Reptile & Amphibian Forums

As posted below, I'm looking for ways to help retain heat in my tank and make things more comfortable for my leo now that winter is on its way.

I've covered most of the top of the tank with cardboard, to keep some heat in...so I'll see how that works. Howerver, I've had another idea and want to run it by you guys first.

Anyone that's been to the beach on a sunny day knows how well sand absorbs and conducts heat. All you have to do is walk on it barefoot, and you'll know. Now I've got a UTH adhered to the underside of my tank, but only paper towels above, so the it is only warm right above the UTH, because the paper towels don't transport the heat.

What if I were to set my tank up so that the substrate on the warm half was sand, and the cool side was paper towels, separated by a piece of plexiglass, adhered in place. This way, the UTH heats the sand, and the sand conducts the heat both to the rest of the sand that's not directly above the UTH and radiates it upwards, towards the belly of the leo.

Only question is, would impaction be an issue? I'd only feed her on the cool side, so she wouldn't eat any while feeding...but would she just eat the sand, for no reason?

Does anyone do anything like this currently? Does it work? Let me know. Thanks.

Sand can be used to retain heat but it also includes the high risk of impaction. I have come to the solution of using a very low wattage heat buld along with the heat mat if temperatures get too low. If you are thinking about switching to a natural substrate anyways I would use large gravel, atleast twice the size of the food that you are feeding the gecko, just incase it does take the risk of digesting it. Good luck with your gecko and keep us posted!

np
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chickabowwow

3.2.2 leopard geckos (Rosie, Locke, Lisa, Caesar, Tommy)
and 1 more egg a' cookin'

If the gravel is twice the size of the food that you are feeding it then the gecko cannot swallow the gravel. You should be feeding your gecko food items half the size of its head, a gecko would not attempt to swallow something the size of its own head and it virtually would know whether it is doing so.

Leos -will- attempt to swallow food items that are larger than their head if they are hungry and that's what is there in front of them. Haven't you heard of baby leos trying to take on adult crickets? (Of course, they usually throw up later.) Even full grown leos will take on huge grasshoppers that are much larger than their heads.

You wouldn't think that a leo would or could swallow large gravel pieces, but that's a poor assumption.

But that is besides the point. I don't think he was going for a natural look to begin with.
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chickabowwow

3.2.2 leopard geckos (Rosie, Locke, Lisa, Caesar, Tommy)
and 1 more egg a' cookin'

Well I use Vitasand by Zoomed (I think) and i have had my gecko on it for about 8 months and nothing has happened i even feed him crix on sand and sometimes he misses and gets a mouth full. So I would say VitaSand is ok to use.

All sand is somewhat safe to some degree. I had a baby leopard gecko that I purchased from a pet store and I got advice from a guy at PetCo who knew how to care for them (this was when I was younger). The guy told me to keep it on Walnut shell substrate so I did this. The impaction took a while to settle in -about six or seven months. I have learned from that mistake now of course but it just goes to show you that impaction is not subtle but still happens, even with large substrates. Using vitasand would just take longer.

Another thing which I forgot to mention is the fact that geckos lick around to find calcium. You might know this but geckos are known to lick things to test it for calcium. This licking is the second number one way that geckos get impaction next to their feeding habits.

You wouldn't have to go as far as splitting th tank in half to keep your leo from eating off the sand. If you use a dish that's either clear or low enough for your leo to see into, but high enough to keep mealworms in.(assuming you're feeding with mealies, cause you said you'd feed on the cool side, and crix would go wherever they want anyways) The dish i use is a bit too tall right now for my leo to see into, but i'm training him to look for the food in the dish. I'll show him the food is in there by tipping it up, I'll get his attention and have him watch me put the mealies in too, he eventually figures it out.

HOWEVER, even if your leo eats out of the dish, risk of impaction is still there with sand. Leo's sometimes like to just eat some sand, mainly looking for calcium. So if you put calcium in the dish with the mealies, you can help reduce that, but the risk will still always be there. Something you should look into possiblly is ceramic tiles. These will conduct heat better then papertowels, and look almost as good as sand and won't be a risk for impaction. Any place like home depot will have tiles like that. not bathroom tiles though.

Try finding hides that can retain the heat, such as clay or rock dens. I bought mine from a local petstore, and I place one of them directly above the UTH. My leos sleep under and on top of them.

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chickabowwow

3.2.2 leopard geckos (Rosie, Locke, Lisa, Caesar, Tommy)
and 1 more egg a' cookin'

It’s probably even better at holding heat compared to sand, and you won’t have the risk of impaction. I would advise using slate or tile instead of sand. I have heard too many sad impaction stories of juveniles and even adults, to even consider using it for leos.

reptiles thermoregulate, if the only place that reaches the desired temp 90F thats good. this way the leo can move to the warm side when it needs it and the cool side when it doesn't. Stick to paper towel.