Reptile & Amphibian Forums

just a poll to see what you guys and gals think about which is better to use (i say repti-sand because vita-sand has way to mant vitamins and makes the leos or AFT's or whatever wanna eat it)

NO SAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Your lizards will eat it and they will not be able to digest it- even though the packaging says it is digestible. So unless you need an extra thing to worry about when taking care of your leos- I don't know about you, but my leos cause enough trouble as is.... Use the nice green astroturf- they love it, it is washable and non injestible.
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1.1 SHCT Leopard geckos Big Papa and Big Mama
2.5 jungle & leucistic morphs Van Gogh, Monet, Manet Pissarro, Speckels, Mouthy, and Mama Cass
0.1 Ragdoll cat Tinkerbell
2.0 Devon Rex cats Gryffindor, Tigger
0.1 Cat Dinah
1.2 Bassett hounds Bogart, Sadie, Hermione
3.0 Feretts Blizzard, Coco, Fuzzums
3.1 Chinchillas

I KNOW I KNOW!! i dont use sand with my leos! im not that stupid! there all on repticarpet!! sheesh...lol its just a poll to see what people opinions are

To me, answering this poll is like speculating over which is better to have: Ebola or Hanta Virus.

I don't want either, I don't have any need for either, and I don't understand the need for the poll if neither option are going to be used anyway...

(No offence to faithful sand users. As a newbie, I can only trust the recommendations of others not to use sand. Especially since mine is a juvi.)
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Blaine

0.0.1 HY/Patternless/Normal Leo (Echo)

the whole point of the post is just to get opinions
thanks for yours

there is no need for rude comments being rude is a sigh of immaturity..i do not use sand..and this post does not mean i do. i understand sand is harmful to leos i consider myself a responsable herper i am not a newbie to keeping leos i know there needs and all that.i read up on them still to this day. anyways my point here is that i DO NOT use sand all the poll was to do was get peoples opinion
thanks

first of all, i wasn't being rude - i was stating that i wouldn't suggest sand at all.. whether or not you don't use sand. and you saying that people posting replies shows immaturity when they're trying 2 help other readers, as well as yourself- it shows lack of maturity on your part as well. these people are trying to help you out, put some replies on your question. i understand that you are a responsible herper - i've seen you around, i've seen your pictures, and have been through posts with you in this forum as well as the photo gallery. although, i could have sworn that you JUST started leos recently and all you had were tokays before.

i know you don't use sand, i know this is a poll to get people's opinions, and so far - all you get is "no sand." if you want the answers you want, you might want to try being more specific the 1st time you post so you don't have to continually post "i do not use sand" and "it's just a poll to find out" ... with all surveys, people say OTHER_____, and OTHER____ is "no sand" or maybe even a different type of sand that's better.

[aimEe]
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0.1.0 Albino Leopard Gecko (Marlene)
0.0.2 Fire Bellied Toads (Norman & Forman)
0.2.0 African Dwarf Frogs (Hobo & Bobo)
1.0.0 Fighting Fish (Blue Balls)
0.0.2 Hermit Crabs (Kirby & Furby)
1.0.0 Black Lab / Pit Bull (Mikey)
aimee.i8.com

i say no sand your leos can ingest either one and become impacted... even though there are some people on here that haven't had an impacted leo yet, there are many people who have lost leos to sand... all i get to say is.. "see...condolences...and what did we tell you before?" so it's like - i feel bad that they died, but people on this forum keep throwing warnings but they dont listen. happened to one girl on here, forgot who she was. she posted that "i should have listened" kinda deal.

and to the pro-sand users... i'm not tryin 2 argue, but it's true. for those that post they've had sand for 10 years, you pretty much have the husbandry and feeding down to the point... but for beginners and some intermediates - a slip from the point could be fatal. that's why i say no sand first, til you really know what you're doing. it's hard for people to be REALLY safe.

[aimEe]
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0.1.0 Albino Leopard Gecko (Marlene)
0.0.2 Fire Bellied Toads (Norman & Forman)
0.2.0 African Dwarf Frogs (Hobo & Bobo)
1.0.0 Fighting Fish (Blue Balls)
0.0.2 Hermit Crabs (Kirby & Furby)
1.0.0 Black Lab / Pit Bull (Mikey)
aimee.i8.com

i say no sand your leos can ingest either one and become impacted... even though there are some people on here that haven't had an impacted leo yet, there are many people who have lost leos to sand... all i get to say is.. "see...condolences...and what did we tell you before?" so it's like - i feel bad that they died, but people on this forum keep throwing warnings but they dont listen. happened to one girl on here, forgot who she was. she posted that "i should have listened" kinda deal.

and to the pro-sand users... i'm not tryin 2 argue, but it's true. for those that post they've had sand for 10 years, you pretty much have the husbandry and feeding down to the point... but for beginners and some intermediates - a slip from the point could be fatal. that's why i say no sand first, til you really know what you're doing. it's hard for people to be REALLY safe.

[aimEe]
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0.1.0 Albino Leopard Gecko (Marlene)
0.0.2 Fire Bellied Toads (Norman & Forman)
0.2.0 African Dwarf Frogs (Hobo & Bobo)
1.0.0 Fighting Fish (Blue Balls)
0.0.2 Hermit Crabs (Kirby & Furby)
1.0.0 Black Lab / Pit Bull (Mikey)
aimee.i8.com

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0.1.0 Albino Leopard Gecko (Marlene)
0.0.2 Fire Bellied Toads (Norman & Forman)
0.2.0 African Dwarf Frogs (Hobo & Bobo)
1.0.0 Fighting Fish (Blue Balls)
0.0.2 Hermit Crabs (Kirby & Furby)
1.0.0 Black Lab / Pit Bull (Mikey)
aimee.i8.com

Heh, out of 7 replies so far, not one of them answered the question. To me, reptisand would seem safer because there is no extra motivation to injest it. But i dont use sand or know anything about sand.

there actually is motivation - because if they don't get accustomed to the calcium dish, they start licking the substrate to try and get some calcium into their systems. if they do know where the calcium dish is and are getting adequate amounts of calcium in dusted and gutloaded foods, then that's when it would be safer.

[aimEe]

>>Heh, out of 7 replies so far, not one of them answered the question. To me, reptisand would seem safer because there is no extra motivation to injest it. But i dont use sand or know anything about sand.
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0.1.0 Albino Leopard Gecko (Marlene)
0.0.2 Fire Bellied Toads (Norman & Forman)
0.2.0 African Dwarf Frogs (Hobo & Bobo)
1.0.0 Fighting Fish (Blue Balls)
0.0.2 Hermit Crabs (Kirby & Furby)
1.0.0 Black Lab / Pit Bull (Mikey)
aimee.i8.com

N/P

Yeah, but you have to take into consideration that all these posts are between just 3 or 4 people. And half of them are you own.

>>Yeah, but you have to take into consideration that all these posts are between just 3 or 4 people. And half of them are you own.
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0.1.0 Albino Leopard Gecko (Marlene)
0.0.2 Fire Bellied Toads (Norman & Forman)
0.2.0 African Dwarf Frogs (Hobo & Bobo)
1.0.0 Fighting Fish (Blue Balls)
0.0.2 Hermit Crabs (Kirby & Furby)
1.0.0 Black Lab / Pit Bull (Mikey)
aimee.i8.com

yeah >.> LOL

And my answer is: Repti-Sand.. It comes in smaller granuals and if it is ingested--by accident or on purpose-- It will be much less harmful then "Vita-Sand".. The smell/taste of the vita-sand actually lures leos into lapping up the sand which is even more harmful.. of course more likely resulting in impaction. Like many of you.. I really do not agree with sand, never used it and probably never will, but just because Tokay_Dude1 asks our opinion there is no need to "capatilize".. in other words.. "shouting" at him, making rude comments OR automatically ausumming he's a regular sand-user and bash him for it. Everyone here DOES have the right to their opinion, definitly, I'm not saying that.. but there really is no need to come across like that. Tokay_Dude1 is definitly no newbie to Leopard Geckos or to different sorts of reptiles for that matter.. He has helped me on many occasions, trust me. And, to those who use sand... leave them be. If they want to use sand, let them. They aren't stupid, just taking a risk and if anything does happen to their leopard geckos they'll more then likely switch to a safer substrate. Basically what I'm tryign to say is.. Please don't offend others when giving your opinion because everyone has a right to their own. Thanks guys. 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.).

N/P

NP
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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.).

Before I begin, let me say that you people are too quick to jump on somebody over substrate. It is everybody's choice on what to use for a substrate. Over the years I have used sand, paper towels, cellsorb, repti carpet, cyprus mulch, bed a beast, lizard litter, repti bark, newspaper.....come to think of it just about everything on the market, I have used at some point for different reptiles. Each substrate has it's pluses and minuses. Some people hate one and love another. Just because they don't use the same thing as you do, don't flame them for it. Personally, if I only had one animal that was on sand, and lots of money to toss around, I would use Vita-sand.

Vita-sand contains as it's main ingrediant Calcium Carbonate. Repti-sand contains as it's main ingredient quartz sand. Yes, vita-sand has added vitamins to it in case it gets eaten. Repti-sand doesn't. I vote for vita-sand. Oh yeh, I have USED both products. I have never had a problem with anybody eating the stuff out right.

But the thing I like is the packaging that vita-sand has.

Quote: "Warning If your animal has a propensity for consistant substrate ingestion, we recommend that you Check your husbandry by reading a good reptile book on your specific species, as this could be an indicator of other problems......If consistant substrate ingestion occurs, you may wish to use zoo-meds Repti-cage carpet instead" It also says that vitasand is not a replacement for dietary supplements.

Healthy animals should not constantly consume their substrate. IF they are then you are not supplementing them enough, so they are looking for it elsewhere. Granted, every now and then you get an animal that just likes the taste of it...in that case..you move him off the stuff. It's all in husbandry. You need to pay attention to your animals and their behaviors.

I am forced to use sand with babies at work, I first switched to repti-sand from the calci-sand they were using, then from repti-sand to the vita-sand. I prefer the Vita-sand more. The smaller granuales on both allow the sand to pass more easily but I just prefer the vita-sand.

Oh yeh, and if you mist the sand down, it creates a stiff layer on top, so they are less inclined to get as much in their mouth when they eat.

Wow, an interesting post. I have used paper towels, Daisy ripped them up, then went to reptile carpet, didnt work out with the claws sticking and the spotting, so I checked, researched and tried T-REX Calci-Sand. Seems fine, her feed dish has plenty of calcium and vitamins. She knows where it is. I have seen her lick the sand rarely, but no substrate enters her mouth. I always make sure she has food. She has turned into a Diva, seriously. She is almost 8.5 inches long, eats crickets, mealies, almost anything I give her. I also have turtles and torts as well. I spend time everyday with them, interacting with them as well. So far so good. I am thinking of add thin slate rocks as a decoration to her home, but not cover the entire floor of it. I think she is sooo cool, when she is hungry she comes out to meet me. But anyway, by interacting and watching my buddies, I can see when things look different. My opinion is that take an extra few mintues, hour or so and watch them, you will be surprised what you see and learn. Thanks

I vote reptisand. I used to use it without problems, and the vitasand just totally reeks of vitamins.

A lot of substrates are bad in their own ways, to go with the long craziness of this post. I used to use repticarpet- hated it, their teeth and claws kept getting stuck on it and it stained too easily in the poop corner. I used paper towels when one of mine was a baby- she actually ripped it up and ate chunks of it. Sooo the substrate battle will never be won or agreed upon. sand is fine as long as you feed them out of a bowl and keep a supply of calcium powder in a bowl in the cage. but there are always risks with almost anything you use. everyone has their own preferences, he was just asking a simple question!

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~Melissa~
1.3 Leopard geckos
1.0 Bearded dragon
1.0 Hog Island Boa
0.0.1 crested gecko
1.0 Ferret
0.1 Chinchilla
1.0 Chinese Praying Mantis

Melissas Menagerie

N/P

My point exactly, Melle!

-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.).