Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just set up my adult male's tank w/ 2 large tiles, which left a 5 1/2 inch space at the end, which I filled w/ Home Depot play sand. I have his food dish (from which he eats mealies) way on the other end, on the tile. The sand is over the UTH & the door to his Repticave, in which he spends most of his time, is over the sand. When I first put him in the new setup, he licked the sand, then took several minutes to spit it out & swallow it. I put a bit of oil on his lips.
My question is: is the setup safe? Is the risk of sand due to the gecko eating on it & getting sand when he bites up his prey? Is he likely to go licking up play sand for the fun of it?
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1.3.0 leos, Yoda, Geo, Tang, Ginger
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink Indigo (Indy)
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1.1.4 firebelly newts Wayne Newton, Isaac Newton, Fig Newton, Juice Newton, Olivia Newton John & Helmut Newton
1.1.0 cats Gus & Mena

Geckos eat sand out of curiousity. If you don't feel comfortable with it...change it.
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That man is a liar!

I’d really like to steer you away from using play sand for your geckos. You said that you noticed him licking the sand and that is a very big warning to you that it could become an impaction problem. I know that play sand has pretty large granules and is therefore an even greater risk. Has this gecko been kept on sand most of his life?

I have a large tile cage, and was able to get the guy at home depot to cut the tile to exactly fit my cage. I’d suggest putting paper towels in the uncovered area, and it would be ideal if your gecko pooped there. I have a folded piece of paper towel in the bathroom area of my tile cage and it makes cleaning easier.

I’ve just heard so many horror stories of leos getting impacted, I would hate to hear that your gecko/s had problems too. If you insist on using sand, try to stick to the finer grain sand like Repti-sand or a similar product. Hope this helps and keep us posted.

DaveCable

Repti-sand is no good. The only sand I would use is T-rex bone-aid calci-sand. Not because I believe it's digestable, I don't care either way. I have a theory. I don't think I've ever heard of anyone having a fatal problem, or any problem at all with the Bone Aid. Most sands clump when they get wet; so when a gecko swallows some, it clumps inside them. Bone Aid doesn't clump when it gets wet. So my theory is, the Bone Aid doesn't get stuck inside the geckos, because it doesn't form a big clump inside their stomaches. So, if they eat a lot at a time, and it causes a problem, all the sand wont become one big piece, so it will still be able to pass through the body, eventually. Understand?
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That man is a liar!