Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was wondering if corn cob was alright to use as a bedding or not. Also what recomendations do you guys have for something that looks nice and is not bad for them. They were on T-Rex calci-sand but I heard that stuff is no good so I'm looking for something new. Any ideas are welcome.

Thanks in advance,

Jeremy

Hey,

That is really not safe for them.. You've probably heard it millions of times, but paper towels are safest. Next to that, if you want somehting a little more natural looking, you can use tiles or repti-carpet! All three of those will do fine. With the tile and repti-carpet you might want to put a small piece of paper towel in the "litter box" area for easy cleaning! Hope this helps and decide on your substrate wisely. Take care!

-Britney
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1.1 Leos(Ron and Raine), 2.1 Kitty Cats(Bubba, Angelo and Cookie) and 1.1 Rouen Ducks(Buddy and M.J.).

I used to use the T-Rex calci-sand, but I switched to zoomed's vita sand. The grains are smaller(realy small), so chances of impaction are reduced. I'm not sure I would use corn, if he swallows a bunch of them when he eats, it could cause problems.

No corn cob. Slate tiles and repti carpet are safe and nice looking, but repticarpet gets dirty pretty easy I find. Paper towles are probably the safest, but arent very natural or eye pleasing. Anyone of those three work fine.
I've never used sand before so I dont have any personal experience, but most say to steer clear of it. Some use it for years without problems, some run into problems with it, and I'd imagine impaction aint very fun to deal with so I dont take the risk.
Hope this helps
Later
Mac

I just got back from a breeder in the area that the pet store I bought our Leopard from. No tonly did he exchange our non eater for a healthy animal, he also gave me a few pointers. One was that for over 5 years he has been breeding Leopards and another 4 of raising them, he has never lost one from impaction using crushed walnuts as a bedding substrate. His feelings are that if a gecko is properly hydrated, no matter the size, impaction should not be a problem on this substrate. Tim

You've obviously made up your mind but I bet theres people on and off this board with quite a bit more experience than this guy who would recomend against it. Why would you even want to? What they live on in the wild is very different than crushed walnut shell, I'll bet you that. Just because it hasnt happened to him doesnt mean it cant happen at all. Hey, you go ahead and hear what you want to hear...
Mac

Well in the wild there arent any glass walls either are there? That said, it disperses heat quite well, which is needed, provides a substrate that crickets cant easily hide under, which happens with paper towel and carpet. Ever thought about the fumes commercially made carpets emit, what about chemicals in the papertowel? Yes chemicals are used in the manufacturing process. About the only substrate I would not recommend would be silica, or sand. Basically all sand is comprised of is tiny shards of glass. Bottom line is that there are arguements for and against most substrates and I have found a reputable source for the use of crushed walnut shells and I happen to trust this person's opinion based on years of working with Leopard Geckos. Mac, if you or anybody else can provide me with documentable evidence, not just hearsay and opinion, I'll be the first to change our gecko's substrate. Thanks, Tim

http://forum.kingsnake.com/lgecko/messages/135826.html
http://forum.kingsnake.com/lgecko/messages/114957.html
http://forum.kingsnake.com/lgecko/messages/16294.html
http://forum.kingsnake.com/lgecko/messages/130496.html
http://forum.kingsnake.com/lgecko/messages/114956.html
http://forum.kingsnake.com/lgecko/messages/58960.html
http://forum.kingsnake.com/lgecko/messages/50052.html
http://forum.kingsnake.com/lgecko/messages/740.html
http://forum.kingsnake.com/lgecko/messages/113998.html
http://forum.kingsnake.com/lgecko/messages/113886.html
http://forum.kingsnake.com/lgecko/messages/113686.html
http://forum.kingsnake.com/lgecko/messages/113686.html
Also have a look at this one....
http://forum.kingsnake.com/lgecko/messages/886.html
Oh but nobody HERE knows what they're talking about, listen to the guy at the PETSTORE.....Im sure what happened to this person was a big lie

If you didnt jump to conclusions and actually read my post I said I talked to the BREEDER not the PETSTORE, why the caps? lol Anyway after speaking to this person I am under the impression that crushed walnuts arent a bad substrate. I have posted here and the chat room numerous times and have found that this one person to be knowledgable as well as kind, which is a far cry for the majority of the people that talk down to people with question, and especially those who have viewpoints based on fact and research rather than internet findings. All on the net is true isnt it? Anyway those that have offered sincere words and comments know who they are and I appreciate it, to those who are just looking for a conflict, keep posting they are worth a chuckle.

Its good to hear that the breeder exchanged your other leo for one that is eating well. Hopefully this one will be fine!

I haven't used walnut shell bedding since around 1980 when it was relatively new. We were using it for snakes and found it molded too easily, and we also found a piece lodged in a snake's mouth. Maybe the current product is better, that was awhile ago.

Good luck with the new little one! I'm sure you'll be keep ing a close eye on him. Let me know if I can help with anything too.
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Andrea A.