Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Here's an idea for breeders.....the tendency to eat substrate MIGHT be genetically linked, and if it is, we can breed it out by choosing not to breed animals that eat their substrate materials. This will, in the long run, create a reduction in problems in the captive leopard gecko population, because A) some people choose to use substrates other than slate or paper towel, and B) Obviously geckos in the pet trade are likely to be kept on a wide variety of substrates provided by pet stores, including some that pose greater impaction hazards.

Anyone with me on this? I personally plan to implement this in my own breeding program.

A substrate-eater can make a good pet, if the owner is aware of the problem, but there is no reason to possibly pass on this detrimental trait.

Were's the proof that this might be a genetic thing? They do it in the wild to get minerals they are lacking. The problem comes when they are lacking to much and they eat more then their system can handle.
-----
Jeremy Carroll
Center for Reptile and Amphibian Propagation and Conservation
http://www.onet.net/~eagle/Reptile/index.htm

There's no proof that they eat sand or dirt in the wild to the point where they become impacted, either. And if they do eat dirt in the wild to recoup minerals, like most animals, they select places where those minerals are concentrated. However, I'm pretty sure the talk about "well, they do it in the wild" is just talk--a guess made to try to explain the behavior of some captive geckos. Can anyone cite documentation of this occurring, and if so, was the soil/sand eaten tested for its mineral content, to determine that was the reason it was eaten? I'm honestly not expecting anyone to step forward with anything.