right now, but have been rethinking that. Hatchlings and juvies I keep on paper towel.

[drewlowe]

Red dragon be very careful with that their little nails can get caught and rip out.

[Sheldon & Tori]

i work at a pet store and just recently bought some new sand we got in. it is 100% natural (basically they go into the deserts in africa and india and bag it up). it's black and my gecko's just love it. they dig holes under everything! my youngest gecko is 4 1/2 months and i've never had any problems using this. so my vote is for sand. you just have to keep an eye on them to make sure they don't get impacted.

[Sheldon & Tori]

oh yeah, by the way, as i'm sure you've guessed, the black sand really brings out the colors of your leo's. i have a tangerine, a few normals, a snow, a blizzard het, and a tremper albino and there colors are just amazing against the black sand. i have a normal yellow and black one who almost looks like a high yellow against this sand. it's great!

[Edwin]

I use paper towels.

[althena]

paper towels, all the way. from my sand boas, to terrestrial snakes, to arboreal and all the way to leopard geckos: Paper towels! :)

Its cheap, clean, and if an animal does get sick/mites, its extremely easy to tell.

No matter how much I'm anti-substrate, I do use it in my vision cages. I have a 7' retic who LOVES dragging her nose in it and getting all the little pieces jammed in her jaw.

It is NOT fun trying to pick that junk out of a large snake's mouth.

Before I switched to all paper towels, my kenyans were on sand and actually two of them got mouth infections from it. (Rather talented, seeing as they are SAND boas and should be used to the sand. Oh well!)

[LISA127]

newspaper

[Siretsap]

Newspaper and scott towel for smaller snake and baby leopard gecko tubs

[Gregg M]

Sand is just about the worst bedding for any animal......... Sand kills leos on a daily basis........ All sand is 100% natural....... Doesnt matter where it is from........ And all sand will do the same thing to a leo, and that is KILL it....... I have not always kept hots........ I was keeping leos when the "high yellows" were the biggest thing........LOL....... Paper towels is the best substrate....... If you want to keep your leos healthy, that is the way to go........ Oh one more thing, Leos dont even live on sand in the wild........

[eyespy]

The only true way to see if sand impaction is occuring is to slit open the small intestine and see what's there. Most of the stuff that gets swallowed gets caught up in the villi, little fingerlike projections used in the absorption of nutrients.

Most sand impaction deaths do not involve the sudden blockage of the gut resulting in a sudden death. They slowly waste away as the villi become increasingly sand-clogged and unable to absorb nutrients from the food. Leos literally starve to death in spite of a bellyful of food.

No type of sand is safe.

[Ixidor]

Well, thanks all but is there anything more natural looking than paper towels?

[Gregg M]

I would worry more about the loes health than giving them a "natural" looking environment........ Sand is not natural for them anyway......... Anything they can swallow is no good........ This includes bed a beast and all those other typs of bedding...... Paper towels are the best....... Especialy for young leos....... Ever notice how they put their toungs out to smell the environment....... Well every time they do that, they put more and more of that bedding into their systems, slowly killing them........ You can put decorations in the tank to make it nicer to look at, but stay far away from sand or anything like it........ Dont forget you will also need a couple of humid hides as well as a regular hide........

[CDN-Cresties]

I dont keep leos but i do keep cresties. I voted for other, i heard and seen too many problems with market substrate.

-Steve-

[Ixidor]

Gregg I disagree the coconut bark in bed a beast and eco earth will disolve in the geckos stomach....the level is like 0.5 a lot less than the leos stomach acid

[Gregg M]

Ok, if you think that stuff is good then use it....... I am just telling you from experiance........ I have seen far too many leos die from using commercial substrates........ You dont have to take my advice though......

[geckomom]

I just use those cage carpets, and my leos seem to like them. The only thing I watch out for is after a certain amount of washings, the fibers get "loose" and kinda stringy, and their little toes catch...time to get rid of that carpet and get a new one.

[eyespy]

Gregg, have you ever seen a death from coconut husk substrate? I've never even seen identifiable particles in the small intestine of a gecko.

I have seen tortoises and iguanas die from it accumulating in the hindgut but that's not a risk for carnivores or omnivores.

[ChristinaM]

Welllll.

I use sand for my bearded dragon adults. Papertowels for juvies or carpet.

Leo's: indoor/outdoor carpet. It's a dark green and looks pretty good. And, I have this cork background, it's really neat. NOT bark...It's a solid piece, designed for placing on the back of your tank(inside) as a background, and the lizards can actually crawl up it(if they have nails). The gecko's do fine on it.

[Gregg M]

Eyespy, I have seen it only in hatchlings....... Not in subadults or adults........ I have bred leos quit a few years ago....... I got into hots and stopped keeping leos and everything else non-venomous...... I just got back into leos over the last few months........ They are awsome little geckos....... Maybe I am alittle too causious because of what I have seen in the past and the leos I keep now are very highend....... I feel it is better to be safe then sorry........ Why even risk it........ So the tank look better to the eye????? Maybe its just me, but ithink the leos health is more important then the way its encloser looks.......

[eyespy]

I agree that health is the most important thing. The only reason I do recommend the coconut husk substrates is that I have yet to see any of the stuff actually in an animal's gut. So far I've not even seen it in a hatchling. It breaks down very quickly in acid, even weak vinegar.

Did these hatchlings have any other health problems that might have caused decreased metabolism or impaired acid production in the stomach?

[BoidKeeper]

So if you are going to use ecco earth how do you prepare for the cage?
Thanks,
Trevor

[eyespy]

I use boiling water to mix it up as it evaporates more quickly that way. Once broken up I squeeze out as much water as possible, spread it thinly on cookie sheets and put it on the floor where direct sun comes through the window. On bright, sunny days it dries in a few hours.

If it's rainy or humid I put it in a 200 degree oven and shake it every 10 minutes or so. Takes about a half-hour to an hour to dry that way.

Oh, and I close my cat in another room so he doesn't discover a new potty.

[BoidKeeper]

lol. Thanks I'll keep that in mind.
Cheers,
Trevor

[Ixidor]

Can a 9 month old leo live on eco earth???

[Mr.Lizard]

I've never kept leos,but I have tried several substrate types for phelsumas,anoles,monitors and snakes.
Personally,I would never use newspaper in spite of its high recommendations simply because I think it's ugly.
I have used mulch and soil,which are both natural looking and depending on the species you're keeping you can plant some attractive plants in soil.
The only problem I ever had with soil was fungus,but once I put in UV lighting that was the end of that.
I have used tile,which can be rather attractive as well as easy to clean. I was concerned however with the comfort level of such a material on a constant basis.
I have also used astroturf,which if cut to the size of the cage floor is pretty and easy to switch out for a clean one.
There are several types ranging from medium to short nap and one that is similar to thick felt which is the one I prefer.
I have also used sand,which can be pretty,but I have heard too many bad things about it as well as the ground corn cob I also used to use which I don't think is even available anymore.

--Kevin--

[geckomom]

Originally posted by Bichiraddict
And, I have this cork background, it's really neat. NOT bark...It's a solid piece, designed for placing on the back of your tank(inside) as a background, and the lizards can actually crawl up it(if they have nails). The gecko's do fine on it.

Hey, young'un ;) ! I've seen those cork backgrounds in magazines, but have never seen anything like it in a store. Any suggestions on where I could pick some up?

Did you get yours from a regular pet store, or a specialty store of some kind, or online? Any help would be appreciated by this old mom....:dumb: