Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have been using the t-rex calci sand for about a year now without any problems with my leo... i was wondering why everyone says it is so horrible and causes impaction... my leo seems to like it alot better than the repti-carpet that his feet gets stuck too. does anyone elese use sand and not have any problems???? let me know what u guys think

I use sand too without problems. I use black sand-blasting sand and it brings out the loe's colors well too.
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1.0 Cresteds
1.1 Leos Rex and "Fredrica"
www.freewebs.com/leogecko/-UNDER CONSTRUCTION

i personally don't use sand because it is expensive but i use crushed walnut shells and they work great and i also use it for my sand boa and its great because they can digest it and if they ever feel liek digging it is very light weight but i have they tank a 90/10 mix of that and coconut bedding at the end where their cool hide is cuz i thought it would be comfy sitting on soft stuff lol and it holds humidity so they have a humid side they goto when shedding.

both bring out the colour but i think i wanan try the black sand sounds cool.

crushed walnut shells may pass, but often they can rip up the intestines, sometimes to the point that it can lead to the death of an animal.

The reason people say calcium sand causes impactions is because it does, plain and simple. Instead of digesting like they claim, it actually builds up after a while and forms sort of a rock of calcium that eventually blocks the intestines. Normal sand can pass little bits at a time, because it doesn't stick together, but a lot of it sticks to the intestinal walls, and can cause a chronic impaction.

My vet has advised me that of all the common reptile pets, leos should be the ones that I definately do not put on sand. From his observations, it seems as though when put on sand, and especially calcium sand, a good percentage of leos end up with impactions, sometimes in a very short time period. He said that with what he's seen with leos, and also bearded dragons, he doesn't keep his animals on sand (which really does make sense, since the areas they come from don't have loose sand like many seem to think). He also said he can't advise anyone that housing these reptiles on sand is in any way safe for them.

Some people will keep leos on sand and other such substrates and never have a problem...and that is honestly just luck. Leopard geckos come from a rocky terrain and generally stay out of loose sand. Bearded dragons also try to stear clear of loose sand...it makes it harder to run if a predator happens to come by.

Also, with the crushed walnut shells...I remember somewhere there was a good article explaining them, maybe melissa kaplan wrote it...I can't remember. Basically they were first used with birds, but bird owners realized they were no good and stopped buying them (I think it's because they grow mold or something), so a little while after, the same companies repackaged the crushed walnut shells, but with a label promoting using them with reptiles.

I currently keep a bearded dragon and a mali uromstyx, and I hope to soon aquire a leopard gecko. I keep the bearded dragon on rubber non-adhesive shelfliner right now (though I may switch to something different, like a dirt mixture and/or slate tiles when I finish the new cages), and the uromastyx is being kept on a shallow layer of dirt, with sort of a fake burrow. When I do get the leo, I plan on using either shelf liner or reptile carpet. I may opt to use slate tiles though, which are usually a good, fairly natural alternative.

By the way, this post was partly opinion, but based on facts. I'm not try to belittle anyone out there for using sand substrates...I just want people to understand that some of these products are just plain bad. If you do choose to use them, make sure you only use them on adult leos, and try to feed them from a bowl or seperate container.

I've kept around forty leopard geckos on sand for five years, and not one has ever been impacted. I must be really lucky? T-rex bone aid sand should not compact. It may not be digestable as they claim, but it will pass through the body. It does not clump together like beach sand, get it wet, and it seperates. Just for the record, all my leos are now kept on repticarpet, just for convienance.
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My blood is workin', but my, my heart is...DEAD!

well, you probably were lucky. I didn't say they would definately get impacted when kept on sand, I just said that from my findings, there is a high chance that they will, especially young ones.

Tests conducted on calcium based sands have shown that when put in an environment with similar acid properties to that of a lizard, it actually tends to clump. That and the fact that reptiles like the taste of it is just a bad combination. I'll try to find the website where they conducted the test and get back to you.

The tests you are referring to are listed on the post I made to the original.
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Marcia McGuiness
Golden Gate Geckos
www.goldengategeckos.com

I personally do not think it is "just luck" that leos don't get impacted. Leopard Geckos are native to pakistan and although is is a rocky climate most wild leos will come in contact with sand at some point in ther lives. Also, try telling all of the other peole who keep thier loes on sand that it is just luck. If you monitor your leo carefully, and provide enough calcuim, they should be fine. I have kept my 2 leos on sand thier whole lives and have never had a problem. I also have many freinds that house thier leos in the same manner and they too have had no problems. Ithink it is up to the individual to decide wether or not to put their leo on sand. That does not mean that the risk of impaction is still not goingto be there. MY 2 cents.
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1.0 Cresteds
1.1 Leos Rex and "Fredrica"
www.freewebs.com/leogecko/-UNDER CONSTRUCTION

yes, it is their choice. I'm just stating what I, and my vet, have found, that leopard geckos are easily impacted when kept on sand. I believe my vet told me the one time that "Leopard geckos are the worst (as far as sand impactions). It seems like they just fill themselves up with sand". That's what I've been keeping in mind, so that's why I'm probably never going to house leos on sand. If you choose to, I do think you should make sure (as you said) that they get enough calcium, and also it is a good idea to feed them out of a dish and not on the sand. You also need to keep the heat just right, and keep them well hydrated all of the time. If you see them lick it more then just when you first put them on it, you should probably not keep them on it.

It's a choice that has to be made...I was just stating how I've decided and what pushed me to decide it. If you choose to use sand it's your choice, but there is a certain amount of risk there. Leopard geckos (as well as all other lizards) are not able to pass all of the sand they take in...so if they continually take it in, they will probably get impacted.

the websters dictionary says....Luck="good fortune". I'd say not having your leopard geckos die from a sand impaction is good fortune. That's all I meant.

Yeah, I guess it's just up to the owner. Oh well, no use in starting another chapter in the never ending sand war lol
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1.0 Cresteds
1.1 Leos Rex and "Fredrica"
www.freewebs.com/leogecko/-UNDER CONSTRUCTION

it's sort of funny because when I first got my bearded dragon (my first lizard), the sand wars were at their peak on the bearded dragon forum, and I didn't know what to do, so I ended up switching back and forth for a little bit. Then, when i got my uromastyx, that was when the whole dirt thing started up on the uro forum (since they're burrowers by nature), and I didn't know what to do...I ended up going with dirt just because it seems the most natural and my uro hasn't tasted it more than maybe once the first day. Now that I'm thinking about getting a leo, the sand wars are blazing over here. I'll stick with my original decision with using either reptile carpet or shelfliner though. it's more stressful to switch back and forth, and stress is one of those factors that makes impactions happen easier.

I guess we'll just have to leave it at "use what you're comfortable with". I still would recomend carpet or papertowels or something similar to beginners though, because they'll have enough trouble getting everything else right, and sand would just be another factor to worry about...in my opinion at least. there are other things that are really more important that you have to get right (temps, appropriate hiding spots, etc.).

had leos on sand: lost one to impaction
had only the big leos on sand: lost one to impaction
no longer have sand: haven't lost a leo since.

Just my experience.
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Brian Skibinski
Brian@MilwaukeeReptiles.com
www.MilwaukeeReptiles.com
Leopard Gecko Care Sheet

I am not going to start another 'substrate war', but I would like to give you some information on Calci-Sand. This is an appropriate substrate for many other types of lizards, but not for leopard geckos for the following reasons:

- Leo's GI systems are very short, and it has been proven that calcium sand does not have a chance to dissolve completely in their intestines. This can cause the sand to become 'sticky' and clump together, which can cause impaction.

- Calci-Sand is made up of calcium carbonate, which is the main ingredient in Tums and Rolaids, a stomach acid reducer. When leopard geckos constantly ingest it when striking at food their entire GI system becomes filled with it, and this can cause the natural digestive gastric acids to not be able to properly break-down the food. This leads to incomplete digestion, which is also a contributing factor in intestinal impaction.

Reference: By Michelle M. Hewitt, Minnesota Herpetological Society newsletter, Vol.19, No.11, November, 1999
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Marcia McGuiness
Golden Gate Geckos
www.goldengategeckos.com

As I have stated many times before.....I was one of the "unlucky" one who did use sand because I didn't do enough research and listened to the guy at petco. We lost our first leo to impaction. Now that we know what it can do we will never use it again. To me it isn't worth it. I don't care if it looks like their natural habitat or not. My leos health is way more important to me than the looks of the cage.

Just my experience as well...

For the first nine years that I'd kept leopard geckos sand was what I'd always used as their substrate. I first started with Jurassi-sand, then Repti-Sand and never had any kind of a problem...

I then switched to T-Rex's Calci-Sand (Bone Aid) and still had no ill-effects as far as the sand was concerned. I'm one of those people that also believes that the sand impaction problem is due to how some of these animals are kept...

I think it has to do with how much calcium/vitamin they are recieving... I supplimented my animals each time I fed, and I've never had anykind of a problem.

my leos have always had a supply of calcium in each of their cages at all times. We now have 38 leos and no losses since switching from sand...

As usual you are the voice of logic.

I admit to using sand, i also am a huge advocate of tile.
The cost, upkeep and the risks are all significantly lower. There is no point to keeping sand.

However if you do not change be sure to feed them from a dish/plate/tile so that they will not purposely ingest sand.

IMO it is a risk, but so is walking out your door, however if you want increase the chance of extended the life of your pet reconsider sand.

good luck

I know many people who have used sand as a substrate for many years without incident. I am not saying that ALL sand is inappropriate... just calcium sand for the reasons I listed above. If sand is used, it should be ultra-fine, non-silica, playground sand.

Personally, I would not use it because I have known of too many cases of impaction, and almost all were fatal. This is an extremely painful and horrible way for a gecko to die, and the suffering is tremendous. Why take the risk?
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Marcia McGuiness
Golden Gate Geckos
www.goldengategeckos.com