Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I really want i Leo i think their awsome.Ive done alot of research but all cresheets say paper towel or sand......and neither of them work for me..sand to risky,paper towel no appealing(not to me at least)

For some stuff that looks real good you can get the Calci-Sand stuff that T-Rex makes or any of the other calcium sands out there on the market. It looks and feels like real sand, but its not harmful in the least for your animals as it is made of a calcium mix. If they eat the stuff they are only getting extra calcium. It comes in a whole slew of colors so you can make it fit any look your going for, even a glow in the dark version is available. Its not cheap tho, like 10 bucks for a little 5 pound bag. That's why I'm stickin with the good old 6 packs of paper towel rolls for $1.99

Thats not true calci-sand will not disolve if the leo eats it ive seen leos impacted housed on calci-sand if you get sand at all get vita-sand its much more fine.
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The pet store told me Claci sand was good and I ended up with 2 impacted geckos. I now use paper towel, you can make it look real nice with rocks, sticks and silk or plastic plants. Just make sure there are no loose parts that can come loose and be swallowed.
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3.0 Horses (Tiny, Scooter, and LaZy Smoke StiX)
1.0 Akita (Buck)
0.1 Min Schnauzer (Lady)
2.0 Mixed breed dogs (Rusty & Cracker Jack)
4.1 Cats (Jacob, Nugget, William, Pippin, and Skittles)
1.1 Parakeets (Sky & Stormy)
0.1 Rabbit (Spike)(Yes she's a girl)
0.1 Rat (Shivers)
1.0 Guinea Pig (Rodney)
1.1 Geckos( Mr. Dude & Miz. Liz)
0.0.1 Fire Belly Toad (Toad)
3.0 Betta fish (Flare, Sushimi, and Red)
55 gal aquarium
0.2 Children(Jessi & Sami)
1.0 Husband

I would go with either tile or papertowel. I have personally lost one of our leos to impaction and we used the calci-sand. I would never ever use it again because of that reason. That is my personal experiance though. We have 24 leos and more in the incubator and we use papertowel. Alot of people use tile that you can buy at homedepot and it looks really good. You an get many different colors and from what I've heard it doesn't cost alot, and also easy to clean. Hope this helps. If you are purchasing a little leo then definantly don't use sand of any kind.

1.5.1Tangerines
0.0.1 Tangerine albino
0.3.0 Albinos
3.0.0 Albino hets
0.1.0 Stripe
0.0.1 Circleback
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thanxsguys im think im gonna go with.....carpet(reptile carpet) cuz it looks really great and cozy lol

Thats a safer substrate but sometimes the leos fingernails get caught on it if it does just flip it over.
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Tile is the best substrate, cheap, easy to clean, safe,conduct heat well...and it doesnt look that bad. Just my humble opinion.

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Mizar 21
1.0 Collared lizard (Ganymede)
1.0 Leopard Gecko (Gethsemani)
1.0 Nerodia Fasciata (Serpentard)
1.0 rescued iguana
1.2 Cats

Is that a live plant?
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It is called four paws terrarium lining. It doesnt catch their toenails and looks ok. I got it for ten dollars for two sheets which each cover a ten gallon tank bottom(different sizes available) and they can be washed and reused! Seeya.
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Paullywog

n/p
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Mizar 21
1.0 Collared lizard (Ganymede)
1.0 Leopard Gecko (Gethsemani)
1.0 Nerodia Fasciata (Serpentard)
1.0 rescued iguana
1.2 Cats

Most people will tell you sand is bad, and I agree. I wasn't into the idea of papertowels either, so I went with the slef-sticking shelf liner you can get at any dollar store or walmart. I talked to the vet, and he said it works great. You can get it in about 900 patterns and colors, it can be cut to size, crickets cant crawl under it, super easy to clean. I like it because I use a sweaterbox environment for Olina, and the standard sizes in repti-carpet type of stuff doesn't fit right without cutting it, which is a pain. I would highly suggest staying away from any type of sand though. My vet said he has seen hundreds of cases of leos dying from impaction, even from the calcium stuff that was recommended earlier. Tile is probably the other best option for looks. Good luck, and let us know what you decide!