Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I read that if you feed your lizard in a plastic tub than you can use sand as a substrate and not have to wory about it geting impacted, any thoughts on this?
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If holding a cobra does not make you sweat than you should not be holding one.

I've never had to worry about it and mine live in sand. I use the calcium sand. Some people don't like it though.

>>I've never had to worry about it and mine live in sand. I use the calcium sand. Some people don't like it though.

I've seen impaction happen. It's not pretty. It's less likely to be a problem for adult geckos than juveniles, but why risk it?
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0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko - Tigger
0.1 Crested Gecko - Pooh-Bear

Petco will tell you that the calci sand is good...To prove it, they house their animals in calci-sand.

I have bought leos from Petco, you occasionally find a little gem. I never brought home one impacted, but since some people have posted problems with impaction caused by the sand substrate, why risk it?

I just went to Wal-Mart and bought a $3.99 doormat that I cut to fit my tank and that's where they have been for at least three years. I had them on newspapers before, I have had most of my leos for at least five years.

So, up to you but if I were you, I'd err on the side of caution.

>>I read that if you feed your lizard in a plastic tub than you can use sand as a substrate and not have to wory about it geting impacted, any thoughts on this?

People believe that the majority of sand is ingested when a gecko strikes at prey items, so the tub feeding idea floats around the internet. However, if the gecko's diet is off they may try to replace it as they would in the wild and actually EAT sand (like a mammal is drawn to salt licks.) They can also ingest sand if it is stuck in their shed, or just by getting some on their tongues when smelling.

There are too many ways the gecko can end up with sand in their system. I have been told that cali-sand is perfectly alright at chain stores - and I have seen purple extended bellies to disprove it. IMHO sand is not worth it. I wish I could give my girl a sand box or something to dig in once in a while, but it still isn't worth it. Papertowels for all our animals. No problems (had a crested eat some once and everything came out just fine) and clean up is fast and easy.