Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I need to find something better then Repti bark they seem to do fine on it but i would like to try calci - sand is it ok to use it whats the pros and cons? Has anyone got any pics of there gecko set ups so i have some ideas?

Thanks

I definitely wouldn't do this. Have you thought about Bed-A-Beast? It's ground up coconut husk that looks like dirt, holds moisture well, and would look better than that Calci-Sand junk. I used it in the past, but only use paper towels right now, due to my AFTs being housed in a rack. Calci-Sand is notorious for impacting geckos, and it's very dry. AFTs come from a more humid environment than leos, and the Bed-A-Beast (or similar add-water-block) does that much easier than calci-sand.
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Rob Jenkins
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I use a mixture of sand and peat or some thing like bed a beast would work great also. Very fine play ground sand not calci sand.
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My posts and replies are my experiences only
1.2.6 Tokays
1.4.6 Leos(9 albino)
0.2.0 AFT's
0.2.0 Stenodactylus Petrii(Dune Geckos)

I use calci-sand just because i heard it helped with the impact issue, is it really that bad for AFTs? how do i know if he's begining to become impacted?
Thanks, Mike
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Calci sand is dangerous because they eat it because it is calcium but it is in larger granules than the finely ground nutritional suppliments like Rep-Cal or Mineral. So then they get impacted. It is also very expensive. I agree with the above posts if you need a humid environment. -Lucy

Let's look at it this way. If you have done your homework, you will find that AFT's are found in humid environments. Therefore you need something that will hold humidity. Why? would you use a substrate that is meant for ARID species? Sand doesn't hold humidity.

If I sound a little harsh, I am sorry but somethings need to be thought through. Humidty and sand just don't go together.

Substrates like Rob recommended (bed-a-beast, eco-earth, etc) are good. You might also look into cyprus mulch. I use that for my AFT's with great results.

I use fine grain play sand that was sifted which is only 5 dollars for a 50 pound bag at home depot and get a big bag of psegums (sp) petemoss. Better than bed a beast and holds the moisture really well... Also, you dont get the long strings and clumps like you get in bed a beast. The pete moss is much softer.
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