calcium sand

[Moose1960]

I know people say do not use it cause it has sand in it, or wait until at least 5 inches long, but at the pet store I saw a calc sand which was just 100% calcium, I forget the manufacturer. As long as it is 100% calcium would that be ok?

[Alicewave]

I don't advice the use of sand at all. It's the extreme approach but that's how I am. I keps leos on a sand that was pure calcium carbonate and I notices they pooed less often and smaller so I think it was hard on their systems. In the wild they don't really live on sand, it's more of a rocky terrain. Sand is messy, it's not safe in my opinion. It's a huge debate so I am sure others will say it's fine.

[Linds]

Exactly like Alicewave said, leos do not naturally inhabit sandy, beachy area, but rather rocky outcroppings, etc. They aren't designed to live on the loose stuff, which is why we see incidences of impaction in captivity as a result of keeping them on sand, or sand-like substrates. The calcium sand (Calci-Sand, Bone-Aid, etc) that you see available in stores reduces the risk of impaction, but there is still the inherent risk. Better than regular sand, but not by that much. If you are looking to have a naturalistic vivaria, try to emulate their natural environment with alot of rocks, etc... and if you wish to add substrate there are many recipes available that you can mix up and pack down so that they are still not loose enough to be ingested once dry. Hope this helped :)

[Alicewave]

I should add, Slate is becoming a very popular natural looking substrate. It's very good for transferring heat. It's cheap at home depot and they will custom cut it for you. I haven't tried it yet out of simple laziness but I haven't heard any ill effects from it yet.

[Moose1960]

Thanks all I guess sand of any type is out of the question. I will later try the rock maybe. I am currently using the reptile carpets and it is nice to clean so why fix something that isnt broke :)

[depressor86]

ive heard that reptile carpets can lead to problems with nails getting stuck and toes being broken or ripped off. im just using kitchen towel (bounty!) and its working nicely. i double layer and add a few smaller sheets in his poop area to make cleaning easier.
a rock enclosure sounds pretty appealing, i may have to try that out in the summer.

[Andrew]

Yea that is what I use and it is very good. Very easy to clean up and replace. But definetely stay off of the sand...very bad idea.

[ReptiZone]

sand sux,LOL
only if the animale is from the desert that is when I consider using it. For the reptile carpet I like the look. But I have learnd that it can lead to bactireal growth if it is not watched carfuly. Just thaught I would share that with you so no one learns the hard way.

[Samba]

I would think that using (heat-transfering) slate as a substrate would affect the geckos' ability to thermoregulate. They should be provided with a cool spot just in case... but whoever posted the pics with it... the tank looked awesome!

[Alicewave]

It was me. The slate is cool on the side without lamps or a UTH. It actually stays very cool to the touch on that side. I would not recommend using a heat source over all of the slate.

[GECKOMAN]

i would use the sand but mix it with other rocks

[GECKOMAN]

not to argue