Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I own a leopard gecko, and her cage looks so terrible I have to do something about it. Right now I have newspaper down, and inside an old twig, and a water dish. I have been thinking sand would look nice in there to make a start. What are your opinions on it? I am kind of worried about intestinal impactions with the sand but she isn't very young (she is 3 this year.) I really don't know much about geckos so i'm just wondering if that would be a safe idea? Do impactions happen very often? Thanks for your help, Pea

I would use paper towels,
this has proved to be the safest, and most efficient form of bedding. It may not be as aesthetically pleasing as sand and bark, but for a gecko health, it is the best.
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sand does look very good but just make sure u have a feeding dish so that when yur leo lunges for the prey he/she doesnt ingest sand! this will reduce your risk of impaction! sand i defenetily fine though!

Sand is fine for most geckos, as has been said, use a feeding dish
, particularly for small bugs like mealworms. Some people put in a dish of calcium powder as well.
Just observe her very carefully for the first month or so that you have her on it, to be sure she isn't eating it. If you see any sign of sand-eating, take her off it and put her back on paper towels. Most geckos are fine on loose substrates.

I'm going to be doing some experiments with leos in the future to try to determine if substrate-eating is a genetically linked behavioral disorder. It seems to be common in some leo populations, and pretty much absent in others, regardless of mineral supplementing regimens.