Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok..I know there is great debate on substrates but I wanted to know what you/ya'll use. I am currently using Calci-sand and think I should change judging by all the debate. Any suggestions will be welcome...

well it really depends on the age and if he/she is scooping any sand up when they go to lunge at a prey item. See the thing with calci-sand that it basicly incrouges the gecko the lick it because its made of calcium and its not digestable they just say that to get people to buy it. The safest thing would be like tile or paper towl both are easy to clean but paper towl is cheeper. I use paper towl with my baby albino and my two adults. but its really up to you but i wouldnt risk impaction. that just me though.

I use tile, like outdoor ceramic stuff. It has enough grip, looks better than paper towel, easy to clean, and holds heat well
Crix and stuff also can't hide in it, nor can toes get stuck in it(reptile carpet)

Thats what I use and it is a little more appealing then paper towels.

You can get green or brown ones.

James

Yeah, but the toes of the leos can get caught in the carpet, and break off then infect (i've seen it with a friends leo!)

now he used tile and papertowels.
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Thanks, Briggzer

that make sense hmmmm

Just checked the leos toes and they are fine. So I guess I'll stick with it.

XRefill

I also put my leos on calcisand to start out with, and when I took pictures to display on here I was scolded badly because sand isn't really good for them UNLESS the are adults and have become acustomed to getting calcium suppletment from a dish and use it. then there isn't any worry of impaction from what I understand.

And just to be different I use a combo of papertowels and ceramic tile. I put the tile over the under tank heater and am able to leave it on all the time and the temp is regulated PERFECT. On cold nights I even have to use a light on top. Cleanup is so simple with the throwing away of a paper towel or cleaning on one or two tiles with mild soap and water.

Kinda a neat thing I've found about my leos is that they deficate in the same area (in one corner of their tank). so I purposly put papertowel there and it's sooo easy to cleanup, just add a new towel.
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Thanks, Briggzer

my setup, sorry if it's not easy to see the bottom of the tank.

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Thanks, Briggzer

I have been using sand for 2 years, then my leos had parasites. This may not be related, however, I found it really difficult to do the cleaning. So, I switched to using paper towel for some months. The paper towel doesn't look as good, and its hard to control the heating, so I am working on a new tank setup for my leos, with tiles as substrate

I used sand... lost a leo to impaction, and never looked back. In my rack I use Nothing (the bottom of the plastic container works), or paper towel. In my display cages I have fabric from the local fabric store. Sometimes I use a felt like thing from the same place. It seems to be much more compressed then the reptile carpet stuff so the leos don't get toes stuck. It comes in a variety of colors and when they run a sale is about $1 for a yard [36" X 36"] (after a 1/2 off coupon), it's relatively cheap and easy to replace.
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Brian Skibinski
Milwaukee Reptiles
Brian@MilwaukeeReptiles.com

You use nothing on your plastic racks? And your leos don't slide around?!
I have these plastic containers which i put them in for cleaning or transporting and without paper towel on the bottom they just slide all over the place ehehe, they absolutely hate it
Just wondering what you do that's different

I'm gothra, but just want to say something on this one...

I use sandpaper to lightly sand the bottom of a plastic container, you only need to sand it very lightly, the leos won't slide.

I was actually going to sandpaper it... but I found I don't really NEED to. Most of my leos are fine without it, they can walk, eat, and move around normally. The only time it's a problem is for breeding groups. When the male hangs on to the female she can't really get away (if anything she kind of pulls him around). I put paper towel down for these groups, and I haven't used the sandpaper yet even though I've heard it from a variety of sources... I'm a little lazy sometimes =)
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Brian Skibinski
Milwaukee Reptiles
Brian@MilwaukeeReptiles.com