Reptile & Amphibian Forums

allllrighty. so heres my second deal, and again, your help is awesome. so i got my new girl right. researched going in alll the substrate stuff. figure calci sand maybe not so bad. then the girl at the store really freaks me out about it so i get in a last minute dash looking for a better substrate for my girl. come upon crushed walnut shells. they arent sand, they look too big to eat, and they say theyre digestible. i celebrate. pick some up and swap it for the sand in her new home. i think all is well. she'll be happy right? wrong!! looks like the leopard gecko gods like to play tricks on us. and i thank everyone on here for posting about their problems with the lizard litter. luckily enough i decide to research a little bit and find out how bad this stuff is. i swapped for paper towels 10 min ago. and she wont be seeing that stuff any more. i like her alive thank you.

so heres my problem. im going for what everyone on here calls "the natural look" i want to have an awesome looking home for my awesome pet ya know? i hear talk of slate? but what is this, where do you get it, how much etc. and if not that is there any other natural looking bedding besides sand for that wont kill my leo?! PLEASE help me out. thanks alot!
my problem is

eric # 2

you can get slate at homedepot or any lawn and garden store,the price varies of slate,some stores sell it for 2 dollars and some up to five.
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1.3 Leopard Gecko's
1.0 mali uromastyx

First off, don't let all the anti-sand ppl convince you it's not an acceptable substrate. However, there is a noticable difference between the various products in the sand category.

Calcisand is by no means a good thing to use. Pick the stuff up and common sense will tell you the grains are so HUGE it wouldn't be a good idea to use... Regular playground sand isn't good either cause it's silicone and once it's in your Leo it's lucky if it's going anywhere.

I have my Leos on Vita-Sand. Always have, always will. IMO it's a good idea to have a mix of tile and sand. The sand is used as a litter box basically and a play area. Not once have I had a problem... A good 80% or more of the ppl that will try and sway you from using sand have no experience using it themselves. That's not a bad thing but it's definitely not a fair margin in terms of actual use. That's another argument entirely.

Here's where I make some recommendations...

If you're the type of person that plans on your Leos being self-sufficent and you drop a few crickets into the cage every few days... If you don't expect to handle/watch/inspect/observe your Leos on a daily basis... Then I wouldn't recommend sand, maybe paper towels are for you.. Reasons being: I have no problems using sand for a reason. I watch my Leos and how they go about their daily and nightly lives. I know they get sand in their mouths while chasing crickets and missing quite alot. I have also seen them work a great deal to get the sand OUT of their mouths on a failed cricket lunge. I also know the frequency of their bathroom habits. I can probably tell you where every spot is on my albino girl cause she's just a fun animal to be around.

Gonna run...cause I know you'll be hearing alot about this..

Cinman

It would be in your leos best interst to stay far away fom ANY type of sand and stay away from wallnut shells..... Wallnut shells will not digest in the gut and will cause impactions.... Sand is also a killer...... Leopard geckos do not even live on sand in the wild..... They live in dry scrub lands..... Not sandy at all...... More rocky and dry dirt...... Hope this helps.....
Anti-sand.....

Not going to tell you exactly what works and what doesnt. Simply going to tell you what we use and what works for us. We use a non-silica play-type sand. Washed well. We have never, ever had a problem with it. We also provide a den with moist vermiculite. I have noticed that (at least during the day) they spend about 90% of their time in the den. I am sure they come out more at night, since they are nocturnal. I just dont see it, because I am asleep lol.

Hope this helps
Angie

thank you. thats exactly what i want. i just want to know what works for other people. ill choose from there, any other suggestions?

eric #2

I have always been told that sand is bad because it causes impaction. I don't like the looks of paper towels because I am also trying to get a natural look so I use the reptile carpet that you can buy at any petstore. I comes in lots of colors and is easy to clean. I haven't seen any posts on any one else using this, so now the decision is up to you.

Jessica

thanks alot. any other ideas or imput?