Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a 7 year old leopard gecko who is currently living in a 15 gallon tank with lots of silk plants and repti-carpet as substrate (at least i think thats what its called?) and i had seen pics of leos with sand as substrate, but ive also read that this isnt a good idea. so whould you recomend it? and what is the brand name? the staff at the pet store recomended some kind of calcium sand, so its benifical if they ingest some, but again i dont always trust "the guy at the pet store" thank for reading this
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0.1.0. Leo
1.0.0. Sneaky House Gecko
0.1.0. WTF (looking for a male!)

I would NOT recommend sand. Some people say "Oh I've never had a problem with it" however don't take the chance. I did have the problem with it, now I have a sad and imacted gecko, whom is just starting to get better. I use astro-turf, the green fake grass carpet stuff. You can purchase it cheap at hardware stores.

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1.0 Leo Gecko's *Astrid* - was told he was a her at first
0.0.1 Pictus Gecko *Raine* - too young to sex
1.1 Hollond Lop Bunnies *Panda, Oreo*

No, Calcisand is BAD. It's one of the worst substrates I can think of, besides maybe using glass shards. They see it as a source of calcium, and are more likely to eat it than they would with regular washed, screened, and sifted playsand. Then they get impacted, and it's not pretty. Your pet store is full of morons.
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0.0.1 Bearded Dragon (Zeo)
0.2.0 Leopard Geckos (Vienna, Chomps)
1.0.0 Golden Retriever (11 Years)

Its not so much that they are morons. They know exactly what calci-sand does but they just want to make an extra buck off of their sand products. Of course they're gonna tell people its good.

OK, a little harsher than i'd expected but thanx for your replies. im going to stick with what i've got for now, and maybe lok in to another idea involving bright blue astroturf
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0.1.0. Leo
1.0.0. Sneaky House Gecko
0.1.0. WTF (looking for a male!)

NP

I use it for my tank, you can buy tiles at Home Depot for $1.97, you need 2 for a 20 gallon, and 1 and some calci sand for the 15 gallon. Put the calcisand on the end they dont eat on, like where they use the potty. Thats how mines set up and the tiles is very easy to clean! And looks great!

enjoy

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Sarah Stettler aka Starling
Sarah@stargecko.com
StarGecko.Com COMING SOON! Star Quality Leopard Geckos
Specializing in Hypotangerine Tremper Albinos

Wait, so they don't purposely eat the sand at any age?

Good question. Personally I think it looks better to use all tile. For a 20 long it takes about 2 and a half 12x12 inch tiles. And its still VERY easy to clean. Just take a paper towel and scoop it up. And every few weeks take the tiles out and give them a good clean with some mild detergent and hot water. Easier than repti carpet imo.

over 7", and I provide plenty of calcium supplement, both dusted on mealies and in a seperate dish. If you provide enough calcium supplement they shouldn't eat it purposefully. I do keep an eye on the stools though to make sure there is no sand in there. Most of my gex are on paper towels.
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Sarah Stettler aka Starling
Sarah@stargecko.com
StarGecko.Com COMING SOON! Star Quality Leopard Geckos
Specializing in Hypotangerine Tremper Albinos